DCPS/PTO communication and transparency

[Anonymous]

My child attends a DCPS EOTP with a PTO that is active but very small. We raise money for a handful of events throughout the school year. In the last several years, I have tried to institute a process for school donation requests so that we can get some visibility into the needs and also the planning of the events we are being asked to donate for. I have had really limited success on that front.

For example, we got a request earlier this month to donate/fund food for our annual field day. We have done this before, so a certain amount of stuff was already budgeted for and the request itself was not a big deal. However, we have had little to no luck getting information about where else the school is getting donations to pay for things, what the complete shopping list is, where the stuff we're being asked to fund fits in, etc. Last week, a form went home soliciting donations from the parents directly. Obviously, any donations are better than no donations, and the more money that comes in, the more we can fund going forward. I just feel pretty frustrated that the school does not proactively communicate about the planning of these events, which we are largely expected to fund and staff.

How would such a request go down at your school? I'm happy to hear from the big PTOs out there, but I'm most interested in hearing from parents at schools where the PTO has a small operating budget (e.g., <$5k/year).

[Anonymous]

I think this is a losing battle OP.

You and the school leadership have different ways of getting t hings done, and honestly your way isn't necessarily any better. It's that the school's way is making you a little crazy.

I'd try to meet them in the middle. Make a list of all the events your PTO pitched in for this past year -- in August/Sept have PTO president review the list with the principal and find out which are going to be repeated, and ask if the requests will be the same, or if they need/want additional help.

Also don't forget that the school leadership could be getting pressure from some in your community NOT do all asks through the PTO for whatever reason. Be open to the possibility that some parents may feel more comfortable responding to a letter from the office than the PTO and just be glad that events are happening.

[Anonymous]

Does your PTO have a budget? We are EOTP, more than $5K/year, but work to a budget. There's some wiggle room for things that come up, but it lays out the basic ideas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this is a losing battle OP.

You and the school leadership have different ways of getting t hings done, and honestly your way isn't necessarily any better. It's that the school's way is making you a little crazy.

I'd try to meet them in the middle. Make a list of all the events your PTO pitched in for this past year -- in August/Sept have PTO president review the list with the principal and find out which are going to be repeated, and ask if the requests will be the same, or if they need/want additional help.

Also don't forget that the school leadership could be getting pressure from some in your community NOT do all asks through the PTO for whatever reason. Be open to the possibility that some parents may feel more comfortable responding to a letter from the office than the PTO and just be glad that events are happening.

The letter basically said that donations of money should go to the PTO (I don't remember the exact wording). I am fine with not all organizing coming from the PTO. My concern is that when we are asked to buy, for example, 300 hot dogs, and then all parents also receive a letter requesting donations of cash or hot dogs, it changes the PTO's math. For example, if some random parent decides to buy 100 hot dogs, then to me, it would make more sense for the PTO to pay for some other component to the event. It would make even more sense if this was at all coordinated.

It's just a really piecemeal way to organize things and it is situations like this that make me feel that the principal thinks of the PTO as an ATM rather than an ally in organizing stuff for the school.

[Anonymous]

We are at a big school, but the PTA budget and the budgeting process is entirely public and transparent - as it should be. The budget is on the school web site and the entire budget is reviewed and vetted at an annual meeting every year (and the PTA has an accountant). Anything the parents purchase for the school is marked, inventoried regularly, and tracked (a process that started after big ticket items were found to have disappeared years ago).

To make your post more clear, when you say "the school" do you mean DCPS (aka [insert name of school]) or the PTA (which is independent of DCPS and [insert name of school])? This is a very important distinction to make and to keep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this is a losing battle OP.

You and the school leadership have different ways of getting t hings done, and honestly your way isn't necessarily any better. It's that the school's way is making you a little crazy.

I'd try to meet them in the middle. Make a list of all the events your PTO pitched in for this past year -- in August/Sept have PTO president review the list with the principal and find out which are going to be repeated, and ask if the requests will be the same, or if they need/want additional help.

Also don't forget that the school leadership could be getting pressure from some in your community NOT do all asks through the PTO for whatever reason. Be open to the possibility that some parents may feel more comfortable responding to a letter from the office than the PTO and just be glad that events are happening.

The letter basically said that donations of money should go to the PTO (I don't remember the exact wording). I am fine with not all organizing coming from the PTO. My concern is that when we are asked to buy, for example, 300 hot dogs, and then all parents also receive a letter requesting donations of cash or hot dogs, it changes the PTO's math. For example, if some random parent decides to buy 100 hot dogs, then to me, it would make more sense for the PTO to pay for some other component to the event. It would make even more sense if this was at all coordinated.

It's just a really piecemeal way to organize things and it is situations like this that make me feel that the principal thinks of the PTO as an ATM rather than an ally in organizing stuff for the school.

I'm sure she perceive the PTO as an ATM. Changing that perception takes a long time and may or may not be worth it.

[Anonymous]

Set up a regular meeting with PTO leadership and school leadership and coordinate.