Simpson Elementary PTA
General Members FAQ
Q: What exactly is the PTA?
A: Parent-Teacher-Association. Everything the PTA does is to serve students. "PTA's mission is to make every child's potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children."
Q: How does the $10 membership fee breakdown?
A: Simpson PTA $6.25 + Georgia PTA $1.25 + National PTA $2.25 + platform fees
Q: Who can become a PTA member?
A: Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, school staff
Q: Do I have to volunteer if I'm a member?
A: No. While the reality is that none of what the PTA does is possible without volunteers, we understand that volunteering is not accessible (or appealing) to everyone. And that's okay! If volunteering isn't your thing, consider giving a flat donation if you're able.
Q: Why is the PTA calendar so full?
A: Don't feel obligated to come to every event. We organize, host, and serve many events throughout the school year to ensure we offer plenty of different opportunities for families to engage.
Q: How does the PTA raise money to support operating costs?
A: Flat donations. Membership dues. Fundraising throughout the year (spirit wear, spirit nights, fall fundraiser, school supply kit fundraiser). And through our Business Partners program.
Q: Who do I contact if I'm interested in getting involved?
A : E-mail [email protected] and/or [email protected]
Q: Are the PTA and the school the same thing?
A: No. The PTA works in partnership with and support of the school, but functions as a separate entity. Just because something comes from the school does not mean that the PTA "owns" it. You'll know if something comes from the PTA because it'll have the PTA logo on it.
Q: Does the PTA support classrooms and teachers directly?
A: Yes! While the PTA cannot offer teachers funds or gift cards directly, we donate thousands of dollars to the school each year which is used to support teachers. The PTA donates toward classroom supplies for all teachers, as well as consumables such as paper towels, tissues, wipes, etc.
Q: Why can't the PTA offer refunds?
A: Handling money as a PTA is a very manual process that requires 3 signatures, and the use of pen-and-paper documentation. While it might seem simple enough to click a button on an online platform and issue a refund, work on the backend is much more complicated. As a completely volunteer run organization we do not have the man-power to offer "customer service."
Q: Why doesn't the PTA sell tickets for events at the door?
A: Headcount. Our ticket sale windows are usually about 2 weeks long, and advertised via fliers in Friday Folders, on Facebook, on the PTA website, as well as announced via Parent Square to ensure we give parents plenty of reminders and opportunities to purchase tickets. At the close of the sale our committees plan for the X amount of people who purchased tickets. We frankly don't have the budget to plan for an overage.
Q: Why doesn't the PTA offer Venmo as a form of payment?
A: Venmo is not made for charitable contributions, and it has layers of complications for payments on goods and services because of the paper trail required to keep our PTA in compliance on an audit. We do use Venmo on rare occasion.
A: Parent-Teacher-Association. Everything the PTA does is to serve students. "PTA's mission is to make every child's potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children."
Q: How does the $10 membership fee breakdown?
A: Simpson PTA $6.25 + Georgia PTA $1.25 + National PTA $2.25 + platform fees
Q: Who can become a PTA member?
A: Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, school staff
Q: Do I have to volunteer if I'm a member?
A: No. While the reality is that none of what the PTA does is possible without volunteers, we understand that volunteering is not accessible (or appealing) to everyone. And that's okay! If volunteering isn't your thing, consider giving a flat donation if you're able.
Q: Why is the PTA calendar so full?
A: Don't feel obligated to come to every event. We organize, host, and serve many events throughout the school year to ensure we offer plenty of different opportunities for families to engage.
Q: How does the PTA raise money to support operating costs?
A: Flat donations. Membership dues. Fundraising throughout the year (spirit wear, spirit nights, fall fundraiser, school supply kit fundraiser). And through our Business Partners program.
Q: Who do I contact if I'm interested in getting involved?
A : E-mail [email protected] and/or [email protected]
Q: Are the PTA and the school the same thing?
A: No. The PTA works in partnership with and support of the school, but functions as a separate entity. Just because something comes from the school does not mean that the PTA "owns" it. You'll know if something comes from the PTA because it'll have the PTA logo on it.
Q: Does the PTA support classrooms and teachers directly?
A: Yes! While the PTA cannot offer teachers funds or gift cards directly, we donate thousands of dollars to the school each year which is used to support teachers. The PTA donates toward classroom supplies for all teachers, as well as consumables such as paper towels, tissues, wipes, etc.
Q: Why can't the PTA offer refunds?
A: Handling money as a PTA is a very manual process that requires 3 signatures, and the use of pen-and-paper documentation. While it might seem simple enough to click a button on an online platform and issue a refund, work on the backend is much more complicated. As a completely volunteer run organization we do not have the man-power to offer "customer service."
Q: Why doesn't the PTA sell tickets for events at the door?
A: Headcount. Our ticket sale windows are usually about 2 weeks long, and advertised via fliers in Friday Folders, on Facebook, on the PTA website, as well as announced via Parent Square to ensure we give parents plenty of reminders and opportunities to purchase tickets. At the close of the sale our committees plan for the X amount of people who purchased tickets. We frankly don't have the budget to plan for an overage.
Q: Why doesn't the PTA offer Venmo as a form of payment?
A: Venmo is not made for charitable contributions, and it has layers of complications for payments on goods and services because of the paper trail required to keep our PTA in compliance on an audit. We do use Venmo on rare occasion.
Committee + Executive Board FAQ
Q: Why doesn't the PTA have a credit/debit card that committees can use for expenses?
A: This is a rule from the larger organization - the PTA cannot have a credit/debit card.
Q: As a committee chair/member, how do I get a flier sent home in Friday Folders?
A: Everything first needs to be approved. Please send any fliers (digital or physical) to your VP for an initial review - make sure the PTA logo is clearly displayed somewhere on the flier, as well as the date including the year - the flier will then need to be reviewed by the co-presidents who will seek final approval from Dr. Connery. The co-presidents will let you know once your flier has been approved. From there you or someone from your committee can come to the school at a designated date/time to run copies.
Q: What's the correct chain of communication?
A: Ideally, Committees should work with their VPS who will work with the co-presidents. If you contact the co-presidents directly please CC your VP on the email. The co-presidents are the only members of PTA who should be communicating with school staff directly. With the exception of classroom coordinators, if you need to communicate with school staff for any reason please disclose this to the co-presidents first.
A: This is a rule from the larger organization - the PTA cannot have a credit/debit card.
Q: As a committee chair/member, how do I get a flier sent home in Friday Folders?
A: Everything first needs to be approved. Please send any fliers (digital or physical) to your VP for an initial review - make sure the PTA logo is clearly displayed somewhere on the flier, as well as the date including the year - the flier will then need to be reviewed by the co-presidents who will seek final approval from Dr. Connery. The co-presidents will let you know once your flier has been approved. From there you or someone from your committee can come to the school at a designated date/time to run copies.
Q: What's the correct chain of communication?
A: Ideally, Committees should work with their VPS who will work with the co-presidents. If you contact the co-presidents directly please CC your VP on the email. The co-presidents are the only members of PTA who should be communicating with school staff directly. With the exception of classroom coordinators, if you need to communicate with school staff for any reason please disclose this to the co-presidents first.
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