At my school, (I am PTO President) and we charge a $1.00 yearly fee! We have got over 30 teachers thus far...and more and more keep coming to me every day!
Our teachers pay. We give our teachers a classroom start up fund at the beginning of each year. This year we decided to "pay" their dues and give them the remainder on gift card. This way we guarantee we have 100% teacher participation! They loved the idea. Paying the membership dues was one less thing for them to worry about.
We charge $10 for families; $10 for teachers with children at the school (since they are parents as well!); or $5 for teachers without children at the school.
Even our school board representative gave us $10 even though she did not have too.
All the dues stay with the school since we are a PTO and it is a great way to kick start our fundraising to support our earlier programs before our traditional fundraisers begin. We have received over $2000 so far this year and we keep getting more memberships in everyday.
Back when we charged dues, you got the school directory (which the PTO creates) for free. Then the teachers had to pay, too. A few years ago we stopped charging dues, so all our teachers and parents are technically voting members, even if they dont' see themselves that way.
