It is plainly stated in our bylaws that the PTO can't endorse any canidate for any office. This year my father-in-law ran for an office that contained a large portion of our school district. It was hard for me not to go down there and really push for him by any means possible but I kept my mouth shut. (He won) We did invite all of our local canidates to our Annual Ham Supper. If a canditate gives a donation we include their name in our "thank yous".

I would advise any to stay far away as possible from public politics when it comes to a PTO,especailly if they are small town like we are. It can cause a lot of tension and hurt feelings if one is not careful. And that would not be a good environment for the children.

Informative article, but it doesn't change my mind that a school PTA/PTO should not lobby. A school community is a microcosm of the community. If a PTA/PTO feels they need to lobby for a something its probably because they feel it may not come to pass if they don't do something. In which case whatever it is does not have overwhelming support in the community or it wouldn't need the support of the PTA/PTO. And if it doesn't have the support in the community it is highly unlikely that it has full support within the school community.

Would you want your PTA/PTO support an anti-abortion bill, a pro-choice candidate, development of a new children's museum in the last stand of old growth forest in your county, and so-on?

Periodically I've seen stuff come up on these boards regarding whether forums for candidates can be sponsored by a PTA/PTO, or whether certain political positions can be promoted by the PTA/PTO. Ran into this article entitled "Top 10 Myths about 501(c)(3) Lobbying and Political Activity" that you might want to take a look at and file away for future use if any of that is a potential issue for you.
www.venable.com/publication.cfm?publicat...2&publication_ID=448 :cool: