At the September Hauser PTA meeting, a committee was formed to study the possibility of converting our Parent Teacher Association chapter to an independent parent teacher organization. Between September and November five articles were posted on the Hauser PTA website. If you want to review those articles, they can be found here:

PTA or PTO: What’s the Difference?
State PTA Legislative Agenda
PTA/PTO Legal Structure
Hauser Parent Groups: A Brief History
PTA/PTO Mission

Also available is a chart comparing PTA and PTO.

The issue was discussed at length at the November PTA meeting and a decision was made to take a vote on creating a PTO at the next meeting on January 6, 2010. If you were not able to attend the November meeting and need more information, or if you did attend but still have questions about the issue, please contact either of our PTA co-Presidents, Lisa Aulerich-Marciniak or Fran Sitkiewicz, or the PTA/PTO Committee.

The process of converting from a PTA to a PTO would take several months and would include the following steps (based on Central PTA’s recent conversion):

Vote to form PTO
Vote to elect current officers as PTO officers
Vote to allocate $1000 to PTO start-up costs
Draft bylaws
Adopt bylaws
File Articles of Incorporation
File IRS form SS-4 to obtain FEIN
Complete IRS 1023 form
Circulate dissolution petition
File IRS form 1023 for “Letter of Determination”
Open checking account
Apply for Illinois sales tax exemption
Notify PTA members of dissolution vote
Mail letter to state PTA/District Director
Vote on dissolution (60 days after written notice to members & IL PTA)
Switch insurance coverage from PTA to PTO
Notify Secretary of State of dissolution of PTA corporation