Hi Bertha,
Sounds like you have had a bad experience with PTA and I am sorry for that. My first thought is if you have to arrange for police officers to attend your meeting when you announce that you are changing to a PTO, you might want to reconsider that. In defense of PTA it is your membership and not you or just your executive board that make that decision. PTA is a democratic organization, where members count and each vote counts.
As to communication with members, our Councils and PTA Districts send monthly newsletters and our State has a quarterly publication. But experience has shown us that the best way to get parents attention is to put "it" in the U.S. mail. And something so very important such as disbanding a PTA needs that extra attention.
PTA has bylaws from the PTA Unit level all the way up to the National PTA. Unit by laws consist of Articles and Sections some of which cannot be changed because they were voted upon by members attending State and National Conventions. Many Articles and Sections are voted upon by the members of the particular unit.
Those of us on Council boards and PTA district boards have the right to speak in favor of PTA. We do not come to yell, threaten or otherwise demean the members. Sometimes its not PTA they are mad at, but are mad at ceretain people and how the PTA is being operated. Many times we are able to intervene and be of help - sometimes not. In our Council, we have never had to have police officers on hand because a riot was expected. Perhaps that's because we do talk with the members and try to explain why they might want to stay a PTA. We also honor their wishes if they vote to disband. Following the process in an orderly fashion circumvents hard feelings and the need to "be up for a good fight."
You state "Don't you think that a group has thought long and hard about switching?" Yes, we do. The key word is GROUP. A small group or possibly just a few Executive Board members should not dictate to the membership. Nothing should go forward without the consent of the membership. All to often, we have seen a small group decide to disband PTA and go PTO or other club and a few years go by and they return to PTA.
I am in favor of what works for your school, but the decision still must be made by the entire membership and not just a few unhappy members.
Hi Tim,
No, this is not my rule. The 60 day notice is stated clearly in the Unit's bylaws.
You are incorrect to state that National and State PTA do not have a mailing list of its members. They do! Every Unit PTA should have a membership list when members join. This particular school I am dealing with only has 142 members. It would not be an imposition for that Unit to send out a notice to each member by US mail. The reason for the postal mailing is so that not just a small group of members or just the executive board members make that decision to disband PTA, but to give every member a voice.
A flyer going home with a student does not always reach the parents.
Lori
This may seem like a dumb question and an angry question,but why do you have to give council 60 days notice? If we want to change over to PTO who are you to stop us?
Just like with any other big company(PSE&G, phone company, credit card companies) if I don't like you and want to switch my serve over to another, who are you to tell me I have to give you 60 days notice? I've called you shouldn't that be enough!
And why do I have to have you come in and yell at us like we're children,and tell us what a big mistake we're making if this is what WE want? What works for you and your school just isn't working for us at our school.
I really don't what to sound like I'm riding on my broomstick but let's be honest, who are you to try to sway us into doing something we don't want to do anymore? Don't you think that a group has thought long and hard about switching over? Let's face it, they have tohave had thought long and hard because of all the paper work and legal stuff that goes along with it. I know I personally want nothing to do with the paperwork(that's why I have such a wonderful treasurer and I'll never share her with another group). But I am up for a good fight and I know that's what I'm about to get when we inform our county we're switching! I have 2 cops on standby for the night of that meeting. And for those who know our town, and what happened to the other school in town, know we'll need more than 2 cops!!
Thanks for posting that. Appreciate the input. And am glad that you guys keep the disband process positive.
Your "advice" is awfully complex. In particular, the idea that a group would have to postal mail to all its members is crazy. There are a ton of groups -- including the National PTA, all state PTAs and most local PTAs -- who don't have a postal mailing list of their own members. And I know of very few groups (none actually) who use the US Mail for communications out to members. So this "advice" is a classic example of -- at least it's the impression given -- of being difficult. "Why would we "have" to mail this, when we don't mail a single thing else?"
These other things you mention -- 60 days notice for this, a meeting with state and council, yadda -- are these requests of yours? Or are they in your state bylaws?
I serve as President of a Council of PTA and serve on a PTA District Board and would like to respond to you question and comments.
Within our District we have gone through the disbanding of PTA's and have given the following advice.
1. Read your bylaws. The bylaws give you a step by step review of procedures.
2. Give PTA District and Council 60 days notice
of the desire to disband.
3. Set up a meeting with District President and Council President for an opportunity to speak at a General Meeting on behalf of PTA.
4. 30 days written and mailed notice to each paid PTA member notifying them that there will be a vote taken to disband PTA.
5. Have a General Meeting where both sides will be discussed and then a vote can be taken which will be entered into the minutes of that meeting.
As far as transfer of funds; PTA does allow for the transfering of funds to a Parent Club so long as that Parent Club has proof of their new 501(C)(3), however being that these are PTA funds they should be spent for the children before the PTA disbands. Eventhough PTA has the right to close the PTA account we try to work with the PTA and help them to follow proper procedure. California PTA follows Coporate law.
Too many times people are saying things that are not true about PTA. The people that I know at the District and Council level do not go out and threaten Units in anyway. We are here to help and guide Units.
One reason that State PTA would take funds from a Unit and put the money into a "trust fund" for the PTA would be because all too often a small group of Board Members or PTA members want to disband. Then a couple of years later new people come on board and want a PTA started up again. Upon receiving their new charter the PTA would then receive the money in the "trust fund."
Another way to dispense the PTA money would be to gift the money to the School District with a letter of intent with specific directions as to how the PTA is to be spent.
