Per our bylaws, we are non-political! Look at your bylaws and see if there is a clause concerning this issue to back you up. Don't do what you don't feel comfortable doing! :cool:

In our monthly minutes,as an example,We will put It's school budget time get involved by attending meetings or read articles to educate yourself. We will leave it at that. That way We mentioned it, but not get too involved with the politics.

Our group has been asked to support and promote many political issues. My reply to such requests for the four years that I have been President is that we are a group of diverse individuals who have different opinions on these political issues. Because of this we have chosen to remain neutral as a group with all areas of politics. We will however give both sides the opportunity to present their stand to our membership. Letting our individual members chose for themselves and not for our organization as a whole. We also had this added to our by-laws...

C. The Pardee Parent Organization is a non-profit, non-partisan and non-political
organization. No funds raised for the betterment of the students at Pardee can be used to promote political agendas .

Though at times it could be tempting to push for/fight against a referendum, PERSONALLY, I think PTO/PTAs as a group should stay out of it. It's just too loaded a political issue, and the organization loses its neutral stance, as members of the organization could have political/financial gains from the referendum's outcome. Doing something like advocating/not advocating a referendum also can lead people to believe that the PTO/PTA is a tool of a special interest group. In our town, the PTA (of all groups) was asked to push a referendum by the BOE, which one of the board members felt was fiscally unsound. She didn't talk it down publicly, but she didn't talk it up either. She said nothing. The superintendent called her in to "address" her lack of involvement, and how it looked bad that she as a board member didn't advocate it! She spoke her mind, and said that while she could understand his "disappointment," she couldn't with a clear conscience advise people to vote FOR something she felt was a mistake. In the end the referendum wasn't passed, was rewritten into two parts, and one half passed.

Should a PTO organization get involved with the school board requesting and then forming a group to push for a referendum? They want and I believe do not understand why PTO would not be heavy involved in pushing this. I am the Pres of this PTO and I am involved with the referendum commity, but do not want to represent PTO in this. I do not feel I have the right to speak for "PTO", only as a parent. They have the "endorsement" from the music boosters and athletic boosters, which again I don't feel a handful of people should give the say so to represent everyone as a whole. I would do most anything for our school and our childrens education, but I do not want to feel "pushed" into something I am not comfortable with. Do you feel that a PTO should stay clear from "political" issues, and do you think/consider this to be a political issue? We are in IL. and MANY of our surrounding schools are hurting bad.