As part of the process of our conversion to a PTO, our organization must adopt PTO Bylaws. Those bylaws were presented at the PTA meeting on March 2, and a vote will be taken at the next meeting, on April 14 at 6:00 p.m. Also on the agenda will be the adoption of proposed “Standing Rules,” which are informal operating procedures that can be changed more easily than bylaws. Both the proposed Bylaws and proposed Standing Rules are posted here for your review. Please bring any comments or questions to the PTA meeting on April 14.

Proposed PTO Bylaws
Proposed PTO Standing Rules

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

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. Five articles have been posted on the 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. Discussion of converting the Hauser PTA to a PTO is on the agenda for the November 4 meeting (7:00 p.m. in the Hauser Library).

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. This is the fifth in a series of articles discussing PTA and PTO.

When considering whether the Hauser parents group should continue its affiliation with the national PTA, it is instructive to ask: How well does our mission fit with that of the national organization?

Though incomplete, Hauser PTA archives show that the priorities of our group have changed over time. What started in 1893 as an effort to beautify the school, a few decades later had become primarily about parent education, and then evolved further to the group it is today. Indeed, the activities and programs of our PTA today make clear the following priorities:

* To make possible academic, cultural, and recreational opportunities which are otherwise beyond the means of the school district;
* To build a sense of community among parents and staff;
* To educate and support parents in their role as advocates for their child’s education, and for the education of all children in the district;
* To facilitate communication between parents, principal, and school board.

In other words, our focus is on the educational experience specifically in our school and district. The national organization, by comparison, has a preference for advocacy on a broader scale, as reflected in the following official objectives, which are required to be in our bylaws:

* To promote the welfare of children and youth in home, school, community, and place of worship;
* To raise the standards of home life;
* To secure adequate laws for the care and protection of children and youth;
* To bring into closer relation the home and the school, that parents and teachers may cooperate intelligently in the education of children and youth;
* To develop between educators and the general public such united efforts as will secure for all children and youth the highest advantages in physical, mental, social, and spiritual education.

What would be possible as a PTO that isn’t as a PTA?
Complete autonomy and, potentially, more inclusivity. (For example: we could decide whether or not to require dues as a condition of membership.)

Is there anything possible as a PTA that we’d lose as a PTO?
”Reflections” is a PTA- sponsored program in which we would no longer be eligible to participate. It may be possible to participate in similar programs sponsored by other organizations.

Isn’t parent advocacy important on more than just a school level? Yes. But, if enough interest exists, our PTO could sponsor educational programs on how individuals can effectively advocate for their beliefs. Right now, your dues support the national PTA platform, whether you agree with it or not.

For more information on national PTA mission and philosophy, visit www.pta.org.

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. This is the fourth in a series of articles discussing PTA and PTO. Note: There are large gaps in the extant PTA records, but based on what we do have, it is possible to piece together the following timeline.

1871: First public school formed to serve the children of Riverside.

1893: Riverside parents form the Art League, a group dedicated to ”beautifying the school and awakening in the children the love of art.“¹ The group gives gifts of painting and sculptures to ”the” school (Central was then the only school building).

1914: Riverside-Brookfield Parents-Teachers Association is formed. ”The aim and purpose of this Society shall be to bring parents and teachers into closer co-operation in behalf of all the children in the community.“² Membership is open to all residents of Districts 95 and 96; dues are voluntary.³

1923: The Riverside-Brookfield Parents-Teachers Association joins the National Conference of Mothers and Parent-Teacher Associations, which, after a couple of name changes, becomes the National PTA. Dues become a requirement of membership.

1923-1949: Ames, Hollywood, Intermediate (now Hauser), and Blythe Park schools are built. Ames, Hollywood, and Blythe establish their own parents groups. Riverside-Brookfield Parents-Teachers Association becomes the Central PTA, and later the Central-Intermediate PTA.

1951: Intermediate parents establish their own, separate PTA.

1973: In a move to save dues money, Hauser parents separate from the national PTA and reorganize as a PTO. The new name is the Hauser Council of Parents and Teachers. The new group is, apparently, uninsured.

1987: Hauser rejoins the PTA because of insurance needs.

1999: PTO Today offers the first comprehensive, affordable insurance/policy outside PTA.

2006: Wall Street Journal articles details trend away from PTA, and toward PTO.

2008: Central PTA becomes a PTO. Ames, Blythe Park, Hauser, and Hollywood continue to be PTAs.

1. ”Hauser School History” by Joan Shurtleff, 1974
2. Constitution of the Riverside-Brookfield Parents-Teachers Association, 1914 Secretary’s Minutes
3. Ibid.

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. In District 96, Central’s parent group recently voted to become a PTO. This is the third in a series of articles discussing PTA and PTO.

Would a PTO be the same type of legal entity as a PTA? A PTO could have the same type of legal organization as our current PTA. The steps necessary to accomplish this are:

1. Draft PTO bylaws;
2. Apply for federal employer ID number (FEIN);
3. Incorporate as an Illinois not-for-profit corporation;
4. Apply to the IRS for tax-exempt status;
5. Apply to the state Department of Revenue for a sales tax exemption.

FEIN - To open a bank account an organization needs a federal employer identification number, even if the organization has no employees. There is no cost involved in obtaining an FEIN.

Incorporation – A PTA (or a PTO) can choose whether to become a not-for-profit corporation. Although this is not a requirement, in District 96 most parent groups have opted to incorporate. Hollywood PTA has not. Likewise, for many years the RB Patron’s Council has operated as a PTO and is not incorporated. There is no reason all parent groups in District 96 need to be all PTA or all PTO. Other neighboring school districts have mixtures of PTAs and PTOs. The primary reason to incorporate is to protect the officers and members from being held personally liable in a lawsuit against the organization. In addition, most grants for which a parent group might apply are only available to not-for-profit corporations. The one-time filing fee to form an Illinois not-for-profit corporation is $50.

