Interest: PTA Leadership

Financial Information & Resources for your PTA

FINANCIAL INFORMATION & RESOURCES FOR YOUR PTA

Every year California State PTA compiles a packet of financial information and resources to help your PTA run the financial side of your organization.  Typically, PTA presidents receive the Financial Mailing in the fall and all PTA officers can view and download the packet from the California State PTA Leaders’ website. 

Go to the Leaders’ Website to download the contents from the most recent Financial Mailing.

View the Leaders’ Website

Most of the materials in the Financial Mailing are available in both English and Spanish. They include:

  • Tax Filing Support Center Information
  • State of California Attorney General’s Tips and Resources for Charities
  • PTA as an Employer – What You Need to Know
  • The PTA Insurance Guide — English and Spanish

PTA Insurance Guide

The PTA insurance policy protects all members of the PTA in case they are held legally liable for bodily injury or property damage to another person that resulted from a covered PTA event. This is not a medical policy, but a policy that pays because you are legally liable.

If someone is injured, but the injury is not the result of PTA negligence, the individual should utilize his/her medical insurance for coverage. The policy is designed to cover allowable PTA events. Our PTA insurance does not provide any coverage for booster clubs, parent clubs or any non-PTA event. It is critical that before planning any PTA activities the RED, YELLOW and GREEN list included in the insurance guide be reviewed. Certain activities and events are prohibited because they are excluded by the insurance policy or because they are dangerous or jeopardize the safety of our children and youth. If the PTA sponsors a RED event and someone is injured because of PTA negligence, the individual PTA officers could be held personally liable.

Check the Insurance services page for additional information.

Leaders Welcome Packet

Greetings PTA Leader!

I want to be one of the first to welcome you to the 2023 PTA Term. Thank you so much for stepping into this important role in your PTA. I know that this year is going to be full of wonderful programs and activities for your community to enjoy because of the hard work of you, your executive board, and the rest of your PTA volunteers.

As a local PTA leader, your dedication and hard work are what make PTA such a powerful force for good in our schools and communities. But PTA isn’t just about the events and activities, it’s also about the small, everyday actions that you take as a leader. It’s about taking the time to listen to the concerns and needs of your members and finding creative solutions to the challenges you face. It’s about making sure that every voice is heard and that everyone feels valued and included in the work of the PTA.

To help make your job easier, this Leader Welcome Packet is filled with resources for you and your PTA team.

  • Share the resources with your board and committee members
  • Download and share extra copies of anything you need from our website and use the many QR codes and links found in the online version of the packet
  • Check the PTA calendar on the website often to learn about new and exciting events and opportunities from California State PTA
  • Stay connected to your council and district leaders so you don’t miss out on local and regional opportunities for training or other programs
  • Visit the California State PTA Leaders’ site which is full of information just for you and your executive board team

As we begin this year, my job and the role of California State PTA board members is to support you, our local leaders, to be the best leaders you can be. We will provide you with the resources and materials to make your job easier, try to simplify processes, and hopefully inspire you to “positively impact the lives of all children and families.” If you have suggestions for us, please let us know – you can find our contact information on our website.

I want to thank you for your dedication to the PTA and the children and families of California.

Working together we truly can make a difference every day with PTA!

You can view or download all materials in the full “Leaders Welcome Packet,” “Running Your PTA … Made Easy,” and the “2023 Convention Highlights,” on the Leaders’ Website.

Login to the Leaders website to view and download these documents.

PTA Proclamation Kit – Celebrating 125 Years

In honor of PTA’s 125th Anniversary, we are asking cities, counties, and school boards throughout California to recognize PTA. You can make that happen! Not only is this a great opportunity to become a little more civically engaged, it’s is fun and exciting for the kids and volunteers who make up your PTA.

Click here to download the PTA Proclamation Kit to use as your guide in getting started on your PTA proclamation.

Learn how to:

  • Prepare, plan and coordinate for your proclamation request;
  • Access Founders’ Day resources;
  • Use sample phone scripts and letters;
  • Make the most of your proclamation moment and more!

Coordinate your Proclamation Locally

  • Everyone should have the chance to participate. Coordinate locally so you don’t have several requests go to the same government agency.
  • Individual school site PTAs can talk to their principal and see if the PTA can be highlighted at a virtual or in person assembly. 
  • Council PTAs can consider asking the School Board and the city or cities in their council to recognize them during a meeting.
  • District PTAs can consider asking the county/or county’s Board of Supervisors and Board of Education to recognize them during a meeting

More resources to celebrate PTA’s 125th birthday:

Share Your Founders’ Day Or Proclamation Success Story

CALIFORNIA STATE PTA DAY RESOLUTIONS

  • Contra Costa County Board of Education (CCCBOE) added Resolution 25-21/22 to their February 9th Board Agenda to recognize California State PTA Day.
  • Mayor of the City of Pleasant Hill Michael G. Harris, OD commends PTA on the occasion of its 125th anniversary and proclaims February 17, 2022 as “PTA Appreciation Day”.
  • Mt. Diablo Unified School District Governing Board has approved a resolution recognizing Thursday, February 17th, 2022 as the 125th Anniversary of the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and California State PTA Day.

