Leza -
Wow! This doesn't sound right! You said your group makes alot of money - are you incorporated or do you (at least) have your own tax id number? If so, the carnival company should be advised that they have incorrectly issued a 1099 and they need to re-issue it. I can see where this would be a problem for the school, however they are planning a pretty drastic step!
If your group is separate from the school I don't see how they could legally "take" your organization's money. Check on the internet for the laws governing the school and money in your state.
If you are not a separate group, why not? This sounds like a good time to take care of this. If the parents are the ones who are making the money then the school will kill their cash cow!
Leza, This just doesn't make sense. You must be at your wit's end! Your PTO is a separate organization from the school and your funds should be totally separate and managed entirely by you. I don't get it...it is not in the school's best interest to alienate a smoothly running PTO.
As far as the 1099 form from the carnival company, was it made out for the school or for the PTO? If it was incorrectly made out to the school, that can be corrected, can't it?
Last year we held a carnival and the carnival company gave us a percentage of his profit. At year end the carnival company sent a 1099 to the school and they had a fit. Said from now on all funds have to run through the school's bank account. Other than that, I don't know. We are having an executive board meeting tomorrow - I'll be interested to see how it goes. I am afraid the school is about to kill the goose!
leza, My first response is no the school cannot do that! But, I realize everyone has there own rules. Call the School Board. They may have something in place. Have they told you why they want you to do this? Sounds shady to me and I know I would not go along with it without a good fight! Let us know what more you find out. They have to have a reason.
I am the treasurer of our PTO for the second year. Last year (and all others before) have been a breeze. This year everything is about to change. The school has told us to close our account and they will run all deposits and checks through a new school account. Any purchases that are made have to be requested in advance with a purchase order and approved by the pronciple. No one can be reimbursed without a purchase order. Unless we are billed, this is normally how we pay for things. We always get a reciept and we keep wonderful records of where the money comes from and how it is spent.
None of this makes sense to me. We make more money for our school than any other school in the county. We have a wonderfully involved organization. We work our fannies off for the children and the teachers - and now the school is trying to make this so difficult. I am employed full time - I can't run down to the school every time someone needs a check. "If it's not broke, don't fix it."
My question is this - Can the school make us do these things?
