We purchase our own paper but get to make all our copies at school. It works for us, this year would be tough with 3 outta 4 board members work outside the home. I just can't see taking a 4and 2 yr old to Kinkos henever I need copies!

Not only does the Principal approve our flyers, she even sends it to two other staffers to proof!! Somedays I don't mind others I want to hide the red pencils!! Any outside flyers also need approval.

Our PTO has traditionally paid the school $400/year for the privilege of copying at will. The PTO has its own copier code and last year, in January, I asked the parapro to reset our code which had never been set to zero. In the next six months, we made 26,631 copies! We get off cheap compared to what we would pay outside. (There are 700 kids in our school)

As far as flyers go, we do pass everything by our principal first. He does not initial our master, but I do want him to know what we're sending home. If there's ever an issue, he's the first one to get confronted. Our PTO is a strong independent 501c3, but the principal is still ultimately responsible for the school. We respect that and recognize it by keeping him in the loop. Consider this: should the Society-to-Promote-Tattoos-On-Children be allowed to send home their flyers with the kids just cause they provide enough copies? A bit of a stretch, but...

If I copy anything to send out, I make sure she see it and prefer she intials it. I do not want to be responsible for the school getting sued of miswording on my part. The first time I did this, three years ago, she asked me what I was doing. She looked surprised when I told her. It was her first year and it had always been done that way in the past.

Paper is a touchy subject at our school. LOL! Each teacher get an alloted amount. That is theirs that they have to ration out all year. We have a stash that the school provides for us, but so much money goes into that school because of us no one has complained.

One thing that we do for those short reminders is make 2 on 1 page and cut them into. It cuts copying and paper in half.

We provide the paper that we need to make our copies - but are not charged a fee to use the copier. Although, this may be coming down the pipe at some point.

We also furnish the principal's office with a copy of our flyers and other correspondence as a courtesy. Not for approval.

We paid an outside company for copies. I used the UPS store and was able to buy copy cards for 2 cents each.

The principal did approve all correspondence, and I don't think that's necessarily a bad move for you or the school. It keeps him/her abreast of what you're doing and ensures proper grammar and spelling in written correspondence.

I always welcomed the support from our school principal, and he welcomed my support as well...if your principal is not quite as supportive, I can see where this would make you a little angry. Is he/she using this "approval" to tell you what you can and can't do with your PTO?

Our HSA comprises two schools which are situated next door(practically) to each other. There are a combined number of students totaling 600. Our superintendent and principals give us "free" reign of the copier and notices. We do not have to pay. Our Superintendent came on board about 5 years ago, about the same time I became a co president. My co president and myself met with him and we have formed a very cooperative working environment. He sees the good that we do and we really do help out our schools immensly as I am sure all of you out there do. I believe you have to establish yourself and show your groups good deeds and ability to all work together for the common good. Our Superintendent, feels we are all in the same boat so the schools share their paper and copier with us. AS for the principals and Superintendent having to ok all notices, I think that most schools have that policy in place. In our case, we do not have to have approval. However, if I feel something should be seen first, I show it to both principals and our Superintendent too. We are all on a first name basis too. [img]smile.gif[/img]