Well, fortunatly we had a small crisis at our school and our scheduled open house/pta member drive was rescheduled for Oct. 4. I have called a special meeting of all PTA member (which at this time only includes the board) for friday, to discuss our future as a PTA. I hope to get a vote as to PTO or PTA. I know the majority of the board wants to go PTO, I don't think the parents are very concerned about they "name", they just want to be able to volunteer and be a part of what's going on. The teachers want to go PTO. I have prepared two sets of bylaws if we decide to go PTO and have made sure that it includes an article that states that the existing PTA board will assume the same temperary position for PTO until we have an election.
If we decide to go PTO, we will not have a PTA membership drive, we will have a PTO drive. We are in good standing with PTA now as far as money goes, we've paid our dues and insurance (which we found out we don't need) We don't have updated bylaws (they expired a year ago) and have never went by the bylaws anyway. Our PTA was more of a group for the rich and mighty and they didn't want much help from most parents until I came along. Guess I kind of have them running with their tails between their legs, they are all for anything I am suggesting. Noone really ever tried to show them the error of their ways or ask to see the bylaws. Our Principal is 100% behind me and is so grateful that someone "normal" has come in to try and organize things.
You're in a funny (potentially advantageous) spot.
What do you mean by: "I have updated everything for this year"? What have you done?
There are a couple of answers to your questions:
1. Yes, you can start a PTO anytime.
2. As far as "who it is up to" to disband your PTA -- it's typically a decision for your membership to make, not just your board. But that's where the funny position comes in -- you don't have members/haven't had a membership drive this year. Was there one last year? Did you pay dues last year? Cuz the thing is, if I was fairly certain that the leaders and parents of my group wanted to be a PTO, then I certainly wouldn't go run a PTA membership drive (you'd owe dues for every membership sold) just so i could disband. What a colossal waste of time that would be -- not to mention how much it would confuse parents (who have no interest at all in this behind-the-scenes sausage-making).
Good luck! I know how your feeling. Remember to keep in mind that "majority" means the majority of the people there, not the majority of mia or theoretical "members".
At this point we have no Pta members. I've used the links in some of the posts to do a rough bylaws for our new PTO, and I've called a special meeting of our PTA exec board, to dicuss our pta future. Hopefully I will be able to get a majority vote at the special meeting and we can beging the disbanding process and still begin to get our new PTO off the ground. Thanks for your help!!
You poor thing! I noticed noone had answered you, so I'll try my best. I hope you come back!
Is it basicaly up to the board members to vote on disbanding the PTA?? This depends on your bylaws. I would wager a guess that it would have to be at least by majority vote of your general membership.
If we decide to go PTO, do I just start putting PTO on all our flyers and info we send home with the students? It will most likely be the same people that are involved, so it really depends on where you are putting the money. If money is going into your new, PTO account, than use PTO. If not, stick w/PTA until you've switched. This leads to your next question : Even if we don't have our official bylaws and we aren't incorporated? Your bylaws should be your first order of business. You'll need them to elect officers (even if it is the same people, you need to have a new election for a "new" group.) You'll need an officer as a name on your bank account, so you really cannot fully operate as a new group until you have those bylaws.
We have a bit of money in our PTA account, do we just use the money up and at the same time make all future deposits into a PTO account(once it is open)? I'm not familar w/PTA rules, but I would say that it is up to your group what you do w/this money. Check the bylaws of your PTA group. There should be a section about dissolution & distribution of assets. You may be able to give the money to a new group, or you may have to spend it.
I hope this helps & was not confusing. This is all my own opinion. You are in the right place to find out this kind of info. The guys & gals around here really know their stuff & have a lot of experience. Good luck! Keep us filled in on how you are doing!
