What your board should be doing right now

Every month of the PTO year, by role — the tasks, the deadlines that bite, and the things to start now so they're ready later. Assumes a July–June fiscal year; adjust if yours differs.

July: The quiet reset

July is the parent-group new year: the fiscal year rolls over (most groups end June 30), officer transitions finish, and next year gets sketched while school is out. In July a PTO board should close last year's books and run the financial review, update bank signers, hold the outgoing/incoming handoff, and block out the event calendar before vendors and school rooms book up.

President

Sit down with the outgoing president

One long coffee over the handoff binder beats a hundred texts in September. Get the calendar, the contacts, the "here's what I wish I'd known."
Confirm the board and committee chairs

Know your open seats now — recruiting in July is a conversation; recruiting in September is a crisis.
Sketch the year calendar with the principal

Get the school calendar and agree on dates for the big events before rooms and staff time get claimed.
Read the bylaws, start to finish

Twenty minutes now saves you from running an invalid election or missing a required notice later. Flag anything to amend.

Treasurer

Close the books on the fiscal year

Most groups end June 30. Final reconciliation, all reimbursements resolved — late ones roll into the new budget and belong in the minutes.
Run the year-end financial review before accepting the books

A small review committee protects the outgoing treasurer and you. Reviewers can't be bank signers or their relatives or household members.
Change the bank signers

Bring the election minutes, a board resolution naming the new signers, the EIN letter, and both new signers to one branch visit. Remove outgoing signers the same day.
Draft next year's budget from actuals

Start from what last year really earned and spent, not from hopes. It gets adopted in August–September.

Secretary

Archive last year's minutes and records

One shared drive folder per year. If minutes live in a personal laptop, they don't exist.
Update the officer roster everywhere

School front office, bank, insurance, state charity registration if your state requires it — everyone who lists your officers.
Verify the paperwork binder is complete

EIN letter, IRS determination letter, bylaws, insurance policy, last 990 confirmation. If any of these are missing, July is the month to hunt them down.

Events & volunteers

Book the big-ticket vendors

Fun-run companies, holiday-shop vendors, and popular venues book out months ahead. A July email gets you the good dates.
Map events against the school calendar

Check for conflicts with picture day, testing windows, and other schools' festivals before you print anything.
Recruit fall event chairs

Every fall event needs a named owner by August. "The board will handle it" means the president will handle it.

⏰ Deadlines that bite

State annual report / charity registration

Several states tie nonprofit filings to fiscal year end — check your state's deadline now, not when the late notice arrives.
Insurance renewal

Many group policies renew over the summer. Confirm coverage before your first event, not after.

📅 Start now, thank yourself later

Prep the staff favorites survey

Staff goodwill peaks the week they return in August — have the link ready to send on day one.
Draft the back-to-school table plan

Membership form, volunteer signup, and calendar handout for orientation night.

Prefer the readable version? Read the July guide · or see the whole PTO year at a glance.

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