Currently, our annual operating budget is about $18,000. 

In the 2024 school year, we were able to increase our annual budget expenses by about $13,000! Because our Run-a-thon Fundraising has been so successful, we were able to increase several of our committee budgets to help offset additional costs for parent donations. Additionally, we were able to create a NEW cooking budget for Studio 5 to help offset the cost of external parent donations. 

Every year, our executive committee reviews the budget and assesses how we are doing financially. They make a recommendation to our PTA Unit, which has the opportunity to review the proposed budget, ask questions, and suggest changes if necessary. 

In short... EVERYTHING!

The PTA is a Nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. Our entire operating budget must be funded through our annual fundraiser. We do get small additional amounts from some of our other passive opportunities, like Restaurant Nights, BoxTops, Hy-Vee Receipts, etc., but the majority of our funding comes from this one event.

The PTA is responsible for funding:

• Family Events – Movie Night, Bingo Night and the Spring Family Fun Night are all run 100% by our PTA members

• Book Fairs – Usually 2 or 3 per school year

• Visiting Authors –  The school usually has several visiting authors that come to visit the students, any of these are fully or partially funded by the PTA

• Field Trips and Transportation – many field trips and/or transportation is funded or partially funded by the PTA. We spend almost $5,000 per school year on field trips along. 

• Reflections Art Contest – This is fully hosted by the PTA and is a nationally recognized prestigious competition. 

• Field Day – Our PTA is responsible for funding, organizing and running Field Day every year

• Staff Appreciation –  The PTA is responsible for hosting several staff appreciation events throughout the school year along with a week-long celebration in May for Staff Appreciation Week

• Used Book Exchange – Each year we hold a used Book Exchange for the students. Each student gets to take home a new-to-them book, free of charge to add to their home libraries. 

• Yearbook – Our PTA is 100% responsible for organizing, designing, and putting together our school yearbook each year. 

• Spirit Wear – The PTA is also responsible for providing new Spirit Wear options for our EPiC Community each year. 

• Supply Packs – The PTA Supply Packs Committee provides the opportunity to order students' school supplies and have them delivered straight to their classrooms each year. We work closely with the Staff and Administration at the school to make this opportunity available.

• New Classroom Equipment – Five times a year, teachers and staff can request equipment purchases for their classrooms. In the last two years, the PTA has been able to provide over $8,000 worth of new equipment EACH YEAR for our EPiC teachers. 

• Restaurant & Spirit Nights – The PTA is responsible for organizing and hosting restaurant and spirit nights throughout the Northland throughout the school year. 

• Family Needs  - Each year our PTA is able to help out students and parents in our EPiC Community and around the Liberty area.  

Historically, our EPiC community has always come through in our fundraising efforts. The PTA always keeps a one-year operating budget safety net so that if we ever have a "bad" fundraising year, we will be able to continue operating as expected for that school year. We would, however, likely need to adjust/reduce our committee operating budgets for the following school year to accommodate the budget discrepancies.