I
nquiring Minds Want To Know:
“Why haven’t I seen a PTA membership form? Did I miss it? Do I need to send in my family’s $5 membership fee?”
Discovery School PTA is currently in the process of transitioning from a PTA to a PTO. Our PTA membership will expire later this fall allowing us at that time to transition to a PTO instead of renewing our PTA membership. Once that transition is complete, we will open up memberships of the PTO and we will collect membership fees. Hang on to your membership fee for now and wait to hear more information later this fall. We appreciate the participation of every family at Discovery School!
“What is the difference between a PTA and a PTO? Why are we making this transition?”
Parent Teacher Association (PTA) is a national organization that is intended to facilitate parental participation in school. To maintain our affiliation with PTA, we must pay $2.50 out of every $5 membership fee we collect to the organization. We also must abide by their rules pertaining to how we use funds donated to and raised by our PTA. A Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is a local organization governed by the rules established privately for the individual school.
A survey was conducted in the Spring of 2018 to get feedback from the Discovery School population. Based on the feedback that was received, the decision was made to move forward with this change. Once we transition, our entire membership fees will remain with Discovery School. Also, all funds collected by the PTO will benefit the students at Discovery School in whatever capacity the PTO deems most advantageous. The PTO will establish its own set of rules customized to fit our school’s needs, and decision making will be centered around the needs of the Discovery School community.
Our next PTA general membership meeting will be September 14 at 5:30. Please join us then.
If you have any further questions about membership or this transition, feel free to contact us:
Ayat Abu, PTA/PTO President, 315-601-2244
Holly Holton, PTA/PTO Membership Chair, 615-218-4489