Tax-exempt Determination – Not every not-for-profit corporation is also ”tax-exempt.” To become tax-exempt an organization must file for tax exempt status (501(c)3) with the IRS. Hauser’s PTA is ”tax-exempt” because the Illinois PTA has been determined by the IRS to be ”tax-exempt,” which confers those benefits to the local PTAs. Some of the advantages of tax-exempt status are: (1) no federal taxes are owed on earnings of the organization; (2) most grants are available only to 501(c)3 corporations; and (3) supporters who donate to your group can deduct donations from their own taxes. For a PTO to receive the same ”tax-exempt” determination from the IRS, the PTO would need to file Form 1023 and pay a fee to the IRS. Based on the size of Hauser PTA’s annual budget, the filing fee to the IRS for a tax-exempt determination of a PTO would be $750.

Illinois Sales Tax Exemption – Some organizations (charitable, religious, educational) qualify for an exemption from paying Illinois sales tax on goods bought for the use of the organization. Similar to the federal tax-exempt determination, Hauser PTA is now covered under the Illinois PTA’s exemption. A PTO would need to apply for a sales tax exemption. There is no cost to apply for a sales tax exemption.

Costs – The cost to become a PTO would be approximately $1,000: $750 for the IRS tax-exempt status determination, $50 to the Illinois Secretary of State for incorporation, and additional costs up to $200 for preparation and review of the forms. The one-time $1,000 cost would be offset by annual savings in dues paid to the PTA ($1300 budgeted for 2009-2010), so the cost would be recouped within the first year.

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. In District 96, Central’s parent group recently voted to become a PTO. This is the second in a series of articles discussing PTA and PTO.

The ”National Congress of Mothers” (later to become the PTA) was founded in 1897 by two wealthy philanthropy-minded women who, at a time when women could not vote, felt it was up to the mothers of the country to eliminate threats to the nation’s children. The PTA formed state-level congresses to help carry out the work of the organization. Their early efforts focused on child labor laws, public health service, hot lunch programs, juvenile justice, and mandatory immunizations.

Today, the PTA continues to be primarily an advocacy organization, concerned with promoting legislation, mainly of educational issues (especially public school funding), on the state and national levels. As an organization, its focus is not on school-level parent groups, although the school groups provide the members and funding to support the PTA’s legislative agendas. To encourage the school groups to affiliate with the PTA, the PTA offers benefits to their members, the most important one being affordable insurance at a group rate. (In the past, many parent groups chose to become ”PTAs” rather than ”PTOs” because there was no alternative affordable insurance. Today, comparable insurance is available at competitive prices through other vendors and organizations, like PTO Today.)

How does the PTA determine its legislative agenda? Both the state and national PTAs hold annual conventions, to which member PTAs can send delegates, based on the number of members in a local unit. (To our knowledge, Hauser PTA has never chosen to participate in the conventions.) At the convention a legislative platform is adopted. While few would argue with the PTA’s mission to promote the welfare of children, the difficulty comes in applying this goal to specific legislation.

The Illinois PTA has a Legislative Chair who, like most PTA officers, is an unpaid volunteer. The Legislative Chair reviews the bills introduced in the General Assembly and informs the members of the PTA’s position on those bills. Because the PTA does not have a paid lobbyist, the PTA seldom testifies in committee or even takes official positions on legislation. The PTA’s potential legislative strength lies in the number of parents who are its members, assuming that all those members agree with PTA positions and are willing to contact their legislators. In reality, few members choose to become involved, and some, if they were aware, might not support all of the PTA’s positions.

For more information about the Illinois PTA’s legislative agenda, please see http://www.illinoispta.org/Legislation.html. Information about the national PTA’s legislative priorities can be found at http://www.pta.org/public_policy_agenda.asp.

At the September Hauser PTA meeting, a committee was formed to study the possibility of converting our Parent Teacher Association chapter to a parent teacher organization. In District 96, Central’s parent group recently voted to become a PTO. The other schools have PTAs. Over the next few weeks the committee will present information for your consideration prior to deciding whether to proceed with this form of organization.

What’s the difference? PTA stands for Parent Teacher Association. A PTO is a Parent Teacher Organization. The simple difference between a PTA and a PTO is affiliation versus independence. Hauser PTA is a member group of the state and national PTA. The PTA is a national non-profit organization whose main purpose is to advocate for children. Hauser’s PTA must abide by the rules set forth at the PTA’s national and state levels. In return, Hauser receives access to member benefits. To belong to the PTA in Illinois, we pay $3.25 per member. This year Hauser will pay $1,300 to the state and national organization. Part of your PTA dues is used to support state and national lobbying efforts. Membership in the PTA is individual, not family-based, meaning that if both parents want to participate in PTA activities or programs, both should pay dues. Currently less than 25% of school parent groups nationwide are affiliated with the PTA; in Illinois, that number is even smaller. The trend toward PTOs, and away from PTAs, has been steadily increasing in recent years.

Conversely, a Parent Teacher Organization is an independently run parent group. PTOs are most often single-school groups that operate under their own bylaws and are focused on their home school and surrounding community. PTOs have discretion to collect annual membership dues. Many PTOs eliminate annual dues, thereby effectively including every parent of the school as a member of the PTO group. However, in order to access membership benefits to PTO resources, including reduced insurance rates, an annual fee of $199 would be paid to a for-profit organization, PTO Today. The trend toward PTOs, and away from PTAs, has been steadily increasing in recent years. For more information, see http://www.ptotoday.com/pto-today-articles/article/292-pto-vs-pta-whats-the-difference.

Questions about this article should be directed to webmaster@hauserpta.org.