PTA Budget

Budget changes aim to improve assemblies, communication

Update: Posted 10/2/11

Brookdale students will see exciting assemblies, parents may be better informed and fifth-graders will have additional opportunities this year as a result of adjustments PTA members approved for the budget.

An additional $500 was earmarked for school assemblies, bringing the total for assemblies to $3,000.

“We’re in the process of trying to secure fabulous assemblies,” said Carey Peterson, assemblies co-chair. “We’ve selected some pretty high-quality people who will bring good things to our kids.”

Peterson said she and co-chairwoman Karen Lankisch would discuss the planned assemblies when the PTA next meets on Thursday, Oct. 20.

PTA members also approved an increase in the planned spending on the newsletter and communications. The budget now includes $350, up from $185, to cover the cost of printing the newsletter for every family three times during the school year. In recent years, the newsletter has been published electronically with just a few copies printed for families not subscribed to the school’s email listserv.

“We get so much in email that sometimes a hard copy these days is better,” Treasurer Beth Siwicki said. “We’re hoping to reach more of an audience by showing families all the information that’s in (BrookTales).”

The increase also would allow the PTA to survey parents or take advantage of other communication tools.

A third change to the budget members OK’d in the spring allocates $800 for the fifth-grade teachers to use for in-school field trips, supplies or other spending.

Other grade levels already were to receive $800 for the school year. Several years ago, the PTA paid for the fifth-grade drug prevention program. When the program was discontinued, the spending for fifth-grade was eliminated in an effort to save money. The PTA continued to fund the fifth-grade social and DVD.

With the increase in approved spending and a projected drop in income resulting from the transition to a fun run as the fall fundraiser, the PTA is projected to spend $7,135 more than it takes in this year. The disparity is an intentional effort to spend down the PTA’s fund balance, which was approaching $25,000.

If expenses and revenues are in line with the budget projections, the PTA would end the year with about $14,000 in reserves. The number is in line with financial advisers’ recommendations, Nagel-Conley said.

“The reason we feel comfortable having a budget that draws the balance down is because the people who have contributed over the years have helped build up those funds and we want those children to benefit,” PTA President Judy Nagel-Conley said. “It’s not wise for us to hold on to such money.”

PTA Budget 2011-2012


PTA adopts budget for 2011-12 school year

Original: Posted 5/11
In the next school year, the PTA plans to spend more money to help finance field trips and social activities for students.

The budget, approved by members in May, calls for the PTA to put $10 per student toward field trips for the 2011-12 school year.

The amount represents an increase over the previous year’s budget, in which the PTA put $6 per student toward defraying field trip costs. The PTA originally had budgeted $3 per student last year, but in October bumped up the contribution to help families after closing out the prior budget year with an unexpected surplus.

The field trip contribution is $5,400 of the $69,045 in expenses planned for the coming school year. Of that total, the spending plan outlines $42,450 in costs associated with running fundraisers. The remaining $26,595 is earmarked for student-oriented programs such as Art Awareness, Brainiacs and Reflections; for events such as family fun nights; and for operating and other costs.

Building on another change enacted in October, the budget sets aside $2 per student to help finance classroom parties in 2011-12. The PTA added the party contribution last fall to help parents, who are hit with a number of expenses early in the school year. The item accounts for $1,080. 
The intention is for the PTA money to pay for the parties without asking parents for an additional contribution. If the allocation is used up before all three parties have been paid for, the PTA could increase the allotment to a total of $3 per student.
All told, the budget projects revenue of $64,250 in the coming school year to fund the $69,045 in anticipated expenses, creating a one-year spending deficit of $4,975.

The PTA will make up the difference using its savings, which is expected to be about $16,500 after the final accounting of the 2010-11 budget year. Financial advisers have said our PTA should maintain reserves of about $10,000, and the PTA leadership recommends spending down the reserves to that amount.

The projected revenue of $64,250 represents an increase of 3.5 percent over last year’s budget of $62,065, but a decrease from the $67,428 anticipated based on actual revenues last year. The amount budgeted for 2011-12 reflects past experience with the fall fundraiser and a cautious approach to the new fall fun run that’s replacing the product sale. The budget projects $9,000 in revenue from the fun run, in line with product sales from prior years; this year’s product sale netted $11,885.

Other proposed changes include:

· Increasing the budget for the Art Awareness program to $300 from $100 to update supplies and pay for attendance at Art Institute of Chicago seminars .

· Reducing the donation to the LMC to $1,900. The current budget included $2,550 to buy three sets of SMART Responders. With that purchase complete, LMC Director Carrie Ory recommended returning to the previous budget level.

· Adding $500, for a total of $2,500, to pay for assemblies.  

Please contact President Judy Nagel-Conley or Treasurer Beth Siwicki with comments or questions.

Brookdale PTA 2011-12 Proposed Budget

PTA approves budget for 2010-11 school year


Under the budget for the coming school year, the PTA will strive to lower expenses to keep spending in line with anticipated revenues.

The membership has approved a budget outlining $61,520 in total spending, a reduction from the $63,536 budgeted for the 2009-10 school year and from just more than $64,000 in actual expenses for 2009-10.

The spending will be funded entirely by revenue from PTA fundraisers, expected to generate $62,065. The figure is an increase from the $59,799 in the current budget but reflects the actual income generated by this year's fundraisers, about $63,000. The budget anticipates some uncertainty in revenues because of changes in vendors for the apparel, school supplies and wrapping paper sales.

The budgeted expenses include $40,525 in costs for PTA fundraisers throughout the year. The fundraising costs are up from $38,072 in the 2009-10 budget but are in line with the projects 2009-10 fundraising expenses of $40,560.

Overall, the budget projects the PTA will end the year with a positive balance of $545. In contrast, the organization anticipated closing out the 2009-10 school year with expenses $1,114 greater than revenues.

To balance the budget and eliminate a spending deficit, the membership approved several changes to current practices:

• Look for free or less expensive options for assemblies and in-school field trips. The proposed budget earmarks $2,000 for assemblies, compared with $2,500 in the 2009-10 budget. The Executive Board had recommended $1,500 for assemblies, but membership agreed to add $500 to the line item before approving the budget in May.
• Eliminate Breakfast with Books, which has had decreasing interest, to save $358 from the 2009-10 budget.
• Reduce the PTA's per-child contribution toward field trips to $3 from the current level of $6 per pupil. The move reduces the line item to $1,575 from $3,200 in 2009-10.
• Provide popsicles rather than pizza on Field Day and stop buying juice for classroom parties. By not providing juice, the PTA saves $500. in 2009-10, the PTA originally had budgeted $1,500 for pizza on Field Day but revised the line item to $400 in February when deciding to offer popsicles instead. Organizers expect the actual cost to be about $150 this year, and that amount is budgeted for 2010-11 as well.
• Reduce the amount spent on appreciation gifts for staff members to $225 from the current budget of $600. Principal LeCrone has requested we not buy him a gift, and spending on other staff would be reduced.

Through these and other changes, the PTA will be able to buy three responder kits that work in conjunction with the Smart Board in a classroom. With a kit, a teacher can ask students to respond to questions and receive instant feedback on the progress of individual students and the class as a whole.

LMC Director Carrie Ory had requested the PTA buy four sets of responders, but in talking with Mr. LeCrone, the Executive Board decided three sets of responders for 30 students each would be appropriate for the 2010-11 budget year. The sets are $851 each.

Brookdale PTA Budget: 2010-11