Under this topic I am going to address an elephant in the room.  

 

Each year PTA leaders call me or email me to ask whether or not we can pay for this item or that item.  Last year one such question included paying for the staff from their campus to attend a staff development course for a program that the principal desired to have implemented on the campus.  The program is a wonderful one and after attempting to find funding from many other sources the PTA was asked.  They followed all of the correct steps and procedures to take this to their membership and the vote passed.  

 

However, PTAs should not be paying for teacher/staff development.  Although you can come up with the words to argue that this follows our purposes and goals of PTA it really does not.  This expenditure should be the school districts responsibility and not be the financial burden of the PTA.  

 

Lisa Holbrook, Texas PTA President, provided the following advice.  PTAs are permitted to offer Teacher Scholarships for Continuing Education just like Texas PTA does with their scholarships for up to $500 each year.  The suggested amount of scholarships to teachers/staff is two and the standing rules should include the criteria for awarding these scholarships and include the amount of scholarship dollars and the amount of scholarships to be presented.