I have a different twist on this. Our school may or may not be closing next year depending on state funding, no new schools involved, our children will be distributed among the other existing elementary schools. A few years back a fund raising campaign was held for a new playground and around $8000 was raised. It turns out that a new playground has not been possible and now the school may be closing. From our sketchy notes from previous years, we are not a 501(c)(3) and I can find nothing in our by-laws about specific fund raising. Barring something in our old minutes, which I'm not sure we even have, does anyone know of restrictions on the use of this money? We'd like for at least some of the kids that raised it to get some benefit from it.

One other thing - if the new school represents the same grades and a significant percentage of the same kids will be going there, I'd push for moving the old PTO to the new school and changing its name. You'd have to check with the IRS, but I think this could be done. Then it would save the time and cost of setting up a new PTO.

I'm not clear why you would have to change your bylaws. It sounds like your PTO is a 501(c)(3). To have gotten that status, your bylaws must have a standard dissolution clause (like Pals quoted).

mum24kids is correct, the new school can (and probably should) already be organizing it's new PTO so they can transition into activities quickly when the school opens. Process-wise, it's no different than any other PTO filing - perhaps a bit easier because as a truly new entity, there's no history to provide.

Anyway, the dissolution clause would allow a transfer of remaining assets to another 501(c)(3) or the new school - if that's what the PTO decides to do.

mom24kids, when I said they had to approve the cruical changes, that was told to me by the federal gov. upon calling them, and its not eveything thing in the bylaws they have to approve, they don't care if you change your membership rules and such, they do care about things like how the money raised will be used, and what happens to the money when it closes, etc.

I know its not easy to get a federal Id to become a PTO, but I did notice that the Federal site has updated and you can do it electronicly now.

There will be such a great mix of people going to this new super school, that
I believe this PTO should not be the only people to decide about the new PTO.

How can they set up a PTO if its not even open Yet, could you point me to where you got that imformation, I'd like to check that out.

I thank everyone for there input. It did help.

As to the person who said I made my decission, its not my decission, a PTO is a group no matter what I think or may find out, the others may or may not listen, majority rules. I can only hope they don't ignore the legal aspects of closing the PTO, sometimes people don't listen and do what is easy.

LadyMinx;129668 wrote: how can you form a pto for a school that doesn't have children in it yet?

As long as you have a group of people interested in forming the PTO, they can form it as far in advance as they want. Around here, it's fairly typical for a new PTA to be in place at least 6 months before a school opens. They get started as soon as the school boundaries are determined and they know which schools the kids will be coming from.

LadyMinx;129668 wrote: I also found out that if you make changes to your bylaws, it the changes are in the crucial requirements for the federal 501 status you have to notify to Federal Goverment of these changes and they have to approve them.

I fear that this statement may have been made because of a post I recently made in another thread. YES, IF you file an information return with the IRS, you do need to file copies of changes to your governing documents. NO, the IRS does not need to (and, in fact, will not) approve them. My head hurts just thinking about the possibility of the IRS having to approve bylaws changes for companies and tax-exempt organizations throughout the country.

LadyMinx;129668 wrote: Nothing stops them from holding somekind of event to raise money to get the new PTO started after the new school opens.

Spoken like someone who has never had the privilege of opening a new school..... It is so much fun, and I've had the opportunity to help with two openings in the last few years, and might have another opportunity in a year. (Yeah, I live in a high growth area--it's not because I've moved.) But it is SO MUCH work. And it takes a long time to get ramped up.