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Is it legal for a PTO to charge dues? Yes. Can a PTO force parents to pay dues? Not usually. What you’re really asking is whether your group can offer certain privileges or rights only to those families at your school paying dues. Again, the answer is yes, but Elly doesn’t recommend it. This type of policy sets families on unequal footing from the get-go, and that’s counterproductive to fostering high involvement.
While charging dues might help your PTO’s budget at first, it’s likely hurting your group’s more important bottom line: getting parents connected to the school and building a base of volunteers. Pushing a membership drive full throttle at the beginning of the year sends a message to families that their relationship with your parent group will be financial—or at the very least all business. And by imposing membership dues and granting privileges just to those folks who pay up, you run the risk that some will see your group as exclusive—and that’s likely to turn them off completely from getting involved at school. You’ll engage far more parents by welcoming them into your PTO free of charge.
Strikes me that another key question here is whether yours is a public school or not. If not, then the "can they?" answer is likely yes. They "can" do a lot of things, and you "can" choose a different school.
But if it's a public school, then restricting access to hot lunch (especially) and school supplies seems pretty iffy even on the "can they?" scale. They seem even more iffy on the "should they" scale.
Tim
- Rockne
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My Father left me several vcr's could you use them?
- Tina Marie Mlligan
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No I did'nt have any idea what the thumbs up, and down meant. Both of them are 0
I'm just throwing them away. Do not e-mail again
- Tina Marie Mlligan
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