You kind of answered you own question. The Executive Board creates the budget. Then the membership votes on it. (Our membership is presented with the budget, but they don't vote on it). Therefore, you can change the budgeted amount and reduce the amount now being spent on the teachers and designate that money elsewhere.
The chairperson can spend their money within their budget, but your bylaws should state that all plans must be approved by the PTO Board. Then they could randomly make purchases that are not benefiting anyone. However, if your bylaws do not read that way, you will have to make that change while you are in office so that future years will be more productive and beneficial to the staff and students.
I'm sure you will have resistence to your changes in the budget. However, if you are President, you can simply state that you intend to refocus the budget on the students of the school. Since parents are showing their support of the PTO through fundraising and participation in PTO-run events, the students should be benefiting from most of the budget. Teachers can receive tokens of appreciation throughout the year at x, y & z events as well as via their homeroom parents. Be ready with examples of how money will be spent and what new events or activities will be offered for the new year rather than how its currently being spent.
You really have to stand up and be firm. Present your plan in a organized manner & really "sell it" to those at your meeting. Having other parents that feel the same would help support the idea and with your vote. GOOD LUCK

Anonymous;131468 wrote: Oh yes, also, our bylaws don't specifically address spending. The way it has always been done is, the budget is written at the beginning of each year with just the Board's input.

Your first test as leader is going to be presiding over this budget meeting. Taking a stand where you think things are important early in the year will keep the veteran board members from trying to walk all over you. It will also be important to let the principal know that you are on his or her side, but not in his or her pocket. Establish this early. Forget about who might get angry. You are making sense, and if you present your ideas rationally, anyone getting angry over the loss of McBiscuits will look silly.

If I was in your position, I would ask the other board members to come up with goals for the year, independent of spending. Then while appropriating funds, compare what you are planning to spend with these goals.

I would also go through the current budget and try and describe the benefit of each section's spending. In your school culture, numbers that seem out of line might be OK if you look at them in context. I would do this well before the meeting and before thinking of my own numbers. Look at items on a percent basis as well. This often brings things to light.

Spending so much so often on recognizing teachers just may be pushing the limits of your group's stated purpose, especially since you say the group is doing these things instead of providing things to students.

Paying for the business partner lunch is out of line. The amount of spending on recognition is out of line, too, unless there are circumstances not obvious in your post. Our group budget $20 per staff member this year, up from $15 in the past (100 faculty and staff) because we added a really nice picnic table to an outdoor staff area . We serve a catered lunch which runs $8-10 a head, and sometimes do a small gift or cards, etc. Some groups would call what we do excessive, but for less than $20 a person, it does wonders for building relationships.

Bottom line is that your ideas are probably right on. That extra money could create some tangible and lasting benefits at the school.

Stick to your guns and good luck. Don't personalize things, and always think in terms of what is best for the school and the group. Carefully consider all views. Others may see things you don't that should not be ignored, but as the President, you take the heat from bad decisions.

Oh yes, also, our bylaws don't specifically address spending. The way it has always been done is, the budget is written at the beginning of each year with just the Board's input. Every Committee which has line item designations has pretty much free reign over that set amount. They buy on an as-needed basis, and submit reciepts for reimbursements. Only changes to the budget (ie: re-appropriating funds between categories or increasing spending) require a vote, by the general membership. Since we are lucky to have a dozen folks in attendance at meetings we don't get any questions about this when it occurs, which is very rarely. There are usually very few if any changes year-to-year from one budget to the next.

Thank you for your input. To answer a few questions, we do not do much at all for families. This year it has been worse than past years on that front basically because our few volunteers are stretched pretty thin. We do offer some programs for the kids (during the day and after school) that center on arts & sciences and we spend a good chunk of change (between 5-10K) each year on improvements to our building and grounds. I know we could do much more, the problem really is that we just don't have the manpower. Everyone on our Board works full time, and I would estimate that we have no more than 30 people who do all the work for the whole PTO. This includes our harvest carnival, Room Parents, all our fundraising, our yearbook, our literary magazine, our spirit wear, all of our programs, everything. For a school with over 800 kids, 30 really active, dependable volunteers is not enough. I am planning a big push for involvement next year, but my first goal is to re-direct some of what I consider to be nonsense spending, back towards the kids. I would much rather spend that money on, say, a big event like a dance, or put on some after school clubs, than have it go into greeting cards, gifts, and luncheons for staff. If anyone has ever successfully cut back on staff recognition without starting a riot and alienating the administrators, I need to know how you approached it. It's touchy as you can well imagine.

What do your by-laws state in regard to approving funds for specific events/causes? Ours need a discussion and board vote on anything...yup, every little thing. But, it's great because it definitely keeps the communication up and the checks in balances in place. Maybe that's one place to start as a new president, to revisit and (if necessary) re-write the by-laws to put these checks into place. The principal may not really have any "official" say in what the group is supposed to be spending their money on.

Has there been a meeting of all those involved? I know when I started, things were run loosely, spending some here/some there without too much tracking. No wrong-doing, just not really great checks and balances in place. When I became pres I asked for a meeting of all involved, stated how I would like to initiate certain checks and balances, the reasons why then asked and listened to the other board members and the principal's input. Together we came up with a plan that worked for all involved and, more importantly, the group as a whole.

We have 2 luncheons per year for our teachers and staff, one before Christmas and one in May. We spend about $500. Appreciating teachers and staff does not have to be expensive, and it shouldn't be.

That is a very huge budget that your school spends, and in my opinion, it should be slashed in half. There are many inexpensive ways to appreciate teachers and staff without breaking the bank. I would rather that money be spent on the children.