What Do You Do When Teachers Ask the PTO for Money?

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A parent volunteer recently asked our Facebook community how to handle funding requests from teachers. Clearly, many groups think it’s important to have a system in place to manage these requests, and we agree.

Here are the key suggestions provided by our community:

• Consider creating a teacher grant (some called them mini grants) program run by a committee that evaluates and approves or rejects requests. A few community members mentioned they have the principal screen requests first.

• Create and publish a specific process for teachers to submit grant requests, with deadlines and instructions on what information you need. We have sample grant request forms on our File Exchange that can be tailored for your school.

• Think about how much money you can realistically devote to this program and stick to that limit. Set it as a line item on your budget that can be reviewed each year.

• To ensure fairness, consider allotting a certain amount for each grade and give teachers the option of submitting a team grant for that grade.

• Get your process under way as early as possible in the school year so teachers are able to use the funds to benefit their current class.

• In place of (or in some cases, in addition to) a grant program, some groups set aside a certain amount of funds for teacher requests that come up during the school year. You can create a limit of say $100 for unplanned requests that require only board approval. Anything above that amount would require a membership vote.

The bottom line is to have a system that’s fair and to approve requests that fit with your group’s overall philosophy. Otherwise, you end up with a willy-nilly approach, tackling requests as they come in, and either overspending or randomly dispersing funds.

For more information on how to create a teacher grant program.

To join in the Facebook discussion, click here.