Hey d88 --
If you read through past discussions, you'll see that my #1 recommendation in this debate is that folks become fully informed and then make a PTA or PTO decision. Sounds like you did that. Good for you.
Now....
A couple of points from my perspective:
1. I sure wish you'd let your memebership in on the decision-making. Why is it that your bylaws require full membership approval (2/3rds approval probably) to disband a PTA, but you didn't see fit to include the membership at all in the "go PTO" analysis? Independent of the PTO v PTA decision, any board which takes a "we do most of the work so we should make the decisions" stance is in trouble involvement-wise. That kind of thinking is why the clique image remains for so many parent groups.
2. Blue67 makes a really good point on the forprofit/nonprofit issue. PTO Today is for profit (hopefully), but PTOs are every bit as nonprofit as PTAs. Let's try and be careful with words on that.
Along those same lines, I'd let you know that PTA has far more employees, pays far more rent (in the Sears Tower for National), brings in more money from for-profit sponsors, etc. than little ol' PTO Today. I guarantee you that PTA's new CEO, Warlene Gary, makes far, far more salary than I do (2x or 3x, I'd wager). NOT KNOCKING THAT THOUGH.
We don't make a dime when a PTA goes PTO. Our magazine goes to all parent groups, regardless of acronym. And all of our services are available to all groups, regardless of acronym. We'll have about 15% PTA leaders at our 4 sold-out conferences this month. They don't have to sit in the back. About 28% of the groups using our School Family Nights program have been PTAs, a number higher than PTA's actual %representation in the country.
We're succeeding because our services -- like this free forum, our free magazine, our free School Family Nights program, and our decidedly less expensive conferences -- are helping so many groups (we hope).
Like the companies that make school buses and textbooks and desks and pencils and musical instruments, etc. -- if we keep providing great products and services at a great price (most often free), then I'm proud to continue our work.
3. On the PTA political positions thing, I like your attitude on "making changes from within." Good luck.
I'll tell you, though, that for most parent groups the problem isn't with the content of the positions themselves, it's with the existence of the positions at all. You see, there are a great many parent groups where the parents are passionate about creating a great school in their community. That's their cause, and it's a good one. It's different from yours (national education activism), but it's by no means wrong. For those groups, the content of the national platform isn't the worry, it's just something that they're not interested in being involved in or funding. Subtle but important difference.
Tim