Brownsville Elementary School PTO

Creating a Buzz in Crozet, Virginia

Committee Chair Guidelines

Welcome committee chairs! Your generous donation of time, talent, and direction contribute significantly to enhancing our children’s educational experience. The PTO board values a team approach to PTO activities and we want to make sure you are getting the support you need from us. The www.brownsvillepto.org website will serve as a resource for most of the information you need but we also want to include some other tips and guidelines to make your event or committee run as smoothly as possible.

Resources

  • Previous chairs – Talk with last year’s committee chair and find out what worked and what didn’t work.

  • Event End report – this can give you lots of valuable information about the number of volunteers you will need, what equipment is needed, number of attendees, etc. Why “reinvent the wheel” if you can use the experience of others to make your job easier?

  • Your PTO mentor – everyone on the PTO executive board is always willing to help you. Some fundraising events also have a specific PTO mentor that is available to help you more closely, every step of the way.

  • The PTO website – the PTO committee chair guidelines are important to follow to ensure smooth financial transaction, track event performance, and provide information that helps future chairs understand what needs to be done, and how.

  • India Haun, Linda King, Marianne Barbour, Faye Jones, and Helen Brite in the front office are also available to answer questions you may have.

  • Other committee chairs, other schools, online resources www.ptotoday.com

  • Remember to check your PTO hanging file folder in the PTO room regularly.

Volunteers

  • We encourage all volunteers to sign up via the website. This is the best way to get contact information and to make sure that no one is overlooked. Your volunteer coordinators generate a report and send it to you via email. They will check the website often and send you regular updates when new volunteers sign up. If you have a one-time event we will send you your volunteer list several weeks before your event.

  • Some committee and events also have volunteers sign up by completing a form or contacting the committee chair directly.

  • Please make sure you contact everyone on your volunteer list – even if you will not need their help. When volunteers are not contacted they tend to avoid signing up in the future. We want to encourage, not discourage, potential volunteers.

  • Send out thank you notes to all volunteers after your event. Handwritten notes are a special touch but an email is better than nothing. Let Sally or Nancy know if you need help. Public recognition is a great motivator!

Advertisements

  • The PTO Post newsletter (NEW) will be distributed and sent home via backpack mail every Monday except the first Monday of the month.

  • Brownsville Online is our electronic newsletter. Information is emailed to anyone who subscribes. If you want to send an email directly to BrownsvilleOnline, use this email: brownsvilleonline@listserv.bnsi.net. Because it’s a moderated list, your email will get routed to the list administrator, who will use an administrative site to “approve” the message for distribution. Messages sent this way show your name and email as the sender.

  • If your message isn’t super time sensitive, you can send the text to Heather Marcel (contact@brownsvillepto.org) who will compile your announcement with other messages.

  • The PTO Website is also a great way to advertise your event or committee. Send your information to the PTO Communications Secretary.

  • We can also post your announcement on Facebook. Send your information to the PTO Communications Secretary.

  • Plan on advertising your event at least twice in the month before your event and at least once after your event.

Budget - Tips from your PTO Treasurers

  • Most events have a budget or income target. These are not set in stone and we have some flexibility if some go over budget and others go under budget.

  • Please let us know in advance what you think your committee may need.

  • The yearly budget discussed at the September meeting and then voted on at the October PTO meeting.

  • ACCOUNTING Please work out a system that you can track checks or payments if applicable to your event. You are usually the only one who will know exactly how much money is expected.

  • SALES TAX--Remember we have to pay sales tax. We are income tax exempt but not sales tax exempt.

  • CASH BOXES Let us know if you need to use the cash boxes. Each cash box has $50 to start and we have up to 6 cash boxes. (Fun Fair is an exception)

  • We do not have keys to the “vault” but anyone in the Main Office can get the cash boxes for you.

  • At the end of the event, please ensure that each box that you use has the same amount of cash remaining as it started with (should be $50).

  • Very important that the cash box/deposit forms are filled out at the end of the event and have another person sign off on the amount received.

  • The cash boxes with their cash/checks and deposit forms need to go back into the “vault” at the end of the night.

  • DEPOSITS of CHECKS or CASH Please fill out a deposit form (usually Marianne or Helen or a co-committee chair can be the second signer for the amount of cash/checks).

  • Please put cash/check and deposit form in envelope in the school “vault”—Marianne Barbour or Helen Brite are usually the ones to do this.

  • Notify the treasurers that a deposit is there—quick email or phone call.

  • Please list check #s or provide some type of list with that info on it when depositing money. Does not have to be formal—can be hand-written.

  • Please do not charge or bill the PTO for items or orders without approval from the PTO Executive Board. If you are selling anything on behalf of the PTO, such as yearbooks or t-shirts, please solicit for preorders rather than “buy now, sell later.”

  • Please keep receipts and turn in with reimbursement form to PTO box in front office.

  • If your receipt descriptions are not “obvious”, please be sure to note an explanation on the receipt (i.e. receipt reads “30 Rbal52993” and your note translates this to “30 red latex balloons”.)

  • We are happy to help brainstorm ways to keep track of cash/checks as they come in.

  • ALL FORMS On-line or in the PTO room or in the cash boxes.

Communication

  • Keep your mentor in the loop.

  • Please plan on attending the PTO meeting prior to your event and after your event. (Of course we welcome you to attend every PTO meeting.)

  • Event End report, this is a valuable tool in planning future events!

  • Reserving Space – If you are hosting an event at the school on a Saturday or Sunday you need to complete a reservation form. See Helen Brite for assistance in completing the proper paperwork.

  • If your event takes place in the gymnasium or cafeteria, check with Helen Brite and BASE Site Facilitator Diane Glime dglime@k12albemarle.org BASE uses both spaces until 6:00pm Monday through Friday.

  • Setting up for your event: Helen and/or Marianne can communicate your needs to the custodial staff.

  • Signup sheets www.signupgenius.com

  • Scheduling meetings www.doodle.com

  • PTO room availability sign-up sheet is next to the PTO hanging file folders

The PTO wants to

  • Provide support

  • Mentor

  • Assist

  • Encourage

  • Give you the freedom to “put your thumbprint” on your event or committee

We DON’T want to

  • Micromanage

  • Hover

  • Tell you how to do your work

  • Make you feel alone

What is the hardest part about being a Committee Chair?

DELEGATION “It’s just easier to do it myself.”

Delegating doesn’t just happen; you have to work at it.

Why people don’t delegate

  • Control – loss of control, power , and responsibility come in to play

  • It requires time to communicate properly “I can get it done faster myself.”

  • Perfection syndrome “No one can do it better, so why don’t I just do it myself?”

Why you should delegate

  • You can’t do it all

  • You encourage responsibility in others

  • You allow different points of view, areas of expertise to the team

  • It keeps workflow moving

  • You get more done

  • You won’t burn out

  • Your volunteers will have a vested interest and want to help the committee or event succeed

  • You may be training your successor

How to Delegate efficiently and effectively

  • First, focus on the results, not the method. Communicate the goal or end result and give the person freedom to develop a plan to accomplish that goal.

  • Second, set firm deadlines. This allows you to keep track of what is going on without micromanaging.

  • Third, communicate limitations. Make sure the person you delegate to has all the information they need to accomplish the task.

The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it. -Theodore Roosevelt