Question: PTA to PTO, do we need a lawyer

Like many questions I have seen, we are a rural school district in Washington State and would like to cancel our PTA membership and become a PTO. Do we need to bring a lawyer into this change, the money we have in our account is spread throughout the following year so we would not be able to prepay for things. Can we donate the fund to the PTO? Our membership is very small (70 parents) and we plan on voting at our upcoming general meeting. Would love some advice...

Asked by hcarter2012

Answers:

Advice from PTO Today

Rose H writes:
Hi hcarter2012. First, this is a common process. While we have heard of groups doing this without a lawyer, I wouldn't want to recommend that to you because I don't know what your specific circumstances are. However, you can get a lot of information and step-by-step tips on making this move in our article, Swithcing From PTA to PTO. Link Text Regarding you question on money specifically, it appears that many groups spend down the account, funding various school projects as they get ready to make this change. That's just one option, though. Other groups donate the remaining funds to other non-profit groups. Good luck with your plans and stay in touch.