There's a fairly big discrepancy between some of the things you say and the reality of 1) nonprofit regs; and 2) that email sent by Texas state PTA.
The leaders should follow their bylaws, by-and-large, but it's really important to note that most/all of that "stuff" in the Texas PTA email are not part of the bylaws. They are way past that. And that "stuff" is certainly not required to stay on the right side of any nonprofit/IRS regs that you refer to. They're way, way past that.
When PTA bylaws are reasonable and PTA officials are reasonable, then I always recommend following the steps. But when the steps are unreasonable and -- even more clearly -- when the state officials (as is too common) undertake this thinly-veiled intimidation, then I say to volunteers to just avoid the nonsense. It's easy enough to do.
There's nothing in bylaws/laws that says "state gets its say". The local belongs to the local members. If they want to hear from state -- great. If they feel they've done all their research and have looked at all sides on their own -- that's their right. If bylaws say "state should get a speaker", also important to note that that speaker is a guest of the local and can and should be subject to traditional meeting rules like time limits and defering to the presider. It's the local's group and the local's meeting.
Finally, if "they don't want your coffee pot", then they should stop clearly threatening/implying that they do.
this has NOT been a board only decision,,,,,,, this was voted on at our last meeting and EVERYONE voted to dissolve the PTA.... we know there is no reason to send our dues to them and get little in return..... the first post above was a copy and paste from an email to me from the area rep.... word for word....... we know this is what is best for us...... and ALL of us voted that way,,,,, our board would not make this decision alone..... and it has been being discussed since january...... this is not a quick decision.
You (and your board) have decided what's best for your membership without even asking them if they want to leave PTA.
If you hold a membership campaign, you are committing fraud -in that you collect PTA dues -and embezzlement -in that you don't remit to the state office the portion that isn't yours.
If your membership wants to leave PTA- fine. But don't make that decision for them.
Texas PTA has hurdles to ensure that a few people don't have the ability to dissolve the PTA without letting the membership decide for themselves.
The state PTA would rather you dissolve your PTA legally (paperwork included) than to have it die a slow lingering death.
There are PTAs that do just vanish and there has to be a legal manner in which the state PTA can clean up the mess left behind. No, they don't want your coffee pot or your copier.
They do want your membership to make the decision, not a few people.
When a PTA goes PTO it's usually a decision made by a board of 3 to 5 people.
They don't give the membership a choice, they just stop communication with the state office.
It's a business. When you fold, you have obligations to your "stock holders" and to the government. The IRS and the comptroller's office need to be notified. The state PTA office will do it for you but you need to go through the hoops that your org. has outlined in its bylaws for dissolving.
Your bylaws aren't just a .doc file sitting in your computer. They are as legally binding as all the other non profit business charters that operate in Texas.
You and your board make the pitch to become a pto, then the state rep. makes their pitch. Membership votes and 2/3's rule. Simple as that. Democracy at it's best.
If you're too intimidated to speak to the area rep about dissolving, have someone else from your board do it.
ok, so i am thinking, we will open a new checking account for our PTO, make sure we have no other assets, and not add any new members this school year and we will be free and clear...... i suppose they want us to do it their way, the hard and intimidating way, but i think if we can get away with it, we will do it our way. just not continue to pay dues. i was really upset when i received this message yesterday. thanks for the help tim!
We are trying to change over to a PTO also and I have to agree that I feel intimidated. I am so confused on how to proceed with it. Our memberships are up on Sept. 30th and we are in the State of NJ. Does this mean that we have to dissolve all our assets before the 30th to avoid the State taking everything?
Short answer to your last question is yes. I've seen a lot of these docs from state PTAs and this is one of the most over-the-top yet. C'mon. They want your coffee pot? Give me a break!
So I don't have a ton of time tonight for this, but you're really guided by *your* bylaws and nonprofit/IRS law. That's it. The state PTA may tell you all kinds of things, but they have very obvious incentives to make this both a) seem to be; and b) actually be as difficult a process as possible.
Fact is that if your PTA shuts down and doesn't add members and doesn't send in dues -- net effect = same.
Fairly easy to make sure you really don't have any assets when the group finally gets dissolved. That's the easiest way to avoid that argument, though I also highly question the basis for which state PTA's lay claim to those assets. Just easier to avoid the discussion by moving your assets out of the PTA before formally dissolving.
Gosh, that level of over-reaching is frustrating. LWouldn't it be better if they worked on making it great (and worth the money) to be a PTA, rather than working so hard to intimidate folks into staying a PTA?
