We always required Board members to be present when money was involved (and Committee Chairs were part of our Board.) Always 2 people to count money. Ideally we had treasurer present whenever possible, but it's just not feasible to limit all money handling to President or Treasurer.

Speaking as a treasurer, I agree it's fine to have committee chairs count the money, because I have plenty to do already. If you are accepting cash, then the guidelines do recommend having 2 people count it together.

Most volunteers are helping because they really want to do something for the school, and it's somewhat insulting to say you don't trust them not to slip a $20 into their own pocket.

In my opinion, this is too specific for bylaws. But you could put the procedures in standing rules.

At our school, the teachers are prohibited from handling money, so wouldn't be a good option for us. Depending on what kind of activities you are talking about, that could be a lot of work for a teacher, so I wouldn't feel comfortable making that the teacher's responsibility. Plus, I don't think they would want that responsibility. (Oops--sorry--I just reread my post and yours, and realized you never said anything about teachers.....)

We do put on all our fliers that we only accept checks. Cash floating around backpacks and classrooms is too likely to get lost, and we won't be responsible for it. Sometimes people still give us cash, but it's pretty rare.

Committee chairs do count the money and prepare class or event rosters, order forms, etc., and submit them to the treasurer as documentation for the deposit. I actually think that concentrating all the money money activity within the treasurer's job increases the risk of having money disappear. If the treasurer counts and accounts for all the money, writes the checks, and does the bank reconciliations, where are the checks and balances? I guess the president could open everything and count it, but I don' t see the advantage over a committee chair. Seems to me the president usually has more than enough other things to do.

Hello, I am pto president of a large elementary school. We have several fundraisers and events in which our parents send in payments with order forms. I do not feel that committee chairs should be collecting and handling pto money. I believe the treasurer or president should collect and record the money, then turn over order forms to the respective committee chairs. I would like to know how other pto boards handle these situations, and if this is something that should be addressed in our bylaws. Thanks!