Open Records laws pertain to government organizations, not private organizations like a PTO. If they are a 501(c)(3) - an organization that's been granted non-profit status by the IRS - then they have requirements to disclose certain financial records such as their 990 annual tax return.
As far as I know, there is no entity that will simply get in the middle of this and tell them they "have to" show you anything.
As members, you have whatever rights are spelled out in your bylaws. But enforcing anything is going to be very difficult. Possibilities include individual negotiation, the school applying pressure (if they will) because the PTSO wants to maintain their goodwill, someone filing a suit against them (and I don't know that there is cause), or public pressure.
If someone merely wants to make trouble (which I don't advise), they could contact the IRS with concerns that the group is not declaring its income properly or not operating correctly.
The teachers are the ones likely to get hurt in this if the school or the IRS gets involved. The cash gift they got might be considered income, which each of them might be required to declare.
501 is a non profit organization that is registered with the IRS. Alot of parent groups are going this route, not sure at your school. There is something wrong if your principal has resigned from the board, I would think he may still be held accountable if he knows more than he says. I mean a principal is suppose to know what is happening in his building...I am surprised he isn't handling this to prevent it from getting worse for his school's reputation.
"When you stop learning you stop growing."
I am surprised that a reputable lawyer would allow this. Obviously, if parents raise money using the students, then the community has a right to know what happened to the money. If they want to be "private" then they shouldn't have used the students. This seems WAY out of line, and I would guess that they know they blew it in a lot of areas and don't want it to get out. If they really handed out cash to teachers, I will bet that they handed out cash to each other, too. I smell big time embezzlement and now they are all scrambling to stay out of jail. The school district should not allow this group to be associated with the school in any way, but it sounds like they approved some of the actions. There is an easy way to correct all of this and that would be to hand out its records to everyone. If someone did something illegal, then it's better to face the consequences early rather than wait until more and more bad decisions are made.
Crew Chief. Thank you. Help me understand. Can you not be private AND tax exempt at the same time?
I agree that it is totally unethical to do what they're doing, but right now they are circling the wagons, have an attorney handling their communications, and he's claiming that they have the discretion to manage their business records as they so choose. I think the lawyer is embarrassed about the whole thing but the PTSO doesn't want to release that they gave out cash and have no receipts. No one knows how to get to the bottom of it.
The fact that the school district approved a joint fundraiser with the PTSO and ASB, wouldn't that mean that records need to be made available?
One of my son's schools had a PTSO - Parent Teacher Student Organization. I don't know for sure but my thought is that to call yourself a PTA you have to actually pay to use that title. All other groups seem to make up an acronym that suits them.
As for the original post, I would demand answers. Whether they are legally obligated or not (I don't know) they have a moral obligation to answer to the folks that support their fundraising efforts. If they continue to be uncooperative, I would rally a group of parents to visit the principal with me and demand from him why he allows such a group to function within his school. I would expect to leave the meeting with a copy of the bylaws, the minutes from all of this school year's meetings and their financial statements or treasurer's reports.
Check for inconsistencies in their answers to you. Do they say donations are tax exempt? Do they claim tax exempt status when they make purchases? Then tell you they are a 'private' organization beholden to no one? They can't have it both ways. And the only way to know for sure which way it is is to review their paperwork.
Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same."
"The ultimate aim of karate lies not in victory or defeat but in the true perfection of one's character."
Lemonrasp, thank you also for your reply. I did call the principal and he said that he doesn't keep records of the PTSO. Then I find out that the principal just resigned from the PTSO board so that he wouldn't have to release records. If he's not part of the PTSO board, then it's not his responsibility, I guess. The PTSO simply says that they refuse to release any records and don't have to. Surely, there must be a way around this. They use school facilities. They use the students. They use school supplies. How could they suddenly say they are completely "private?"