PTA insurance Premiums are due now. Check with your PTA Council or District for your insurance due date.

PTA insurance Premiums are due now. Check with your PTA Council or District for your insurance due date. Your regular PTA insurance premium of $282 for local PTA units is due no later than December 20! Insurance received by AIM after December 20, is subject to a $25.00 late fee. DO NOT SEND INSURANCE PREMIUMS THROUGH CHANNELS!  

If you pay for additional insurance above and beyond the standard rate, you need to contact AIM insurance directly to receive an invoice for the additional premiums. Once your payment is processed, you will receive an insurance certificate specific to your PTA. Many school districts require a new copy of the insurance certificate each year showing your coverage.

Find more insurance information and resources here and download the 2023 AIM Insurance Guide in English and Spanish.

Look for Your Workers’ Compensation Insurance Survey

On December 15th, the window for reporting your Workers’ Compensation status opens. Your president will receive an email with the link for filling out the Workers’ Compensation survey. You have until January 31st, 2022 to report any employees/independent contractors/sole proprietors who have provided services for your PTA for the time period between January 5th, 2021 and January 4th, 2022.

In order to fill out the survey, you will need information about any individual you paid directly for services during that time period. Do not include companies with more than one employee or board members you have reimbursed for purchases they made on your PTA’s behalf. Most PTAs do not owe an additional premium because they don’t have any qualifying workers that they need to cover.

If an individual has their own Workers’ Compensation insurance, they should provide you with proof.

If an individual does not have their own Workers’ Compensation insurance (liability insurance is not the same), you must cover them. The state of California does not require sole proprietors to carry their own, but our insurance company does in order to keep the costs of your general insurance down. You will need to report the total amount of money paid to the individual. The additional premium is 5% of the total of all paid individuals, minus the first $1,000.00.

The Workers’ Compensation insurance premium, if required, is paid directly to AIM. You will receive an invoice after you submit the paperwork to them.

 For further information check out: https://capta.org/pta-leaders/services/insurance/

Take the PTA Leadership Survey

Thanks for supporting your PTA unit, council or district. Your time, energy and talent enable all of us to advance California State PTA’s mission to positively impact the lives of all children and families.

To make sure PTA continues to provide the services and support needed by our members across the state, we’d like to ask you to complete an important survey. It is divided into several sections and takes approximately 10-12 minutes to complete. Your individual responses will be kept strictly confidential.

We know that you are very busy, but your input is very valuable. Thank you again for your dedication and service.

The survey is only available until August 20, so don’t wait!

Click here to take the survey in English.

Haga clic aquí para realizar la encuesta en español.

Lea Darrah Testifies at CA State Assembly Hearing on School Closures

Yesterday, Lea Darrah, California State PTA VP for Education, testified at a hearing of Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance. The topic of the hearing was how to mitigate learning loss during the COVID-19 school closures.

Darrah was part of a panel that also included representatives from the California State Board of Education, Policy Analysis for California Education, the California Department of Finance, San Lorenzo Unified School District, the Association of California School Administrators, the California Teachers Association, Elk Grove School District, and EdTrust West.

“While districts are doing their best to provide distance learning, we know there are gaps in the system in which students may not have access to adequate technology devices, internet access or a quiet place to learn,” Darrah said during the hearing. “We support educators and believe they need and deserve professional development for distance learning. I think more than ever we realize the value of our teachers in California.”

“Furthermore, students with additional needs such as English learners, students with IEPs, 504s or special education students need additional support and services to succeed in this new learning environment,” she continued. “We have heard from parents who are concerned about ensuring their students stay at grade level and do not experience learning losses.”

“Most of all, our students and families need to feel safe and secure to face the challenges that this current pandemic requires of us. And it is my sincere hope that the legislature makes the decisions to invest in safety, mental health, educational services and social services to protect our most valued assets in the state, our children.”

Lea and other members of California State PTA leadership team will continue to advocate to get teachers, parents and families the resources and support they need to make it through this uncertain and challenging period of distance learning and school closures.

To see video footage of the hearing, click here. Darrah’s testimony starts at 2:36.

To read a text version of Darrah’s testimony, click here.

PTA Leadership Town Hall Webinar: May 5

California State PTA president Celia Jaffe and members of the Board of Directors and leadership team held a town hall webinar on May 5 where they offered important information and answered your questions about how to handle PTA business and functions during the coronavirus epidemic.

If you want to watch a recording of the webinar, click here.

If you want to download and view the PowerPoint presentation, click here.

If you want answers to frequently asked questions that we were not able to get to during the webinar, click here for general FAQs, here for communications FAQs, here for membership FAQs, here for parliamentary issues, and here for financial issues.