Hi Maple Brook-

You're not really deciding "which group you want to link with." Rather, you're deciding whether to join the PTA or remain independent. There is no PTO "organization."

In my mind, there are two key questions:

1. What are the goals of your group? Are you organized to play a key role at your school or do you have wider state and national goals? If you're looking for a state and national role, then PTA amy be an effective option.

2. If you're organized to play a key role at your school, then the question becomes: "will the $$ we send out to PTA pay off?" There's a large spectrum of opinion on that (see ptasecty above, for one person's take), but your group needs to decide for itself. If you have 150-250 members and state and national dues total $4 or $5 per member, then you have to decide if you'll get $600-$1250 worth of value from the PTA. In my experience some groups are very happy with that cost-benefit experience; others are not so happy.

In a lot of ways, it's like any other purchase -- What are you looking for? And what's the most cost-effective way to get it?

You'll find two different experiences described here: www.ptotoday.com/0800shesaid.html

Good luck! And let us know how the meeting goes. No matter which choice you make, you'll be doing great work for kids.

Tim