Thank goodness, my PTO has never incurred this problem. And believe me we have had a few difficult Principals in the past. The PTO funds are made by the efforts of it's members. All fundraising monies should go directly into the PTO account and disbursed solely by the PTO Treasurer. I am just finishing up my second term as Treasurer, all bills are given directly to me by the office staff or a receipt for reimbursement. The only exception is in the case of field trip buses, which are billed district wide to the superintendent's office, at which time we pay the school district, but I have always made sure to note on the check what it was payment for, and have never heard of any complaints of non-payment from the bus company. We do use a mini-grant system, but even the Principal must use this system.
My policy has always been no receipt or bill-no check.
I would keep the money in the PTO account and ask for invoices of bills then you can pay the bill directly or pay the school the amount on the invoice.
We have faced this also (we pay for many assemblies & fieldtrips) we give the fieldtrip money upfront (it's usually spent the 1st 2 months of school) but wait for the assembly invoices & then pay the company directly. Otherwise I really think our school would spend all the money how they want not how we as a group voted... [img]tongue.gif[/img]
Thank you for such a quick response. I really appreciate as we have a board mtg this week and this will need to be discussed. The reading program costs were broken down immediately after the fundraiser. I feel that after the school found out how much we raised that they were quite surprised and wanted to control how (where) the money would be spent. And yes, there is at least one time that the money of an allocation was not used as was intended. The Principal did not feel it was necessary. Our treasurer is a wonderful and responsible person that is happy to pay the bills all summer long just not to hand over the money and we (PTO) not keep tabs of where the money goes. I also feel the school (admistrators) are really pushing for more fundraisers such as this, which we don't mind, but we want control of what the money is used for. Is this a correct attitude/statement. We are being suggested to allocate our money in a different style. Such as we have always had each grade turn in their requests and they are voted on. But the school would like to see it as "mini" grants the teachers earn. Not a bad idea, but can they tell us how to do things. Yes, this is my first year as president and I am really into this and doing things properly. And I do not know the "rights" we have as a PTO. Thank you for any response on this.
In my opinion, it's the PTO's money. If your PTO already voted (or if the commonly held assumption is) to apply it to the reading program, then the PTO Board has an obligation to its members and all those who participated in your fundraiser to ensure the money is being spent as promised. But...
Is there some reason to be concerned about the cost of the reading program? Have you seen anything that shows what all this will really cost? Have you had trouble in the past with the school not spending PTO money as expected? Will these bills come due in the summer when it might be harder for the principal to track down a PTO officer? If you are still concerned that the money might disappear into the general fund (probably a legitimate concern in light of many schools' financial situations these days), and you know your treasurer can be responsive in paying the bills on time, then I would suggest the PTO keep the money. In any event, you'll need to know specifically how much the reading program costs, so you can predict if there will be any of the $10k leftover for other activities next year.
I have so much enjoyed reading all that is posted on this site. I love how everyone pitches in an opinoin. Well, I am in need of advise. this year we raised approx 10,000.00 selling candles for a reading program. The school had their say-so on how it was to be dispersed. In the mean time, most of the money is still in our hands and the bills have not come it. The school would like us to hand over the money so they can pay the bills as they come it. But who is to say the money will all be spent on this reading program. So many were wanting to get their hands on this money. Does PTO have the right to keep the money in their acct. and pay the bills as they come in. Please give me your advise/oppinion.
