Small poll - How does your school spend PTA money? Does the HT spend it or do you get a say in it?

[Collision]

We handed over a cheque for £10,500 last October and the PTA have NO SAY AT ALL on how it is spent!

We did try to change this a couple of years ago so we could work with teachers and get a wish list but the HT refused to let us and said that she would not go 'cap in hand to the PTA whenever she wanted cash!'

This has irritated us but she is retiring in July and we hope to change the way things are done ifWeCanGetRidofTheEvilBursarToo

Just wondered how you do it in your school...............

Hi Collision:

One way around this issue may be to treat the process of requests for equipment more formally.

In our case we asked the HT & staff could be asked to come up with a wish list prior to the AGM of the PTA and those attending this open meeting can freely vote for what to raise funds for. In this way the process becomes a bit more collaborative - in that the HT has to ask and has to make the case for why it is important in public.

We made a point of commenting (as a PTA committee) on the wish list in terms of the benefit to pupils. So netbooks all children could use - high benefit to all pupils. Subsidising Y6 end of year party & outing - only benefit's that year's Year 6 Class - so we got the Head to agree that roughly £500 would be set aside each year for each Year 6, to be reviewed every 2-3 years in light of inflation. This was because some years Y6 got this subsidy and other years (when PTA committee had no Y6 parents coincidentally) Y6 didn't.

By scrupulously making it clear that our aim was to benefit all children or to apportion fairly (so improvements to KS1, KS2 and Reception playgrounds of equal value) it has helped to make everyone feel happier about the whole process.

This was a faith school so it was relatively easy to use the faith-ethos statement (all children equal under God) as the basis for this decision and the Head couldn't exactly contermad that. We also presented it as a case of asking parents for money is easier when they understand what we're raising it for and how they're children will benefit.

As far as i know the PTA have full control of the money raised as my DC's school and the parents/pupils/staff can make suggestions as to what it's spent on.

However the parents never seem to be told what it is actually spent on and as far as i'm aware there's a large amount of money in the bank (which make me wonder why i'm busting my ass working so hard to sell raffle tickets!

I am a PTA treasurer and we ask the head what she would like to use it for, then put the suggestions to PTA members at a meeting. In addition all class teachers get an extra amount of money to buy whatever they choose for their classes. We do veto certain things - for example one year the HT wanted a new wall, but it was felt that as this was part of the fabric of the building that it should come from the (non-existent) council budget rather than PTA money. We like to spend the money on items where parents can see where all their hard earned cash has gone.

Our PTA controls the money and the staff send spend requests to be discussed at each PTA meeting. The head doesn't have much input at all - it's all individual teachers. Contrast with a previous school, where the HT had banned the PTA for several years and then invited some "tame" parents to join and then said they would be raising money for playground equipment that had already been installed (ie to pay back the school). Hmmmmm.

Our PTA controls the money, the HT will ask for contributions for things.

Only issue is, there used to be a strict divide that the PTA only paid for 'nice extras', nothing essential iyswim. Due to the squeeze on the budget, that has now changed and the PTA is being asked to pay for resources to be used in lessons, which is very sad.

Teachers or administration submit requests and the pta committee discuss and vote on them. we generally say yes if we can.

we have similar issues at our school - in that the Head likes to decided and "tell" the PTA what to spend it on.

The result is that there are fewer and fewer members now.

I would DEFINITELY be asking for itemization of where all that money has gone - it could be sitting in her a bank account doing nothing