Q&A

PTA vs. PTO what is the difference

I have been asked to head up a PTA organization in our school. To my understanding if you were to do a PTA group, a portion of the "dues" collected would need to go to the State PTA organization as opposed to PTO it would stay "in house", my question is what is the difference in becoming PTA or PTO?????
- jinz101

PTAs are units of the National PTA and their state PTA. They pay dues of a few dollars per member to each organization. It's not unusual for this to amount to $1,000 or more. PTAs are governed by the state PTA's bylaws and covered under the National PTA's tax-exempt status. They also help to support (through dues) the National PTA's lobbying organization. PTOs are independent -- they aren't members of a larger organization. Thus, they keep all of the money they raise and they write their own bylaws based on what's best for their group. In order to become tax-exempt, PTOs must apply to the IRS for that status. There's a lot more about the differences on our PTO vs. PTA page.
- Craig
Links in this post:

PTO vs. PTA page: https:/classic.ptotoday.com//pto-vs-pta