April Checklist for Running Your PTA
Ongoing Tasks Attend any board and membership meetings Read meeting minutes and offer corrections Prepare reports for board and membership meetings Get educated: take advantage of in-person and online training opportunities Be familiar with your responsibilities and fulfill them Review and ask questions about monthly financial report Actively engage in a plan for membership growth…
Category:
Leadership
Effective Budgets
Building a goal-based budget is key to the success of PTAs. Learn how to assess your PTA’s financial management practices and how to develop and amend budgets. Topics discussed in this class are not covered in the class Managing Your Nonprofit PTA.
WSPTA Testifies: Students and Leaders Convene in Olympia for Focus on Advocacy Day
Advocacy in Action! Washington State PTA was rocking Olympia on January 15, testifying both in person and remotely before three different committees and talking with their legislators. Here’s a look at the day’s testifiers. While he was in town for Focus on Advocacy Day, Paultoro Tanaka, a student at Robert Eagle Staff Middle School, testified…
WSPTA Testifies on Education Funding
Advocacy in Action! Angela Steck, President of Washington State PTA, testified on January 8 before the House Appropriations Committee, thanking Governor Jay Inslee for investments in school meals and lifting the cap on special education from 15% to 17.25%. Angela also noted that 113 school districts would remain above the 17.25% cap, so it was…
Category:
Advocacy
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Legislative
Tip of the Week – May 19
Budgets Should Align with the Stated Purpose of Your PTA PTA funds must be spent on PTA purposes. Check to make sure that your PTA’s budget and activities are aligned with your PTA’s purposes. Each PTA submitted an IRS Form 1023 or an IRS Form 1024 when they applied for nonprofit status (501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4)).…
Category:
Leadership
WSPTA Provides Testimony to the House Capital Budget Committee
DaleAnn Baker is a professional engineer and parent advocate in the 10th legislative district. She’s also the author of the WSPTA-adopted position on school safety and emergency preparedness. Listen to DaleAnn’s thoughtful testimony here before the House Capital Budget Committee on February 25, 2022. The bill is scheduled for a vote on Monday, February 28.
Category:
Advocacy
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Legislative
It’s Time to Form the Budget Committee
Governance. Powered by PTA. The budget committee is chaired by the current treasurer and is responsible for developing the budget for the next fiscal year (July 1-June 30.) Who else should be on the budget committee? Good choices are often the incoming president and treasurer, and outgoing president because they understand your PTA’s past and…
Category:
Governance
Membership Dues Subsidies from PTA General Funds (Scholarship Memberships)
For many years, WSPTA has interpreted National PTA and WSPTA bylaws concerning payment of membership dues to prohibit local PTAs from using its own funds to pay for PTA memberships. In an effort to remove barriers, WSPTA leadership has consulted with National PTA, their accountants, and legal counsel over this interpretation. The major findings are:…
Category:
Membership
Getting Ready for the First Membership Meeting of the Year
The 2020-21 school year is upon us, and the PTA year is about to get into full swing! Hopefully, your board of directors had a productive summer retreat and is planning a fall membership drive and the first membership meeting of the year. In many areas of Washington, membership meetings will need to be held…
Category:
Governance
Inslee calls 3rd special session, tells legislature it’s time to get their work done
Wednesday, June 21st marked the end of the 2nd special session and the start of the 3rd special session. Governor Inslee called the third special session, clearly frustrated with the lack of progress. Under intense media questioning, Inslee said that he would veto a 30-day budget bill if one came to his desk. “The differences…
Category:
Legislative