The intent of the letter is to notify the members of the upcoming question- "do we want to dissolve this PTA?" If less than a quorum show up, it means that they don't care enough to discuss it or by not having enough to have quorum, they don't want to disband. The information in your letter to your members should have specific information in it. If you aren't required to send a form letter from Colorado PTA, yours should be persuasive enough to at least get them to the meeting to discuss the matter.
No, you don't need 2/3rds of your paid members. Sorry, if I wasn't clear.
Somewhere in your bylaws, your "quorom number" should be defined. Often it's something like 8 or 15 members.
In order to dissolve you need to:
1. Notify all your members of the meeting.
2. Get at least the quorom number to the meeting.
3. Get 2/3rds vote of those in attendance (provided you accomplished #2).
Thanks Tim.
So if we have 100 "members", individuals we pay dues for, we need 70 people at the meeting? That will never happen, so it will be interesting to see how CO PTA handles this with us. We can prove that for the last 2 1/2 years, no more than 5 members have ever come to a meeting. I just don't see how they can expect us to get 2/3rds at a mtg (regardless of what the bylaws say - you can't mandate people to show up).
And yes, we can contact everyone through a school newsletter that is mailed to every household by the district.
Thanks, again
- Lisa
Yes, those bylaws are pretty clear: they ask you to announce your intentions to address that issue to all your members (so anyone who wants to can attend and speak peace and vote). Provided you've done that, then you need 2/3rds of those in attendance to vote for the dissolution. Like with any vote, you can only vote if you have a quorom in attendance. The definition of your quorom (how many members = a quorum) should also be in your bylaws.
The idea that you have to physically mail the notification to all your members, I believe, is highly questionable -- especially in a school setting. Do you guys ever mail (stamp, etc.) anything to your members. Most PTOs and PTAs do not. Heck, even the state PTA couldn't do that if they wanted to dissolve. I think a notification to all members through the backpack express and/or newsletter that goes to all and the like is well within the spirit of the bylaws.
Our middle school PTSA has decided to dissolve and we will continue as a PTO. For us, the main decision is to keep the monies that were going toward state and national dues (over $1000 each year) and spend it on our students and staff.
We are planning the dissolution meeting for May, with the goal to spend the money this year, and start fresh with the PTO funds, a new bank account, non-profit status, etc.
I have 2 questions.
1) Is there another organization out there in Colorado which has dissolved from CO PTA, recently?
2) I would also like a second opinion on our bylaws. In one section it states "a two-thirds (2/3) ballot vote of members present and voting, a quorum being present" (see below).
Would you say this means as long as the quorum is present, set to 3 in the bylaws, we can pass the vote to dissolve with just 3 people and NOT have 2/3 members "actually" present?
In the 3 years I have been involved, we have only had 4 or 5 ptsa members present at any given monthly meeting. Most of our funds come from a virtual fundraiser, asking families for $50 and not selling them anything, and our focus is on volunteer coordination for the school and funding programs that impact the students and staff support.
Thanks for any advice.
b. Notice of the meeting of the membership must be mailed to all members of the unit and the Colorado PTA at least thirty (30) days before the meeting. A representative of the Colorado PTA, designated by the appropriate Colorado PTA Region Director, must be present. A two-thirds (2/3) ballot vote of members present and voting, a quorum being present, must carry this intent of dissolution. Dissolution is effective immediately if vote is in the affirmative.
