1. Congrats for stepping up and asking for questions.
2. Check with your school district, they should be able to help you with the tax id # or may even already have one
3. check with the "upper" school to see how they do things, read their bylaws for info.
4. check with surrounding schools to get ideas from.
5. put it out there into the Parent community how much money you need, what it's being used for and ask for suggestions on how to raise this money. The more information you get out there, the more help you can get.
6. put out a newsletter the things you need, events you plan on having and the volunteers you need otherwise the event will be canceled due to lack of volunteers.
this website is a wealth of info and experience. This is my first year as PTO Prez and I'm learning every day!
Hey Tracy, you've come to the right place. If you do some searches here on the boards you'll find info on how to get that tax id #. It's really simple. Then check out banks in your area for one that will give you the best deal on a checking account. Watch out for fees for excessive deposits or excessive checks and such. It might be best to just open an account where the upper school group has theirs, then shop around. You can always move if you find a better deal.
Check into your non-profit status. If your group operates independently from the school district, you should check into whether there is a filing with the IRS(again the upper level group may know this). Do you have bylaws somewhere? Maybe the upper level group has a set you can use.
I'd establish a nice working relationship with their officers so you can share items and info between the groups. It would help you get things set up and would be beneficial for them in that they are eventually going to be looking for your parents to become part of their group.
If you have specific questions, just post them here. There are tons of people who have been in your shoes at one time or another and would be more than happy to give help. Also, check out PTOtoday's kits for groups-they can provide you with tons of how-to info to get you going and make your group a success.
My family moved to a new school district from Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. We came from a wonderful school witha highly effective PTA to a school with a nonexistent PTO. Apparently there has been some drama in the past, and no one wants to be involved. The elementary school had to split into 2 seperate schools (upper and lower) because of the number of students. I do not feel anyone has the right to complain about problems they are unwilling to help solve, therefore, I jumped in to help. The existing PTO bank account was reserved for the upper school, though they are willing to give us half of the money once we have an account to deposit it into. I have been dubbed PTO President of the lower elementary and have found four other people to serve as officers. I am overwhelmed at all there is to do. I don't know how to go about establishing a bank account without a tax id #, how to get parents to help, what to do about hostile teachers, etc. I cannot pay for helpful magazines when I don't even have a bank account! I just need some help in getting organized! :confused: :confused:
