We do not give our principal discretionary funds. Instead, we work closely with our principal while drafting the PTO budget to ensure items she would like purchased are included. We bring in a profit of roughly $40,000 per year from our fundraisers. We provide each grade level a mini grant ($500 per grade) and our specialty teachers that service the entire school ($1000 per specialty). We additionally purchase clinic supplies, red ribbon week, reading counts and a number of other programs the principal wants. We are also raising money for a shading project that our principal has listed as a long term priority (the overall cost will be $100k). With her involvement in planning our budget, we ensure her needs are met without setting aside a "discretionary fund". Any additional items not included in our budget will be brought forward and a motion will be made to approve said expenditures per our bylaws. We have been successful partnering with our local community to pay for the printing of our school newsletter, school directory and school folders through advertising space. This frees up funds for other necessary items the principal may need to purchase.
Our annual budget is about $30k, and we typically allocate three discretionary budgets for our principal totalling about $4000 (it varies year to year). One category is for educational materials, one is for building equipment, and one is completely discretionary for him. Once we approve our annual PTO budget, we don't need to vote on the individual expenditures from these 3 categories. We also have a large category ($4k) to reimburse our teachers for classroom supplies. We ask them to hold their receipts until they accumulate the per class allotment (usually $100), and then the PTO writes the teacher a check. Unlike Menlo, we don't give them their money up front. The IRS told us that was a no-no because it was such a large portion of our budget and we couldn't prove it was going to be used in a way consistent with our purpose. But we also didnt' want to get a reimbursement request every time a teacher bought something. Cutting one check per teacher once they submit their total receipts has worked out fine.
The amount would be too much for me to seriously consider. But, like Menlo Park Treas - we often supplemented the Principal's Activity Account, which was used for professional development, special speakers, supplies. Frequently, we'd agree to pay for a large item that reflected well with our mission. I can remember a conversation when he said, he'd like $3000 from the PTO to finish out the year's plans. We had a great fundraiser that year, so we went through his list of planned items and choose which ones our funds would be tagged for. That was primarily because when we listed the PTOs accomplishments our preference was strongly slanted towards taking credit for a great speaker and science materials rather than some of the more mundane purchases like janitorial supplies, copy paper, or bathroom tissue.
Our principal never demanded anything. But there was an implicit understanding that since the school let the PTO own the two allowable fundraiser, some of the funds would be used for items covered by the Activity Fund.
It was a fair partnership and worked well. But $20,000 - that's way too much unless you are in a totally different financial world than we were.
Our PTO provides our principal with a discretionary budget of about 10% of our total budget. He then authorizes payment of various bills up to that amount and the treasurer pays them. It works really well in allowing him to address whatever challenges come up without requiring a vote of the PTO Board. For example, this year a lot of the budget has gone toward setting up new classrooms with books, globes, etc. (our school is in the middle of a population explosion and we're in California, where the good public schools are heavily underwritten by the parents and local cities). Other years he's spent it on technology ... And there are usually charges for instructional videos, teaching tools different teachers want to experiment with, etc. We have 100% visibility into what's spent, since the bills come to us. I do not remember seeing any questionable purchase in the last two years.
I will mention that we have also had a lot of luck cutting each teacher a check for $600 at the beginning of the year to cover the cost of classroom supplies and asking him/her to document their use of the money and give us receipts totalling $600 or more by the end of the year. We used to give them a $600 budget, but we ended up writing hundreds and hundreds of checks as some teachers claimed each time they went to the store -- plus some teachers never claimed at all, and it was a nightmare keeping track of who was maxxed out. It's been great just cutting one check at the beginning of the year. (Once again, I will mention that we are in California -- land of Prop 13 -- so the PTA and educational foundation provide many services that school districts provide elsewhere.)
Nope! Those items should be covered under the school budget and I think she is overstepping her bounds by asking the PTO to pay for it. School budgets should cover all costs it takes to hold class for the students. Each student is required to supply their own notebooks, pencils, crayons etc., but teachers usually have a supply that they've built up in the classroom as extras. Our principal would never think of asking the PTO to pay for such supplies.
We do, however, offer a mini grant program to our teachers. They can apply for a grant for educational programs that will benefit their class or grade level. These have to have an educational value and directly in line with curriculum. The principal ok's it and then the PTO Exec Board approves. Those have included butterfly habitat, reading collection (fiction), supplies to build a reading garden for 2nd grade, Science DVD's, & additional die cut shapes. But these are above and beyond what the district already funds for the teachers and classrooms.
I think 20K is excessive and she is looking to use her stipend from the district for something else and then backed against the wall to get these needed items.
A slush fund is one thing, but $20K... holy crap!!!
Forget that. No way would I be even bringing this to motion. The amount alone does make me wonder just how much you have in your budget though.
I would look at it this way...
The budget for the year should have been approved at the end of next year, or at worst at the beginning of this year. The fundraisers that you will be running for the year should have been defined by now. Between your yearly budget and your fundraisers you should have equilibrium, meaning your fundraisers shouldn't be bringing in too much more than your planned expenses. If that is the case then how could you ever provide that much funds to the Principal without killing everything else that your group hopes to do. If you have those kinds of funds just sitting around then I recommend you discuss some new enrichment opportunites for the year, or maybe look at providing some new item for the school (playground piece or something). If the Principal is looking to add new fundraising for the $20K then forget that, it would end up making a bad name for your group, trying to add that much funds on top of what you already do...
Lastly this is a very slippery slope. If you give in now this will become the norm. If that happens then it will become expected each year. I can't see many PTOers being willing to make something like this part of the budget, which as I already mentioned should be defined already...
One way you might try to go is to let your Principal know that that is not something that your group could take on, but that you would be willing to assist him/her and the staff with a new fundraising event. For example, last year our Principal wanted to add a laptop computer cart for the school. This was a $15K project. As a group we were willing to allocate $2000 of our existing funds, which the Principal matched with his own funds. Next he effectively chaired a golf tournament, not something that we ever ran before. The PTO made up the majority of the golf tournament committee and saught donations, ran the event, etc.; but the Principal was overall the chair and even had some of his staff members help out. This was a great way to support the new Principal while not just giving him our budgeted funds.
