Our PTO voted down the idea of a flat amount to each teacher. They did however like the idea of a formalized request being submitted to the board for approval. The principal was very supportive of the idea once he saw how the majority of people voted.
I am glad to hear that other groups give to their teachers. Our officers do not think that is neceesary for some because they do get other funding. I do not agree. Most teachers spend up to $200 or more to make their classroom fun and enjoyable for the students. Thank you for sharing what your groups do! It does help when others are doing the same thing you are or wanting to. thanks!!!
In response to Kaylee, yes....we give them a $100 check. There are no stipulations as to how to spend the money or any that would be left over (as you said, it's highly unlikely they would have any left over). Our school went without an active P.T.O for several years and so the fundraising money just sat in the account. We also had a fire last year, many teachers are still replacing items that were destroyed in the fire.
Our PTO has instituted classroom accounts, depending on how well our fundraisers do, most of the time each full time class is given $250.00. For our gym, art, music, and HOST teachers we give them $200.00. We give each teacher a check and request that they give us copies of their receipts at the end of the year>>>if anyone wants to question what was purchased. We hope people realize that $250.00 does not even scratch the surface on what teachers spend out of pocket on our kids. We also have field trip accounts because our district does not have buses and to rent a bus for a trip costs $150.00 we now give each class $200.00 towards trips. Some teachers take advantage of these extras and some chose not to. We do not carry over balances to the next year. We have found that the kids really benefit the most because who better than the teachers know what our kids are lacking and who better than the PTO to try to help with that?
Last year,we used some of our end of year 'extra' money to go to teachers. We had the usual problem of too many things to buy and too little money so we settled on a compromise: We divided our $5,400 equally by grade level (K-5, $900 each) then divided each grade level by teacher. With either 3,4 or 5 classes they got $180, 225 or 300. How it's spent is up to the teachers and they have the option of joining funds with other teachers for a common project. Our school maintains a ledger account with each teacher so we just paid the school at the first of the year. Even though this was very popular with the teachers, we're not sure that we'll do as much next year, we're planning on holding more back for all the first of school start up funds that are always needed.
We have teachers requesting expensive items like a washer and dryer, air conditioner, etc... In the past we have not required a formal request, but this year I want them to fill out a request justifying why they want that item, what students will benefit, why the PTO should pay for it, estimated cost, and when it would be needed by. We have never just given teachers a blanket $50-100.
The only glitch is our principal felt we were overstepping our boundaries by asking for a formalized request. I disagree. How has anyone else handled teacher requests for funds?
