Isn't volunteering to work in the PTO wonderful!!!???
Our PTO does not have a formal written policy on this but it is the consenses of the parents and staff that we do not want our children going door-to-door selling anything. A small town can harbor a dark side - just like the big city - and a raffle ticket is not worth the price a child may pay so your school can earn a buck for field trips. Friends, neighbors and family can and do support fund raising without the necessity to solicit strangers.

If sending children out to sell things door-to-door is truly against your PTO/school policy, rely on that policy to communicate the message. This mother sounds like she needs something to do with all of her time and gosh, since she seems to feel the need to write --- how about using her editorial as an opportunity for you to include your perspective of the situation along side her assessment in the local paper. The public will appreciate hearing both sides and without "telling her off" carefully state the policy and focus on the issue of the safety of the children. If you take care to write with utmost professionalism and state facts - the school/PTO does not allow this as policy and solid reasons why - the readers will see this foolishness of the situation and it will be yesterday's news real fast - even in a small town.

Look on the bright side ---
If your little town is truly small - it may give the community something exciting to read AND you can tell everyone where they can purchase their ticket at the end of the article. Might as well boost sales while you've got the spotlight!

I am the president of our PTO. We have recently started a raffle and a member of our group is upset with me because I will not allow our children to sale the tickets door to door. She has made the statement to others that she feel's that I do not trust the kids, and she plans on writing an article about me and putting in our local newspaper.I want to give her dues back to her and tell her we do not need her. Better yet I want to tell her off. It is against our school policy to allow our children to go door to door. We live in a small town and we have a great community, still you never know what can happen. Please someone tell me what I can say to this woman without sounding like a knowitall.