I just thought I'd throw my two cents in here two. We also are leaving the PTA and it's also because of the dues. After the latest dues increase, we were going to have to pay more than $1100 to be in PTA. It juts doesn't makes ense for us.
I'm also responding to PTA Voice. First, I think you kind of miss the point of why most people are going PTO. It's because when most people finally figure how much they have to pay every year to be a PTA and compare that to how much of the PTA stuff they use, then it becomes ridiculous. On the last question, of course we make the decision with our whole group involved. As a president there aren't many things i can do without the group's approval, and this definitely wouldn't have been one of them.
Whew! I just read this whole thing. Very interesting. Glad we're a PTO.
I wanted to clarify something that plw just said above. Actually, the web-based email is also from the family education network (and not PTA) and anyone can use that, even PTOs.
There's also a whole ton of other places where you can get free web-based email, so I'm not sure I'd put any dollar value on that one as far as PTA benefits goes.
I can try and answer your question pta voice. We're probably going to become a PTO because of the dues. We have talked about it with the membership at several meetings and most of us agree that we don't need to be sending all that money out for the little that we use. The regular members are more for leaving even than the board.
floridamom you are right. www.myschoolonline.com
hosts other organizations. PTA is just one of them. National PTA does offer free web based email which many officers prefer to post this email address on the web sites rather than their own.
I just wanted to say two things responding to your message. First if you don't think PTO or PTA matters then why spend the money to be a PTA? That's kind of why we're a PTO. And second as far as I know the PTA websites are from myschoolonline.com not the PTA and anyone can get those websites. Our PTO has one you don't need to be a PTA to get that.