Just to help clarify what I mean by salary versus stipend: assorted teachers offer to run an after school project. They are "independent contractors" as opposed to "employees". They are free to implement the project with only general guidelines from the PTO. The stipend is a lump sum check we write to them for their services- we do not do payroll deductions as the Board of Ed/School District would do when paying them as employees.
We are in the process of setting better guidelines for supporting such activities. We would welcome more comments from those PTOs who support their teachers in similar after school activities.
Ally,
Ok I understand more after reading your second post (shame on me for not doing so earlier). I am still confused by the 'teacher as independant contractor' program but that's neither here nor there.
If you feel that this money is well spent by the teachers you stipend and the programs that they offer support ALL the children in your school, by all means you should continue to support it BUT the program needs to have limits. These stipends should not take up 50% of your budget. I would allot 10-20% of your budget but no more. As a precautionary measure, set up strict guidelines in your by-laws as to how/who can petition monies, how they are to be used, what they are to be used for...etc.
What our schools have is a 'grant' program where teachers can formally request monies for their own pet projects and the PTO will fund them. That line item is usually between 5-8k per year (depending how flush we are) and there is a grant committee that oversees the approval and distribution. These grants are one shot deals, they don't continue from year to year.
Ademom- we ARE in NJ. We don't pay salaries, we (independently from the school district) pay stipends to the teachers as independent contractors. I assume the Union is aware of the situation- but I can't say anyone in our group has discussed it directly with the Union, we have discussed it only directly with the teachers and the principal.
Wow, and 85K is mid-range for SoCal schools? We do about $15K and that's a record goal this year.
Food for thought...Our PTA has become a fundraising organization. We've lost sight of our purpose. We are changing it now but your org's financial goals should drive your fundraising efforts. Not the other way around. You could reduce the fundraising burden on students and parents by re-aligning your priorities. I don't know your org's situation but I know in our tiny budget, we have already identified projects and programs that aren't giving us the most for our money. We're working to re-align next year to reduce our expenses (thus reducing our dependency on frequent fundraisers) but give MORE to our students. It's all about how you manage your money. We then will use fundraisers ONLY to achieve our objectives.
Great golly! Parent organizations paying teacher salaries? Do you also give them their reviews each year, determine merit increases, approve or deny tenure? The teachers union is ok with this? (Sorry, but I have more questions than answers)
I have no idea if this is a common practice but here in New Jersey, that sort of thing is unimaginable. I agree with previous poster, that kind of situation needs to be spotlighted nationally by the media.
This issue has come up in our group. We do not pay "salaries". We pay "stipends". If the annual amount is $600 and over we are supposed to issue 1099s. (That is another issue.) The stipend is generally paid to a teacher to run an after-school club or activity which is not a negotiated item with the BOE. Our group membership is happy to pay for these activities because the kids really do benefit. We are tossing the idea around and, based on our history, we can afford $50/hr maximum and we need to cap the total stipend amount. (If a teacher wants to spend extra time with the students, that is fine, but we can only afford to spend x dollars.) Has anyone successfully dealt with compensating teachers in this way? Our group's methods have been very arbitrary in the past and members and teachers are questioning how we come up with our stipends and hours required. Can anyone shed some light on this subject?
P.S. I am fairly new to the group and we are in a period of transition. This site's insight is so valuable!
