Board of Education Proposes Change to PTA Gift Policy

The Board of Education discussed a recommended change to the district gift policy at the May 5 meeting that would eliminate the $10,000 annual maximum restriction on PTA gifts for a trial period of two years. Board member William Natbony provided background stating that this issue has been under consideration since October 2014 and has been researched and discussed by the BOE subcommittee on gifts.

The subcommittee held a public meeting on November 18 to discuss the elimination of the spending limit (Policy 1800-E). One outcome of this meeting was the discovery that there were no uniform guidelines used by each school with regard to PTA gifts. The PT Council asked for responsibility to build these guidelines and was tasked to work with the PTAs and principals at each school to develop a set of gifting procedures with a focus on eliminating disparity between schools and sharing of best practices among schools. It was decided that the spending limit issue would be revisited once these guidelines were in place. On March 26, 2015 PTA Presidents, principals, the superintendent and assistant superintendent of business met to review PT Council's draft PTA gifting guidelines and provide feedback. The PT Council Board approved a uniform gifting procedure at its April 23 meeting. The result of the PT Council's work appears in its entirety at the end of this article.

Also, at the November 18 subcommittee meeting, the Heathcote PTA as well as the principals submitted statements asking that the spending limit be raised by $5000 but not eliminated. The Heathcote PTA wrote a letter to the Board dated November 17 detailing concerns.

"At Heathcote, we currently are spending nearly all the funds we raise each year. Our bank balance will support two years of programming if no additional funds are brought in. We are not aware of the financial status of other PTAs, but assume that each group has a different reserve fund. We are concerned that, by eliminating the gift cap, the district will unintentionally create or acerbate inequities among the schools due to difference in PTA balance sheets."

The position of the principals was presented to the subcommittee via a communication to Dr. Hagerman from Middle School Principal Michael McDermott.

"The Principals are supportive of increasing the annual gift from $10,000 to $15,000, but we are not supportive of seeing the annual gift increase beyond that amount. We believe that this would place the schools in a competitive mode and establish a situation that would foster inequity."

It is not certain if the Heathcote PTA or the principals have changed their position on the gift cap in light of the now clear gifting guidelines provided by the PT Council. Neither group offered comments at the May 5 meeting.

While there was wide appreciation, praise and support for the gifting procedures developed by the PT Council, the Board has to decide on the issue of whether the $10,000 spending cap for PTA gifts should remain in place. During the discussion, Board member Suzanne Seiden expressed hesitation about eliminating the cap and said she would prefer to see a trial period with a significantly increased cap rather than none. She is concerned about disparity and fund-raising competition between schools. Board member Lewis Leone stated that he was fine with eliminating the cap but would like the PTAs to formally report their yearly spending to the Board in order to keep a close eye on parity. Currently, all elementary PTAs are spending similarly, with the bulk of the total investment, ranging from $65,000 to $85,000, focused in programming. Board member Lee Maude requested that in addition to reporting yearly spending, PTAs should also report to the Board on the amount of money in the their accounts in order to get a sense of the complete financial picture for each school's PTA.

Detailed materials on this issue were provided as part of the agenda packet for the May 5 meeting available on the Scarsdale Schools website. The vote is planned for the May 18, 2015 meeting. Community members should express support, comments or concerns to the Board of Education prior to the vote.
Scarsdale Council of PTAs (PT Council) Gift(s) to District or School Procedure
The PT Council Executive Committee and PTA Presidents shall:
• Follow the terms of any existing and related Board of Education policies when considering a gift to the District or a particular school.
• Recognize, promote and maintain the concept that gifting is neither a PTA priority nor an annual requirement.
• Understand that gifting should only be considered according to the wants, needs, culture and opportunity of each school, which vary across schools and within a school year to year.
• Remember that, as stated in the NYSPTA Resource Guide, "Constant and unnecessary fundraising establishes PTA as a "fundraising" organization, and members easily lose sight of their goals. The purpose of PTA is not to buy equipment and donate it to a school district. The primary function of PTA is child advocacy."
• Understand that all tangible items purchased for immediate and primary use of the school/district are gifts. These items become the property of the school/district and the school/district shall claim full responsibility of ownership and maintenance.
• Realize that items purchased for immediate and primary use by the PTA are not gifts.
• Be aware that programs/activities are not gifts.
• Support the District or school with "core plus" gifts that do not supplant the Board of Education's responsibility to provide adequate funding for the District's programs and services it offers.
PROCESS
The PT Council Executive Committee and PTA Presidents shall:
1. Consider gifts with the full participation of the school principal. Gift suggestions can originate with faculty, administration or parents.
2. Understand that all gifts must be discussed and approved by the PTA Executive Committee and school principal.
3. Ensure that once a gift is approved by the PTA Executive Committee and school principal, the gift should be approved by the PTA Board.
4. Write a letter to the principal, once a gift has been fully discussed and approved by the membership, officially requesting that the gift be approved by the Board of Education. The principal will forward the request to the Superintendent, who will in turn forward it to the Board of Education for approval at an upcoming Board meeting.
5. Know that facilities considerations must be discussed with and approved by the District Facilities Director.
6. Know that technology considerations must be discussed with and approved by the District Technology Director.
7. Share and discuss gift ideas/plans (over $1,000 in value) at the annual October and April PT Council Executive Committee meetings. While it is the Board of Education's responsibility to enforce parity, the PTC Executive Committee and PTA Presidents must keep it in mind and monitor it.