Our elementary school have chartered the local pack for the last 51 years. Only in the last 2 years have they changed it to where the representative of the PTO must be a member. But its only a formality.
The scouts have permission from the district & school to hold meetings there and they also hold some of their events there - like badge ceremonies, derby races, etc. The PTO President signs a paper to acknowledge that the PTO is chartering the pack. You are presented with a certificate of Charter which we display in our main hall. There is no fee, there is no additional obligation of the PTO to the pack & the scout leader should not be making demands of the PTO and the PTO not making demands from the pack. It should be a respectful partnership - kind of like a silent partnership.
In appreciation for chartering the pack, the scouts have done quite a few things for us at the school when we needed it. Helping to plant trees, planting flowers, install a wall of handmade tiles in our lobby and most recently, they painted our blacktop with games for the students. Its a great partnership.
I hope you consider it since the scouts need a charter in order to organize and they do so much community service work in town, it would benefit all round.
Take a close look at the charter agreement they want your PTO leadership to sign before making any decisons. We have a very large, very active boyscout troop in our school, but the PTO stopped sponsoring them a few years ago when the president scrutinized the annual agreement. The expectations laid out were not something the PTO could or would provide (ex: a place to meet, oversight of the adult leadership). In the end (and the debate unfortunately got ugly and emotional), the school agreed to sign the charter.
I'm not involved in Boy Scouts, so maybe there's more to it. But if BSA requires a separate chartering organization, I wonder why the parents of the troop members don't just set up a new separate non-profit corporation in their state and have that group charter the pack. That way, the chartering organization is made up of people who really care about the pack. Can they provide independent oversight? No. But then neither does a PTO whose focus is on the school/students, not on the pack.
We have Cub Scouts because we are an elementary school and so once they get to Middle school then they are Boys Scouts. The Cub and Boy Scouts can not exist without a sponsor. There is no money exchange, they fundraise for their pack and we get no money from them or give money to them. In exchange for sponsoring them they sort of work for your PTO and follow what ever rules or requirements you set forth. I would contact the district manager for the local pack and set up a meeting, because that is what they are supposed to do anyhow. So they can explain to you how it works.
Ours used to and we ceased the practice three years ago. I'm not sure the exact reasoning other than we felt it was better to not sponser any single organization over another and we are a large school and would have difficulty sponsering everyone. We do partner on specific projects when we can though. IE food drives etc.
