We are a PTO (thankfully) and dont charge a dime. Approx 40 percent of our families are economically challenged and five dollars for the pleasure of voting certainly seems elitist.

That being said, I think the "clique" mentality is going to exist regardless. A lot of people are reluctant to get involved for whatever reason and I believe that saying the PTO-PTA involved a bunch of snobs is an easy excuse. That is why we've turned our focus this year away from worrying about the number of people who show up at business meetings, to being about the number of people we've been able to help in some form or fashion. The theory is that if we help more people this year, then perhaps more people will get involved next year. It seems to be working already.

PTA's are required to send dues to state and national level for each member. HOWEVER, that doesn't mean that money has to come from the member. If your group has the money I don't know why you couldn't make everyone a member and pay your state and national dues out of pocket. You could even have an event to raise money just to pay the dues of those who can't. OR ask those who can afford it to buy an extra membership or two to donate to those who can't afford them.

This year we gave a sheet of coupons to every dues paying member. The coupons are good for things like 50 cents off a food itemat the fall festival, or free popcorn on popcorn sale day (usually sells for 25 cents a bag) etc. The result - if someone joins our PTA and then uses the coupons then they will recoupe their membership cost. So far our membership is way up for this year. Also, any parent can be involved in PTA member or not.

I would also point out that if your groups leaders are such a clique that they are telling parents to stay home then your group needs new leaders! BLESS YOU for being a RENEGADE! The person who told the welfare mom to try to get off welfare should realize that that mom was doing her best to break the cycle by showing her child/children that school is important and they could make a better life for themselves by taking advantage of school. After all most welfare moms were once welfare kids. Parent group leaders are anything but leaders if they form a clique!

The biggest reason I'm seeking a "loophole" is that a small "in" group of people control all the events, fundraisers, etc; less than 20% of the parents actually belong to the PTA, and many of the non-members have chosen not to join because of bad feelings that have passed down from years ago and spread about the school almost like an "urban legend".

I've been talking to non-PTA parents at events to get an idea of what people are thinking; One single mom was told 2 years ago by a high ranking PTA member that she should concentrate on getting off of welfare instead of wasting her time in PTA! And there's MORE of these!

Anyhow, I wonder if people can "gift" memberships to others, possible through a pledge drive or similar. Drives me nuts that membership is always about the money- keeps so many people in our school out.

A PTO can have no dues, dues, provide for free memebrships as well as paid, etc.

Why? A PTO can do what it wants to according to the bylaws it has set forth. Most of the International Schools throughout the world have parent groups that charge dues...so we are not the only group out there doing this. I also know of many schools in the states (usually private ones) that charge dues. As for why to not belong to the PTA, our reason is obvious, we are not in the US and cannot belong to it. But a big reason is the need for autonomy! Dues may be part of this, but not wanting to be involved in someone else's politics may certainly be another. Please respect the fact that all of our groups are different, but with a common goal of doing what is best for our schools and our children. :cool:

We changed our bylaws this year so that everyone at the school is automatically a member (we are not a PTA) and just ask for pledges at the beginning of the year. We are at the end of our pledge drive and are up almost 50% over last year. We were able to up the amounts we asked for since they were pledges and not dues. Our bylaws state that we only have two general meetings a year where our members can vote - beginning of the year and in the spring when we approve the budget for the next year. The rest of the time we have meetings where everyone can speak but only the board can vote. It works really well for us because we have a strong board and a big school but not a lot of parent involvement in our meetings.

A PTO can have no dues, dues, provide for free memebrships as well as paid, etc. This is the primary reason PTAs become PTOs! It ought not to be the primary reason IMHO, but it is.

Now PTAs. Sorry you do not have this ability and remain a PTA. Your dues are set by your state for the most part and you have very little flexibility on this. As an example here in Louisiana one dollar of all dues charged must be sent in to the state, this is a minimum. That means that as a minimum PTA dues must be $1 to meet this obligation. Next come the National PTA who gets a bigger chunk (I dont know what they are up to now). So no matter what you do you have to charge some amount for membership. In fact I dont even think you can only charge the state and national portion and say ok we wont charge anything ourselves without someone at your state or the national level taking notice!

Maybe it is time you prepare to leave the PTA and become a PTO?