<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Susieq04:
Why don't you keep the PTO open since you can have a PTO and a PTA .<hr></blockquote>
I apologize for not having addressed this in my earlier reply. I'm rather new to this forum and just learning the ropes.
We are are school of very limited resources, ( over 65% free lunch ) particularily parents with the time to contribute. We felt that to try to have two parent organizations would have severely diluted the parent pool and left us with two underperforming units.
I feel that our interest were for the good of the children of our school and if there were 5 or 6 additional parents that would support those efforts if we had a PTA instead of a PTO, then perhaps its worth the change. Unfortunately, to this point, it has not been.
We had adopted PTA BYLaws (with less than the required 20 voters) , and then at the first meeting (which was closed to a non-dues payer such as myself), they proceeded to violate those bylaws with abandon. Issues such as what constitutes a quoroum, advance notice of meeting, and the makeup of the executive board were all disregarded by a group of 7 members.
If I were silent on this, would that better demonstrate an open mind?
I would inquire as to why you need the additional inurance-- Is this your council PTA advising you? or State? or school admin?...I would contact your state and the National PTA and find out what your insurance coverage is, and if it really is necessary to purchase this add't insurance. All dues for State and National PTA are based on the membeship sold. Only 1 name can appear on a membership card which entiltes you to 1 vote on each issue/budget etc. So yes all the due portions are based on each memebrship card that is given out. We offer family discount rates. Meaning we charge $5.00 for a single membership (They get a membership card issued in their name, and then each add't household family member can apply for a membership at a reduced fee of $4.00 each. Each one that applies will receive a membership card).
We have been a PTA since 1955. We have just completed a task which was asked by a few parents about would it benefit us to do a switch to a PTO- After we researched it, we found that it was not in our best interest (educationally from the resources that are provided to us by state/national, the leadership(when we have a question, power struggle etc all we do is pick up the phone and we have an answer or someone to help us out or lead us the proper way of handling something, and then a big one everyone is always concerned with was finacially. The costs for us to purchas ethe insurance we would require was too much, and then you had to worry that if a future board let it slip they may not relize it is gone or get missinformation that it is not needed. (many people assumed even as a PTA that we had insurance automatically from the school).
I feel that our PTA gets alot of info (solicted by our requests and unsolicted by their regular mailings). However I too do not agree if Council dues--i fel that for what we are doing there at those mtgs why can't the presidents meet monthly and exchange the ideas (without any cots to the units), why can't we have the superintendant attend (like she does) without having to pay(dues) for the group of us to get together. I am aliitle turned off by the way our COuncil runs and what is accomplished at this group mtg.
I hope you have a good run with being a PTA. I am also sorry if I offended you in any manner this was not what I intended to do.
<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Susieq04: -When you pat your national and state dues you are also buyibg into national and your're state's insurance- this inlcudes fidelty and bonding of officers and , liabilty insurance for the unit.
I am not too sure in your case, but it sems that you have anti PTA right from the start and maybe don't have a full open mind that a PTA can work for your school..<hr></blockquote>
I'd like to think that I had an open mind on the issue... I took the time to research it, attend meetings of the county council, and talk with PTA presidents from several schools. Those who voted for a PTA exercised no such due diligence.
Perhaps one of the items which has jaded me toward a PTA is along the lines of fees and what do we get for them. Our local county council has informed us that we owe PTA National about $2.75 per person; State, we owe .75 per person, and county council we owe .50 per member (and they stress that these are individual, not family memberships) Outside of that, we were told that we also needed an insurance policy that would run around $200 per school year. ( Some of these numbers might be off by .25, but I'm working without my notes right now)
Thank you for your reasoned reply, but I assure you that we had thorougly investigated the PTA issue and the group of us who had been working in the school for the past several years decided that it was not in our best interest.
When you say that after you are paying National And State dues there was not enough to pay for liabilty insurancce. This means you're group is buying extra liablity insurance???--When you pat your national and state dues you are also buyibg into national and your're state's insurance- this inlcudes fidelty and bonding of officers and , liabilty insurance for the unit.
I am not too sure in your case, but it sems that you have anti PTA right from the start and maybe don't have a full open mind that a PTA can work for your school.
Why don't you keep the PTO open since you can have a PTO and a PTA and let the PTO handle activities that do not fall into PTA guidelines (education and child advocacy) such as school pictures, yearbooks etc. We are a PTA in our school nd in the past our PTA has gotten so involved in these "outside" acticites that we are encouraging someone to open a PTO or the school to take over some of these things we should not have our hands on.
Presented in the right way your principal may allow a PTO to carry on these items. This way the PTA can focus on the missions and objects of National PTA and State PTA and arrange their program year around them like they are suppose to and the PTO and pick up the fluff stuff.
Bets of luck to you and your situation with your new principal.
We WERE a PTO at a 600 student elementary school that had seen 5 principals in 3 years. Needless to say, we have been through some difficult times. However, we have mananged to maintain a core group of parents who were able to stage several events and fun-raisers throughout the years.
Our most recent principal felt that a PTO was unacceptable, and hence he created a movement to oust the PTO and bring in a PTA. Although we had previously investigated changing to a PTA, we decided against it. However, we also recognized that this new principal could not, or would not, work with our group.
In the interests of harmony, we allowed the misstatements, innuendo, and blatant lies of the PTA representatives to go unchallenged. A vote was held and the overwhelming majority voted for a PTA.
It has been over 3 months and we are currently waiting for the PTA to get a bank account so that we can transfer the PTO funds to them so that they can pay their insurance dues because after sending the necessary dues to the National, State, and Local PTA chapters, there was not enough left to pay their liability insurance.
My question is... should we have put up more of a fight and risked being divisive in order to maintain the leadership of our experienced group of folks who had been working in the school for several years or should we have gracefully bowed out and permitted the group who has done nothing in the school to come in to head a PTA? The third option of the PTO folks agreeing to lead as PTA members was rejected out of principal.
Personally, I will continue to work with whatever parent group is in the school, but I refuse to pay the portion of the dues which go to support National, State, and County PTA . Fortunately, according to mandatory PTA guidelines, this excludes me from quite a bit.
I'd appreciate any other perspectives or similiar experiences.
