Originally posted by sunshinesara:
any suggestions on what we should do with a Pricipal who demands that we hand over 1/2 the fundraising profits to him?

What we did was establish a strict procedure for disbursing funds. The principal is included in the flow of information and has the ability to turn down requests (requests can come from parents or staff). The principal can also make requests.

At no point is there a single PTO officer deciding to cut a check for anything, unless it is in the budget as an event expense. We are trying to keep these types of decisions as impersonal as we can and also spread out the decision-making.

Any time we donate to the school for something (we would rather pay for the item directly) I include a letter stating exactly what the funds are to be used for. The bookkeeper puts it in the right fund and issues us a receipt.

We are fully independent, and no single person can make a demand that we do anything that won't be discussed and voted on if necessary. If there was a motiion at a meeting with quorum to donate half the profits to the school carte blanche, and it was seconded, and the vote was favorable, we would do it, though.

Congrats - It sounds like you made the right decision.


Unfortunately, it sounds like you should be prepared to fight this battle again. Stick to your guns - you are on the right side of this one!

We had a PTO meeting last night to discuss this. The debate got a bit heated...but I think I made my point very clear and I may have shown the light to some of those who had wanted this change. Thank you so much for your words of wisdom.

If you have a set of bylaws, and especially if a non-profit incorporation, you can not do anything that is not allowed by those bylaws.

Also, whether incorporated or not, I believe you have to follow the wishes of those members of the organization based upon the bylaws, or some other standard operating procedures like Robert's rules of order.

Nevertheless, you still have to work with the principal in most cases. I suggest you ask her to submit a budget for the money she would like, and that you would put them on the agenda for discussion.

If she insists on control, tell her that if he/she does gets control of the money, the volunteers who raise it will dry up in a minute, and it will be the last.

any suggestions on what we should do with a Pricipal who demands that we hand over 1/2 the fundraising profits to him?

Of course as the others posted the PTO should control the money and not the Principal. The best way to ward off theft is to just have a good system of checks and balances. The fact that your checks require 2 signitures is a great thing that helps ward off theft. Also the bank statments should be mailed to the school and not the treasurer. The president should be able to view the bank statment before they turn it over to the treasurer. As long as you have a system of checks and balances you should be safe.