PTA luncheon, how is it paid for?

[descovy]

I have my panties in a bunch and it may be over nothing...

Our elementary school is in a "good district." The kind that out of towners flock to, even if they have to commute miles away for their jobs. Our school has a couple "moderate neighborhoods" in it, but no apartments, and the rest of the neighborhoods are verrry nice.

Today was the PTA volunteer luncheon. It was advertised as "pearls and tiarras."

About 30 ladies showed. 5 were in nice "church clothes", 25 all decked in cocktail dresses, pearls, etc... Fresh floral centerpieces, linens and organza. Most stunning I would say was that each setting had a "party favor" in a Tiffany box. Was it from Tiffany's? I don't know, but it was a swavorski crystal/charm on a chain.

Is it me, or is that a bit much? I am in the process of putting together a luncheon at my church preschool, and it's all pretty paper plates, and baked potato fixings. The 5 of us putting it on (preschool school board) will have to chip in $40/ea to serve 30, and that's a rather plain affair in comparison.

In comparason, this PTA luncheon at my elementary school has me very bothered. Who/what paid for it? Fundraiser money? I find it gauche that well-heeled ladies need to pat themselves on the back in such high-falutent fashion.

The way I feel tonight, I feel no need to be a part of this PTA again or particiapte in another fundraiser I will happily help a teacher in class, bring in requested school supplies, teach Junior Achievement. But if what little I contribute $$-wise is going to go to this shi-shi junk, forget it. They obviously don't need MY money.

I feel like I *should* say something but I am chicken to. I also feel that I am very much in the minority as this isn't my social circle. The principal herself strikes me as very much "queen bee" too, so I feel like I would be fighting against the tide.

Somebody please tell me this was paid for by a fairy godmother

 

[jamimb]

I can only comment about our PTA but when we do things like this some of the money comes from the general PTA fund but a lot of it is done through donations from various vendors and businesses.

 

[kirstenb1]

OMG, I can't imagine!! The last time I attended a volunteer lunch, it was done by the school counselor. She provided subs, chips, etc, and gave everyone the mug that says, "it won't matter....all that matters is that I volunteered. I'm too lazy to look up the verses, but it's a standard volunteer poem.

Anyway, I greatly appreciated the effort. Honestly, when I volunteer, I don't expect anything...except maybe for the chair of that committee to volunteer on my committee!!!

I'd be a little sad that money was being diverted to an expensive gift, where it could be spent on dozens of necessary items for the school, like copy paper, an AED defibb machine, Teacher Appreciation, etc.

 

[Kahana-ri]

That sounds so ridiculous and over the top. I serve on PTO and we don’t even do lunch for ourselves. Our PTO is never looking to be recognized, we do what we do because we care about our children, school and community. I work for a non-profit agency during the day, so I always remind PTO to be stewards of the dollar. I’m not sure how I’d handle your situation, especially if it’s such a ‘click’, but I a completely agree with your sentiment.

 

[Tink888]

I have my panties in a bunch and it may be over nothing...

Our elementary school is in a "good district." The kind that out of towners flock to, even if they have to commute miles away for their jobs. Our school has a couple "moderate neighborhoods" in it, but no apartments, and the rest of the neighborhoods are verrry nice.

Today was the PTA volunteer luncheon. It was advertised as "pearls and tiarras."

About 30 ladies showed. 5 were in nice "church clothes", 25 all decked in cocktail dresses, pearls, etc... Fresh floral centerpieces, linens and organza. Most stunning I would say was that each setting had a "party favor" in a Tiffany box. Was it from Tiffany's? I don't know, but it was a swavorski crystal/charm on a chain.

Is it me, or is that a bit much? I am in the process of putting together a luncheon at my church preschool, and it's all pretty paper plates, and baked potato fixings. The 5 of us putting it on (preschool school board) will have to chip in $40/ea to serve 30, and that's a rather plain affair in comparison.

In comparason, this PTA luncheon at my elementary school has me very bothered. Who/what paid for it? Fundraiser money? I find it gauche that well-heeled ladies need to pat themselves on the back in such high-falutent fashion.

The way I feel tonight, I feel no need to be a part of this PTA again or particiapte in another fundraiser I will happily help a teacher in class, bring in requested school supplies, teach Junior Achievement. But if what little I contribute $$-wise is going to go to this shi-shi junk, forget it. They obviously don't need MY money.

