Your budget should include an annual amount for the teachers needs. Distribute these funds at the beginning of the year to the teachers with the instructions that the money is to be used at their discretion (or with the principal's guidance) to meet ALL their needs for the "2010-2011 school year".
I also agree with having our financials transparent for our protection. But every time we post the balance in the school newsletter the funds request start flooding in. We have upcoming events that we already committed too and we have set money aside for them. How do we tell the teachers what we have is not really what we have?
CA PTA President-
Your approach on the website sounds like a great way to keep people informed on how the money is being spent. Is the pie chart being created and pulled in by another application? Would you feel comfortable sharing a link to your site so they can see how you do it graphically?
Our treasurer also brings spreadsheets to each board meeting. Only a few board members ever ask questions about the financials.
We post a pie chart on our school website which shows income and expenses in a colorful way. We also put a "did you know" section in our weekly newsletter which spells out the different ways our pto supports our children and school. People get a snapshot once a week on the many different ways their money is spent.
We have never been questioned by anyone on the financials, but are ready, willing and able to have discussions with any parent who has questions.
Like Nancy Ann's treasurer, I make a spreadsheet available every meeting; no one ever asks any questions.
I would send those two questioners the whole Quicken database and say, OK, what from this makes sense to publish? Try to sit down with them and have them help you understand what the "regular PTO member" is interested in seeing and why, and you can try to help them understand why it's a nuisance to try to put too much detail in the newsletter.
Our treasurer has a spreadsheet available at every meeting. It is updated with all transactions. We do have the treasurer book available at meetings if they want more details, but nothing is usually questioned.
