PTA Grant Guidance for Schools and PTAs

Please review this document for policy and procedures for PTA (PTA/PTO/PTSA, Friends of (school name)) organizations. We encourage PTAs and schools to work together and stay in communication throughout the year in order to monitor grant expenditures. The Grants Office does not monitor PTA grants but will load budgets and transfer funds as requested. Additionally, we are available to provide guidance to principals on grant related questions. We encourage PTAs to communicate directly with principals.

STEP 1: School works with the PTA to initiate a grant. Please note the Grants department is no longer accepting PTA letters as authorization. An Advance Commitment form must be signed as official grant authorization.The Grants department will route the completed PDF via Docusign for signatures from the principal, PTA representative and SPS’ Director of Grants.

For schools staffing on PTA grants during spring budget development, please use the FY27 School Budget Development Workbook to cost positions and fill out the Advance Commitment form in the PTA Workbook.

For schools setting up PTA grants after spring budget development, please fill out the Advance Commitment form on our site at this link.

• Please review Board Policy 6114 which outlines the district’s requirements for receiving a grant. Historically, PTA contributions have not exceeded $250,000, which is the threshold for needing School Board approval. This threshold includes staff and non-staff support and all methods of contributions, including PTA grants, donations to Self Help, and in-kind donations.
  • If a PTA is planning to max out their annual contribution close to this cap and is funding staffing, please plan for the additional cost of benefits to avoid exceeding the threshold.
• PTAs are responsible for paying costs associated with positions. Washington state mandates full medical benefits for employees working 630 hours or more in a school year. Employees may elect not to utilize these benefits but the cost must still be covered.
  • For partial FTEs, a PTA’s contribution must cover the corresponding percentage of benefits. For example, a PTA grant supports 0.2 FTE but this position is also funded 0.3 FTE on another source. This brings the total FTE to 0.5 and that position is now eligible for full medical benefits.

STEP 2: Grants Office will confirm acceptance of the PTA grant by emailing the principal the fully executed Advance Commitment form.

STEP 3: The budget will be loaded in SAP, SPS’ accounting system, once the fully executed agreement in received. Staffing commitments will be loaded during the summer prior to the following school year. Modified budgets will have funds loaded as needed throughout the school year.

• If a school receives funding for staffing, the next step after receiving the fully executed Advance Commitment form is to contact your HR Business Partner to ensure the position is staffed at the correct FTE. We encourage checking SAP at the beginning of the school year and on a monthly basis after payroll runs to ensure staffing and expenditures are correct.
• Sick leave: If a PTA grant covers staffing, costs for any sick leave substitutes utilized will be charged to the grant. Schools are responsible for sick leave substitute costs when they occur related to the staff on the grant. The Central Office budget does not cover these costs.
• For compliance reasons, the Grants Office needs authorization from the PTA for any modifications to the grant amount or purpose.

BILLING INFORMATION

Option 1: PTA may elect quarterly billing. Accounting invoices on a quarterly basis and only bills on actual expenditures. We encourage you to closely monitor your grant throughout the year. The district will not accept a 2026-2027 PTA grant from PTAs that have an outstanding balance from school year 2024-2025.

Option 2: PTA may send a check upfront but please note actual expenditures often differ from the original commitment amount. Schools are responsible for covering any overage. Certifications in the Advance Commitment form outline the financial risks of PTA grants. If a cash on hand balance is available at the end of the year, those funds will be returned to the PTA in the form of a refund. We no longer advance carryforward funding to the following school year.

PTA checks should be mailed to:

Attn: Kelly Knight, Accounting Analyst

John Stanford Center for Excellence in Education

MS:33-343

P.O. Box 34165

Seattle, WA  98124-1165

For PTA invoice or billing questions:

Kelly Knight, Accounting Analyst

krknight@seattleschools.org

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS

For staffing questions, please contact your school’s HR Business Partner. For questions on substitute costs, refer to the Gold Book or contact suboffice@seattleschools.org.