I feel like I *should* say something but I am chicken to. I also feel that I am very much in the minority as this isn't my social circle. The principal herself strikes me as very much "queen bee" too, so I feel like I would be fighting against the tide.

Somebody please tell me this was paid for by a fairy godmother

Normally those things are paid for out of the PTA's account. And yes, the account money comes from fundraisers. If not there, than the people attending would've paid for it. It certainly didn't come from the district.

Do you attend the PTA meetings? Usually the treasurer will give a monthly accounting of the amount in the fund and any expenditures. That would be a way for you to find out without drawing attention to yourself. If it's not provided, to be honest, if it was me, I would ask. If you are a member, you have every right to know and I agree with you 100% that if that kind of luncheon is paid for from the PTA's account, there are MUCH better ways for the money to be spent, even in a wealthy district.

 

[Val]

When my kids were in elem level we did have the PTO volunteer lunch....usually donated casseroles and subs/sandwiches. People donated bread, lunch meat, chips, desserts, etc (and is was usually the same people being "honored" who did the donating). BUT, the highlight of the luncheon were the cards and "gifts" made by the kids- often hand painted flower pots with a marigold or petunia or begonia. The cards were often made by the little kids and were hysterically funny ("thanks for making us a good party, I ate so much I threw up after school!"- type sentiments!!!). I can say I still have those little hand print flowerpots and hand made cards....and I wouldn't trade them in for ANYTHING from Tiffany, particularly since my kids are older now (DD22, DD18, DS14 and DD12).....I kinda miss those innocent days.

I volunteer to know what is going on in the school, to know who the individuals are my kids talk about (and hopefully show the teacher I am not nearly as weird, horrible or gross as my kids might suggest) and to let the school staff know that I know they are (generally) hard working and caring people. I don't want a "reward"- I do want a thank you, and to know that someone appreciated my helping out. As the farmer said to the pig in Babe, just saying "that's enough pig" let's me know that I "did good". The extra gifts and those chocolate mint brownies are just icing on the proverbial cake!

 

[descovy]

Normally those things are paid for out of the PTA's account. And yes, the account money comes from fundraisers. If not there, than the people attending would've paid for it. It certainly didn't come from the district.

Do you attend the PTA meetings? Usually the treasurer will give a monthly accounting of the amount in the fund and any expenditures. That would be a way for you to find out without drawing attention to yourself. If it's not provided, to be honest, if it was me, I would ask. If you are a member, you have every right to know and I agree with you 100% that if that kind of luncheon is paid for from the PTA's account, there are MUCH better ways for the money to be spent, even in a wealthy district.

The PTA meetings are mid mornings... I feel silly asking for time off work to attend one. However, last month they had one immediately before the choir concert, so I sat through that and listened best I could. You're right they do give an account of the expenses, it was just hard to hear them as we were sitting toward the back, and most people were chit-chatting, disinterested (me too, unfortunately)

I am not a super-uber PTA volunteer. I do what I can... workbasket, teach Junior Achievement (3 grades), chip in for different class activities as my schedule allows. But I have other places outside the school that I volunteer my time for and feel more passion for. (Lead 3 girl scout troops, sunday school, Preschool board) So my life isn't PTA, like it is to many of these moms. So again, maybe I'm too out of the loop to speak.

A previous poster mentioned vendor donations... I can only hope this was the case!!!

 

[disykat]

I would speculate they received a donation of the favors which led to the theme. I would think they would have been much more forthright about the donation if that's the case though. Most PTAs want to avoid any notion of misappropriation of funds. You should definitely ask! I'd frame it as "did someone donate all those beautiful favors?" If the answer is no, I think your PTA might have some serious issues.

I am not a fan of volunteer luncheons that are anything beyond simple. Unless they are hosted by paid employees, most of these luncheons are also run by volunteers. How do they get thanked? And, as you mentioned taking money from the organization that they fundraised for seems wrong to me.

I would have hated having to attend the event you described!

 

[antsss]

Our PTA luncheon was a casual gathering in the auxiliary gym at the elementary school with plastic tablecloths, plastic cutlery, paper plates and some really wonderful greek food donated by the restaurant it came from. We had a great time and spent hardly anything!

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I know some ladies who would drop that much money to have an event catered for volunteers and never even blink at the cost. It is entirely possible that someone in the PTA is just such a person. I agree with disykat. Ask about where the beautiful flowers came from and you might get your answer.

