For many school districts, the slowing economy means tightening budgets and trimming staffs. A Colorado parent group is making a case that tough times hurt schools in another way: parents that volunteer during the school day are having to get jobs to make ends meet.

The parent group wants to pay for classroom aides to help teachers out, but it's against the school district's rules. Although the parents have the best of intentions, paying for school employees raises questions about the equity and reliability of the funding. So what's a PTO to do? We explore the issue in depth here.