Re: Texas Registration 2015
 

This is something we still feel the effects of at 3320. Parts can only be purchased on Thursdays, and administration routinely leaves parts out of orders because they can't keep track of their paperwork. They just aren't prepared for being a quick turnaround system. In this competition teams need their own accounts to manage on their own schedules.

It's a pretty stark contrast compared to how life is at 1477. The way that team runs is the best example I know of how important experience is in running a team. 1477 has a pretty small number of mentors compared to a lot of other teams, but they're very experienced and everybody knows what to expect going in, and there are already systems in place for getting things done. It makes me feel like we're constantly a week or two behind on any other team.

Re: Texas Registration 2015
 

MariO

Due to PO issues with my district a few dedicated parents helped us start a parent booster club last year. Getting our 501c.3. approved took six months. So hopefully you are somewhere in that process.

I will caution that while it alleviates some concerns others can definitely arise. For instance, according to the district rules we operate under (may be TEA/UIL rules as well I am not sure) as a school employee and the team coach I cannot touch the booster club bank account. They have helped us purchase many things and are working diligently to raise money. My main concern is that they put robot spending before buying other items. Under the wrong leadership they could well do that and make those choices without team consent (we actually saw it happen with our football booster club a couple of years ago).

Michael:

As a side note these PO issues are just some of the difficulties many teams affiliated with schools face. We have faced all of them and throw in just for giggles and grins the fact that our accounting dept stomps their feet at the idea of expedited shipping (they will not approve shipping that is > 25% of the total bill).

I am not sure that the solution is as simple as a single entity that can serve all of us. I believe that there would be many concerns on behalf of sponsors who want to ensure that 'their' team is the only one who benefits from 'their' funding. Also, would this be legal in the state of Texas? :confused:

Re: Texas Registration 2015
 

[quote=Paul Richardson;1440430]This is something we still feel the effects of at 3320. Parts can only be purchased on Thursdays, and administration routinely leaves parts out of orders because they can't keep track of their paperwork. They just aren't prepared for being a quick turnaround system. In this competition teams need their own accounts to manage on their own schedules./QUOTE]

We have a 501(c)(3) booster club and so these types of problems mostly go away. But let me share a clever approach used by another team in our area, FRC 3310. They place "open purchase orders" well in advance of the season with key vendors. This expedites the process considerably.

HTH