PTA 101

Lewis PTA is a parent-run, non-profit organization serving Lewis Elementary School in Portland, Oregon. As a legally structured non-profit within the Oregon PTA, there are a bunch of rules in place to ensure our organization is run effectively, from communication and training to fiscal responsibility and inclusion.

National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) is the oldest and largest child advocacy association in America, comprised of millions of parents, teachers, grandparents, caregivers, foster parents and other caring adults who share a commitment to improving the education, health and safety of all children.

Learn more about National PTA, Oregon PTA, and the Portland Council PTA.

Lewis PTA plans, funds, and organizes many of the fun events that make Lewis, well, Lewis! From Popcorn Fridays to Lewis Rocks, volunteers and PTA members make school events happen all year long.

Lewis PTA runs fundraising programs to pay for those events -- like Lewis Dines Out! where local restaurants give back a portion of their sales from a particular day back to Lewis PTA.

Lewis PTA supports school staff -- like room budgets to help pay for supplies, field trips, or other special events.

Finally, Lewis PTA strives to engage all families at Lewis so they know they have a community here. There's always a way with Lewis PTA!

As a legally structured 501(c)(3) non-profit organization within Oregon PTA, Lewis PTA has to follow a few practical rules to remain in "good standing" aka cleared to continue operating. 

That includes requiring membership dues, electing a Board to run the PTA, formally planning and approving a budget for each year's spending, and clearly documenting the agendas and minutes (notes about what was discussed) from Community (General) Meetings and Board Meetings.

Lewis PTA has to formally plan and approve a budget every year. A budget is simply a document categorizing how much money you expect to earn (revenues) and how much you expect to spend (expenses) over a given period.

Our budget is subdivided into five categories: fundraising, programs, school staff, events, and operations. For any given item in the budget, we may earn money before we spend it, or we may spend it before we earn it, or some balance of the two. Reconciling your revenues and expenses leads you to your "net" - the bottom line of how much money is left at the end of the given period.

The budget is approved by the membership and spending increases or reallocations require a Board or Membership vote depending on the nature of the change.

Lewis PTA earns money predominately through fundraising, but also through direct donations and membership dues. We spend money on events, operations, and more throughout the year. The goal at the end of every year is to leave at least 30% of cash at year end in reserve for the next school year.

All Lewis PTA Officers (the Board) and Event Leads / Committee Chairs carry fiduciary responsibility; that means we have a strict legal and ethical obligation to act solely in the best interest Lewis Elementary PTA (see the Financial Essentials chapter of the Oregon PTA Leader's Manual).

Our senior Board members (President, Secretary, and Treasurer) are all required to complete training each year, and we also run a monthly and yearly financial audit.

If something seems wrong, contact the Treasurer or Auditor, or the Oregon PTA state office.

If you're a Board member or an Event Lead, you'll have access to a virtual credit credit associated with your approved spending limit on Ramp (our expense management platform). You can use this card to pay for approved purchases.

If you've made an approved purchase and need to be reimbursed, you'll submit your reimbursement request on Ramp.

Only expenses or reimbursements submitted through Ramp from active members of the Lewis PTA or Lewis school staff will be reimbursed; no cash, checks, or other methods will be used for reimbursement and no reimbursements will be issued if not an active Lewis PTA member in good standing or a member of school staff.

Learn more about access to Ramp.

Lewis PTA runs Community Meetings and Board Meetings with a lighweight version of Robert's Rules of Order. Very simply, Robert's Rules of Order ensure meetings are orderly and all voices can be heard...and we're required by Oregon PTA to follow them. Here's what you need to know:

Meetings will be "called to order" by the Board President who then works through the agenda.

If items need to be voted on, the President can allow discussion, then someone "moves to [do whatever]", someone else then "seconds that motion", and then a vote can be taken. Voting is typically collected by voice -- "all in favor?", "all opposed?", "all abstaining (not voting)?".

Then the motion is declared passed or failed, and we move onto the next item.

The Board President ends the meeting with "For the Good of the Order" which is effectively space for quick announcements or discussion, not voting. Then the meeting is adjourned.

Capturing all of that detail is what constitutes "the minutes" for the meeting.