 

[emdav]

I had to check dd's school calendar to see if I missed the PTA luncheon. Sounds exactly like it would be here. If it's anything like dd's school, someone paid for it with their own funds.

 

[aprilgail2]

Our volunteer lunch is done in the evening this way the parents who work can attend and it is usually out in a restaurant- nothing fancy just like applebees and it comes out of the PTA budget line for that event.
I think the parents that complain about it have NO clue what PTA volunteers actually do- its not like a 1 day thing where they put in a few hours....its hundreds of hours and if they want to have a dinner for themselves its fine with me. I know the lady that was in charge of making the yearbook this year put in over 170 hours making sure every child was in there the same amount of times etc.....it was a very big job- a silly little 15.00 dinner is the least we can do for her!

 

[Tink888]

Our volunteer lunch is done in the evening this way the parents who work can attend and it is usually out in a restaurant- nothing fancy just like applebees and it comes out of the PTA budget line for that event.
I think the parents that complain about it have NO clue what PTA volunteers actually do- its not like a 1 day thing where they put in a few hours....its hundreds of hours and if they want to have a dinner for themselves its fine with me. I know the lady that was in charge of making the yearbook this year put in over 170 hours making sure every child was in there the same amount of times etc.....it was a very big job- a silly little 15.00 dinner is the least we can do for her!

That might be true for some but I also think there are A LOT of volunteers who feel that all monies earned should go directly to things that benefit the kids. I always felt that way and I did the yearbook for a few years......you are right about the amount of time volunteers put into it, it really adds up.

 

[mjkacmom]

Let me get this straight - the luncheon is for the PTO? At first I thought you were referring to a teacher appreciation luncheon. I think we budget about $1300 for teacher appreciation week, and give a breakfast and a lunch. We're catering the lunch this year (wraps and salads), and people are donating for the breakfast.

I have never heard of PTO funds used for PTO members.

 

[jrmasm]

That might be true for some but I also think there are A LOT of volunteers who feel that all monies earned should go directly to things that benefit the kids. I always felt that way and I did the yearbook for a few years......you are right about the amount of time volunteers put into it, it really adds up.

That is how it should be.

 

[DisneyKT]

We don't do a PTO luncheon. At the last meeting of the year, if you want people bring in snacks and drinks.

 

[mamamary]

As far as I know our PTA does not have any celebration for themselves. Every May any person who volunteers any sort of help with the school has a very small celebration during the school day. It is cake/soda and then everyone gets a small gift that the kids made in art class. Then the kids come in and sing some songs for us. That is thanks enough to me.

 

[disykat]

That might be true for some but I also think there are A LOT of volunteers who feel that all monies earned should go directly to things that benefit the kids. I always felt that way and I did the yearbook for a few years......you are right about the amount of time volunteers put into it, it really adds up.

I feel that way. Our elementary school used to do a dinner out at a nice restaurant for the board. Of course the board was the one deciding how the money was spent. I didn't participate because it felt wrong. When I became President, we didn't do it. I had the board to my home instead. I'm not sure what they do now, but I do know the jr high and high school don't "treat themselves" with PTA money.

PTA board members DO do a lot of work. That doesn't make it appropriate for them to designate funds to thank themselves.

 

[luvmy3]

That might be true for some but I also think there are A LOT of volunteers who feel that all monies earned should go directly to things that benefit the kids. I always felt that way and I did the yearbook for a few years......you are right about the amount of time volunteers put into it, it really adds up.

Not too mention the parents who give money directly to the PTA for the benefit of the kids. When I write that check its not so that they can give themselves catered parties and gifts of jewelry. They do alot of great things for the kids and do deserve some recognition and thanks, but what the OP described goes way above and beyond whats necessary and appropriate (if its being paid for by PTA funds).

 

[WDWMom]

At our school they have a volunteer luncheon at the end of the year that they teachers and staff organize. This happens at each school. It is usually salads and desserts that were made by the teachers/staff. Not sure who pays for paper products, maybe out of the prinicpal's budget. There is also a small gift that all volunteers around the district get. Has been lots of different things over the years that probably cost about $1/piece, but useful - note pads, pens, mugs with something about the district and volunteering. If you are on the PTA you are invited to this luncheon but I don't think there is anything else special for PTA. I'm not sure I even received a thank you the years I was on. Not that I was looking for one.