Originally posted by LynnS:
I also think SHE thinks that she has a real say in what the PTO does with its money, and she does not.

You need to nicely sit down with a list of projects and ideas the membership has voted or will vote on or woiuld like to do and get her and staffs input for the year would be the best way to avoid this above....

Principals and Presidents don not have the last say in how the funds are spend BUT a principal can make raising the funds and operating a PTA/PTO almost impossible. I'd schedule a meeting where everyonew get a voice (Bring an Egg timer if needed) so everyone is on the same page Principal, Staff, President and Members understand this The mission for the Anytown PTA/PTO is to identify curriculum and programs deemed by the membership* in its sole discretion to be vital to affect the richest educational experience possible for our children; to maximize the role of the school itself in fulfilling these objectives; and to plan, organize and execute events and programs which generate the resources and mechanisms necessary to fulfill these objectives.

Crew Chief - you are absolutely correct. Great Advice!

LynnS- Does your PTO/A have a set of bylaws? We have to have a quorum of 2/3s of our Exec Comm. before we can even make a decision about who what when where why and how we do anything. I am the pres of our PTO and I would NEVER be able to be the final and/or only decision maker in anything. That is not why I am part of the PTO. We are a team. Ultimately I don't get to vote period unless there is a tie. And that hasn't happened yet. I am there to be the "leader" that provides direction, offers ideas, and mainly listens and keeps things running smoothly.
I would never want to tell the parents of 500 children that I am the sole deciding factor in where their $25k was spent last year.

Sounds to me like there are other issues to take care of besides the Principal.

If your principal is excited, try her ideas, she is part of your board too!! She should have a vote/say so. Give it a shot. Maybe you'll sell more T-shirts this year because people think they are cool. Who knows, you win some and lose some. Maybe you CAN make more than you are expecting. People do like change. (well sometimes) :eek:

Slow and steady is my advice. It sounds like you and your principal are both strong, intelligent, caring women. Combined you could do great things for your school but opposed, could do a lot of unnecessary damage.

First, never put things in the 'win or lose' perspective. Rather, decide what's best for the school and do that. Then, everyone wins.

Second, focus on each item and give it the individual attention it deserves. If you're keeping score one how many times each of you has 'won' then it isn't about the programs, it's about you.

Now, about your specific questions:

T-Shirts:
My school offered tie-dyed shirts this year and they were a huge hit for two reasons, they were different and they were very cool. All of our spirit wear is pre-ordered and pre-paid. The tie-dyed shirts cost more than the plain shirts so we charged more. If you would rather not put all of the added cost onto the parents then maybe meet them half way. They get a good deal on a cool shirt and you still make some profit - win/win! As a side note - my school offers spirit wear at cost as a service to the community. We only round up to the nearest $1 for ease of accounting.

Planetarium:
The specific motion made can limit the funds. For example, if the project also requires winning a grant, word the motion so that the alloction is 'subject to recieving the funds from xyz grant'. Make sure it's exactly subject to recieving and not just winning the grant. Plenty of people win a grant only to never see the money. If you have the funds available, the majority of your voting members agree it's a worthwhile project, and it benefits the students then go for it.

About your quote:

As the President I have the final word as to how the money is spent

Really? I'll bet your bylaws, your officers and your voting members would say otherwise. Remember that this is a team effort and everyone (BOE, Admin, Staff and PTO/A members) should all work together positively for the betterment of the community.

[ 06-11-2006, 01:54 PM: Message edited by: CrewChief ]

I'm the incoming President of the PTO. Our t-shirt coordinator has come to the board with a shirt idea that will cost us about $6 a shirt, whereas in the past we've spent $3-$4 a shirt. On 500 shirts, this may cut our profit by about $1000. The glitch is this: Our principal is new this year and she is over the moon about these t-shirts. She has suggested that we do tye-dye shirts to coordinate with our sister elementary school next door. She has told our t-shirt coordinator on several occasions how excited she is about these shirts. I don't want to get on the principal's bad side over something like this, but if one of our main functions is to make money for the school, how can I pass up another $1000? At the end of the day, will anyone really care if we have regular shirts or tye-dye shirts? I doubt it.

I should also mention that at our board meeting last week our new principal did MOST of the talking. In the course of the meeting she also asked that we give $3000 to one our teachers to fund a planetarium that she may or may not get a grant for. I think this principal has some great ideas (our last principal was a little lame) and will support us where the last principal did not. I also think SHE thinks that she has a real say in what the PTO does with its money, and she does not.

So ultimately my question is this? Do I go head-to-head with the principal over these shirts or let her have her way? As the President I have the final word as to how the money is spent but I don't want to upset her. Any advice or experience out there?