Finance & Budget Archive

Your group can't do its great work without strong financial policies and a sound budget. Whether you're the PTO or PTA treasurer or a member concerned about protecting funds, you'll find tons of ideas and help on money management in the articles below. Yes, we even cover PTO and PTA embezzlement. Find more helpful tools and info on the Finance & Budget resources page.

  • Parent Group Embezzlements

    Every school year we read about new cases of embezzlement from parent groups. Sadly, in this case it's a principal that is at the center of the alleged theft of PTO funds. Ugh.  Hate to hear these stories, especially when they are preventable.

  • Pre-Pay Fundraiser or Post-Pay Fundraiser?

    This is always a big discussion on our message boards and in our PTO Today community, mainly because the differences are so stark.  I recently received an email about this topic from an expert that brought a fundamental new concern into the debate.  I’ll explain below.

  • Recession Busters

    The down economy doesn’t have to keep your group from having a great year. Try these tips for success when money and resources are tight.

  • How PTOs Are Adapting to Hard Economic Times

    PTOs everywhere are bracing for lower fundraising returns and tighter budgets at school and at home. We talked to parent group leaders about how they're getting through it.

  • Two Fundraising News Updates

    Two quickies that will be of great interest if you're affected and not so much interest if you are not.

  • Another parent group theft story, big one

    This time the stealing from the PTA was done by a couple! Ugh. When the parents at Erdenheim Elementary School in Erdenheim, PA, decided to switch from a PTA to PTO an audit was done and numbers just weren't adding up... to the tune of $17,000! Ouch. Unfortunately, this group learned the hard way about the importance of fiscal controls in PTOs and PTAs.

  • Higher Fuel Costs Mean Fewer Field Trips

    Rising costs are a problem for most school districts, survey finds.

  • Big California Embezzle

    Few details at this point, but former volunteer under arrest in $40,000 theft. Hope these guys have insurance.

  • Covering Up a PTO Theft

    Leave it to the local news station to blow this up into some Watergate-level cover-up, but I think this media treatment of a school theft case is great evidence for my argument that groups should address these issues openly (and obviously enact systems changes immediately) if there's a missing money issue.

  • Who's Fundraising? PTO or School?

    This Washington Post column brings up an interesting issue -- why are Principals fundraising (especially when they have an active parent group already doing so?

  • Another Toolbox for Education Success

    Thanks to Lowe's (and the Toolbox for Education grant program in which PTO Today is proud to play a role), a ton of good work is getting done at schools all across the country.

  • Buyer Beware -- Count Me In

    Looks like a possibly troubled PTA/PTO vendor -- the Washington-based company called Count Me In.  Reports from Connecticut have several schools and PTAs out significant dollars

  • Big Embezzle in LA

    Wow -- $65k is definitely one of the biggest embezzles we've seen.This one from a middle school PTA treasurer in California.

  • Fundraisers now Sales Tax Exempt in CO

    More good news on the PTO front this week, this time from Colorado. Seems that a group of enterprising high school students successfully lobbied to have sales tax requirements removed from school support efforts. Book fairs, bake sales, concessions and the like all covered.

  • Keep Your Money

    In a man-bites-dog story, this Minnesota school is telling the very successful school foundation to keep its money. And it's a big chunk of change, too (hundreds of thousands in past few years).  The issue:  continued disputes over the influence and voice the foundation should have in how school uses the funds.

  • Joe Rice -- Our Hero

    Let's see a state legislator who understands the value of PTOs and PTAs and proposes legislation making their lives easier???  Yeah, we like that guy.  A lot.

  • Theft Happens

    We won't call it our monthly theft update, but sometimes it seems that way.

  • PTOs Filling Budget Gaps

    Arizona feature looks at just how important parent group efforts have become in providing key resources for cash-strapped schools.

  • Lowe's Grant Winner

    Love the smiling faces on these Mississippi PTO leaders, as they celebrate receipt of dollars to complete their playground pavilion.

  • Money Talk: Deciding how to spend parent group funds

    In the January issue of PTO Today magazine we ask how you would handle this situation...
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