Hi Ken. Welcome to the PTOtoday boards! Weekend traffic is usually a little light but you'll see plenty of responses in the next few days.
There are a few posts currently addressing budget questions such as yours. Some browsing will help.
I'm a recently retired PTO president. During the three years I served as president, my team evolved from a "spend it to minimum every year" to a "set up next year's budget" philosophy. I felt a greater sense of relief at the end of this year knowing that next year's team doesn't have to spend the first two months of the school year worrying if the fundraiser will support their activities. And that the chairmen won't have to float balances on their credit cards until their committees are financially right side up.
I think if your team can easily carry over enough to cover next year's budget and all agree that it's the right thing to do then you should do so confidently. If you're all more comfortable carrying over just enough to get through the first two or three months, that's fine too. Of course you'll want to read your bylaws and follow them. If they're counter to your preferences then follow amendment procedures to line up your ideals with your rules.
I'm a co-pres. of our PTO and have a few questions about setting a budget and a carryover for the next year. We have a current carryover of 16,000.00 We have a income of 60,000.00 and expenses of 58,000.00. I'm new to this so any help would be appreciated. We set our new budget for this year at 14,000.00. Should we always carryover an amount that will cover our budget next year or is this being overly precautious. If I'm not clear or asking the proper question let me know so I can properly phrase it. If you would prefer to e-mail me please do. Thanks
