Thanks for all the replies. We do not have a program and always have money left over. I am going to print this out and make the suggestion that we start some sort of program.

It is sad to see that we have a nice flagpole in the front of our MS and two big ugly bushes that are hiding granite markers that were presented to the school in a big ceremony for Veterens, and I do not know what the other one was for, but they are hidden under the bushes with weeds growing around them like an unkempt old cemetary! It is a shame that they are treated like an old rock.

Plus in general everything is old and in need of sprucing. Hope this helps to get a committee started,

We usually budget $500 per year for buildings and grounds, which may or may not all be spent. That covers some one-time expenses, like paint for the crew of United Way volunteers who painted bright stripes and paw prints (our mascot's a bear) in the hallways last year, and yearly ones, like the flowering annuals we try to plant around the front entrance every fall and spring. We've helped with items for a "learning garden" one of our teachers planted in the school courtyard, and she helps fund that with the sale of notecards the kids have produced with photos of the flowers in the garden.

We donate manpower, food, asking of donations only. The school has its own Beautification commitee ("Green Team") that many of the PTA members are on. The committee just finished Phase I of III this last Saturday PTO today thread The committe worked with the local Dept Water and Power (they have a COOL :cool: Tree program for business, school and residents), THE Tree People and LAUSD school system grant/ funds to plant 55+ trees around campus

We budgeted $500 this year, but it never got used. Our chairperson never "got around" to doing anything w/her position & resinged this semester. We did have a work day in March and spend a few hours digging up landscaping rocks that had been grown over for years, and re-placing them. Our school is currently under renovation so when that's done we'll get somethings together. We keep talking about a Butterfly Garden for the 5th grade but have the same concern as some of you, things being stolen or destroyed. Shoot we can't even keep our basketball goals from being destroyed....

We have bricked-in mini garden areas beneath a majority of our prek-3rd school classroom windows. Last October we sent home a flyer asking parents to donate perennials as they dug up or split them for the coming winter. I also included the info in our PTA News article in the local paper. We asks for the name of the plant, whether it was flowering and if it was shade or sun loving. The coordinator had set a date and we had well over 100 plants brought in. She had also contacted a local nursery and they not only donated many, many more but the owner joined us, lending her expertise. Our high school's service learning class and Key Club, along with parents, planted and mulched all of the gardens. Things are just beginning to green up and bloom now and it is beautiful.
At our 4-5th grade school, a teacher started a botany club and they requested a donation from us for bulbs and mulch. They have a much smaller area to work with at that school. They cleaned up the existing beds and this spring, it is looking wonderful. The teacher wants to start a pizza garden with her club and we will probably donate money again to help with that.
I believe our grand total spent was well under $200.

I am sure we have given money but I am not sure how much.

My son was in pre-k the first year it was at the old elementary school. The local High School FFA students came out and did a wonderful job. They planted several hostas. Which were stolen a week later.

Also landscaping business have donated things here and there. If you could get a business to do it and let them put their calling card by their work they may donate everything (if that is not against your school policy).

A local t.v. station has a program called "One Class at a Time" where kids write in to nominate their teacher for doing a good job. One of the prizes is $200.00. The kids got one of the 5th grade teachers nominated a couple of years ago, because she had been appling for grants for a butterfly garden she used that money and her sciecne class worked on the garden. They did a wonderful job. It made that area look so much better and the kids felt good for doing it too.