Harper PTO

Financial Policies

The Harper Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is incorporated within the State of Illinois as a not-for-profit group, organized for charitable and educational purposes, to benefit the children of Harper School. As such, and to ensure compliance with the Internal Revenue Code regulations which govern our 501(c )(3) not-for-profit status, all activities of the PTO must adhere to the following general financial policies:

  1. All funds raised by the PTO are committed to benefiting the children of Harper School. The PTO expense budget provides for basic administrative expenses incurred in providing PTO-sponsored programs and activities. PTO funds are not intended to be used for gifts or parties for volunteers.
  2. All reimbursable expenses should be submitted to the Treasurer, accompanied by a completed voucher, signed by you or your committee chairman, along with applicable receipts or contracts. Expenses cannot be reimbursed using monies in the cash box from PTO events.
  3. The PTO will not reimburse sales tax on PTO purchases. The State of Illinois tax exemption letter should be presented to merchants at the time of purchase so that tax will not be charged.
  4. No person is authorized to sign any document that creates an obligation or undertaking on behalf of the Harper PTO that is for $1,000 or more or is expected to total $1,000 or more during the contract period unless:
    • That document has been presented to and reviewed and approved by the Harper PTO executive board during the executive board’s regularly scheduled monthly meeting.
    • That document has been presented to and reviewed and approved by at least one of the three members of the executive board who are check signors (President, President-elect or Treasurer); AND one other member of the executive board not included in the previous list. Any document signed without the above approval becomes the personal obligation of the signor.
  5. All gifts/donations from the PTO or its representatives must be budgeted or approved in advance by the Executive Board.
  6. Board members should adhere to their budgets. If projected expenses will exceed the Budget, approval for additional funds must come from the Executive Board.
  7. The Treasurer’s budget must cover the cost of a financial audit for each year in which the State of Illinois deems such audit necessary. Audits are generally required every two years or any year in which gross revenues exceed a threshold amount set by the State.
  8. Certain activities of the PTO are operated on a break-even or profitable basis and will have no line item in the budget. These activities include, but are not limited to, all extracurricular programs, the Benefit, Book Fair, Fall Festival, and Family Party . The expenses incurred for these programs, including custodial costs at the custodial overtime rate as determined by the MEC, are to be offset by revenues. Great Books is specifically excluded from this financial policy as funds are budgeted to provide for training for two program facilitators.
  9. All PTO sponsored classes, including but not limited to After School programs, Great Books, Chorus, and Chess Club, will not issue refunds to students once the first class has begun. All cancellations and refunds must take place prior to the first day of class.
  10. Membership dues may be increased at the discretion of the Executive Board to help defer the costs of running the PTO. Such an increase must be voted upon and approved by a majority of the Executive Board.
  11. All individuals who perform services for the Harper PTO must complete a Form W-9 prior to receiving their first payment. The individual performing the service(s) should complete Form W-9 and return it directly to the Harper PTO committee chair person that they are working with. The committee chairperson will remit the completed Form W-9 to the Harper PTO Treasurer for processing.
  12. All checks totaling $1,000 or more must be signed by two check signors.
  13. The monthly bank statement and related bank reconciliation reports from Quickbooks will be reviewed and approved (i.e. signed) by a member of the executive board other than the President, President-elect and Treasurer during the executive board’s regularly scheduled monthly meeting.