Open Forum

Hello!  I work in a very small charter school.  I started my drama program from nothing and have been growing consistently over the last 5 years.  Because of this growth, I am beginning to get a lot of push-back around my purchasing for the shows:  what I purchase, when I purchase, how I purchase, etc.  I am not provided with a budget, all the money I spend, the kids and I have to earn.  Rules are beginning to arbitrarily appear and usually in response to something I need.

So, here's my question:

How does your school (especially if it is small) handle purchasing for your productions?  Do you work completely off of accounts?  Do you have to be thinking three weeks in advance for every tiny item?  Do you wind up buying at more expensive locations because it is more convenient for them?  Do they make decisions to change an item on your request because the one you wanted was out of stock...without waiting for your response?  How do you manage all the last minute "stuff"?

I would love to hear how other schools do this.

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Dawnette Dryer
Education Specialist
Plumas Charter School
Greenville CA
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Can you form a parental booster club? The parents would run it, not you, but would understand your vision for any monies earned and spend them on your program. The should form as a 501(c)(3) and buy you what you need, when you need it, from the vendor you need.

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Paul Townsend
Scottsdale AZ
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I like it.  I have wondered about an "outside" organization holding and distributing the funds.

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Dawnette Dryer
Education Specialist
Plumas Charter School
Greenville CA
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-12-2017 15:10
From: Paul Townsend
Subject: Purchasing

Can you form a parental booster club? The parents would run it, not you, but would understand your vision for any monies earned and spend them on your program. The should form as a 501(c)(3) and buy you what you need, when you need it, from the vendor you need.

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Paul Townsend
Scottsdale AZ
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Hello,

Yes, purchasing items for a show can be challenging and sometimes frustrating.  I teach a small public school in Indiana.  To purchase items for a straight show, I am required to submit a purchase order request to the school treasurer, and she places all orders.  But, as you know, there are items that are easier for me to buy or that come up at the last minute.  I can be reimbursed for those expenditures, but I am unable to have sales tax reimbursed by law.  So I am careful as to what I purchase on my own and try to keep it to a minimum.  However, when I direct a musical, the music boosters fund it, and I am able to get all expenses back that spend out of pocket.  So, yes, a parent group could be very helpful to you.  I hope you can come up with a suitable solution.

Sincerely,

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Kenneth Robinson
Drama Club Sponsor
Wapahani High School
Selma IN
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------Original Message------

Hello,

Yes, purchasing items for a show can be challenging and sometimes frustrating.  I teach a small public school in Indiana.  To purchase items for a straight show, I am required to submit a purchase order request to the school treasurer, and she places all orders.  But, as you know, there are items that are easier for me to buy or that come up at the last minute.  I can be reimbursed for those expenditures, but I am unable to have sales tax reimbursed by law.  So I am careful as to what I purchase on my own and try to keep it to a minimum.  However, when I direct a musical, the music boosters fund it, and I am able to get all expenses back that spend out of pocket.  So, yes, a parent group could be very helpful to you.  I hope you can come up with a suitable solution.

Sincerely,

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Kenneth Robinson
Drama Club Sponsor
Wapahani High School
Selma IN
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Dawnette,

I too work at a small charter school, but its an arts charter with a theatre major. Budget constraints are still there, however. 

The hardest thing is the small stuff. For the longest time I was fronting the money and having to be reimbursed from the theatre budget (which was derived from ticket sales only at the time). Now, I have several methods of purchasing: 

The first is Purchase Orders which work out great for long term stuff. 
Second, I have been authorized at the local hardware and lumber yard by my school (who already has established accounts) to sign for purchases. 
    These are great for the school because the tax ID is already there and it is easy to track.
Thirdly, I use Amazon Prime through the school. for everything consumable and odd costume/pros I cannot find readily. With a two-day delivery, it has solved a multitude of problems.
This last season, for the first time, we offered season tickets. the small loss of income ($5 over three shows) generated great seed money for the ensuing season alleviating rights and other up-front costs.
Lastly, fundraising through ads and a parent booster group this year has been a godsend. It also has the administration pleased that we have so much community buy-in. 

I hope this helps. Best of luck!

Yours in Art,

Jason

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Jason Robert LeClair, MA
Artist/Arts Educator
Director, Thespian Troupe 7444
Beacon Charter High School for the Arts
Woonsocket, RI
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This is  so specific to each budget. I have worked at a school that has given me a Visa credit cart with a large limit and I was able to use it per show and classes at my leisure, except for larger purchase which had to be approved. My current school everything is run by the department head, we have a smaller budget, but we try and use companies we can have a PO number with so we can stop using our own money and waiting the 3 weeks for reimbursment. Amazon has a business account the school is attached to, home depot corporate card, etc.

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Dan Mellitz
Technical Director
St Andrews School
Barrington, RI
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Thank you to all for the information.  This has all given me things to think about.

It's good to have perspective.  

I am allowed to purchase on the accounts at local hardware/paint stores, and I can get a PO for certain things.  They get really angry if I try to purchase something myself and ask for reimbursement, so that's basically out.  They have Amazon accounts and credit cards but I am not allowed access.  They require control over every purchase, so it makes the "small" stuff difficult.  It gets more difficult when recently they made a change to an order that affected my "vision" for a character.  By the time I realized what they had done, it was too late to fix it.  So, I adjusted.

Again, this has been really informative and it is great to hear your ideas and your processes.

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Dawnette Dryer, M.Ed.
Education Specialist
Plumas Charter School
Greenville CA
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