Anonymous wrote:It's mostly to save on PTA fees and not have the weird requirements that PTA has. It's just easier, and when you have largely nonparticipating parents, easier and cheaper is best.

Having been in multiple schools in the county, I've found the ones with PTAs at the elementary level have more participation because the focus of the PTA is on providing resources to the school, teachers, parents, and students as opposed to PTOs which just want to raise money for the school and don't do much for the students and families.

Okay. I checked some in my pyramid.

Cooper Middle School has a PTO.

Great Falls Elementary, Church Hill Road and Forestville Elementary have PTAs.

Colvin Run Elementary has a PTO.

Parents with children at these schools, please discuss your experiences. Any idea why Cooper is PTO and not Langley, or why Colvin Run is PTO and not some of the others? Particularly if you were involved at all three levels.


I wonder if there are any pyramids with 100% PTOs or PTAs.

When I moved here, I was surprised FCPS parents didn't support the nation-wide PTA organization, and the work they do for education. It's short sighted. The parents aren't thinking any deeper than saving a few bucks.

Anonymous wrote:Um,

“high SES schools?” Seriously??

I took a few minutes and checked some of our high schools. Langley, Mclean, Oakton and Madison seem to all be under the Fairfax and Virginia PTA. Perhaps "high SES schools" are likely to be PTOs in other counties or states?

Or maybe they are more likely to be PTOs in this area for elementary and middle school.

Now I am curious and will check a handful and report back.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wealthier schools with PTO have the flexibility to provide more resources to their student body.

I wonder which schools are PTO vs PTA in this county.

I just checked on our zoned high school (Langley, for now) and it is PTA (though called a PTSA).

SLHS is also a PTSA -- so is that the same as PTA in this thread's description or are their differences between PTA, PTO, and PTSA in terms of funding requirements etc.?

I clicked through and found they are charted under the Virginia PTA.

On a funny note, the A.I. summary that appeared when I searched "Langley High PTO or PTA" told me that the school has both organizations. Just another reason to double check things instead of blindly trusting AI to be accurate.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wealthier schools with PTO have the flexibility to provide more resources to their student body.

I wonder which schools are PTO vs PTA in this county.

I just checked on our zoned high school (Langley, for now) and it is PTA (though called a PTSA).

SLHS is also a PTSA -- so is that the same as PTA in this thread's description or are their differences between PTA, PTO, and PTSA in terms of funding requirements etc.?

Um,

“high SES schools?” Seriously??

Anonymous wrote:Wealthier schools with PTO have the flexibility to provide more resources to their student body.

I wonder which schools are PTO vs PTA in this county.

I just checked on our zoned high school (Langley, for now) and it is PTA (though called a PTSA).

Wealthier schools with PTO have the flexibility to provide more resources to their student body.

It's mostly to save on PTA fees and not have the weird requirements that PTA has. It's just easier, and when you have largely nonparticipating parents, easier and cheaper is best.

Anonymous wrote:I know the difference - PTOs are private organizations that can make their own rule, but PTAs are part of the national organization and require parents to pay dues. They also provide a ton of resources to the school PTA - including access to fundraising materials, to speakers, help with community building, etc.

What are some reasons your school chose a PTO over a PTA? I really can't see the upside other than being able to hoard money and not be transparent about it.

This was not my experience with the PTA. The PTA fees were significant and the benefits were almost non-existent for our purposes. The local Fairfax PTA is also pretty blatantly partisan and it felt like we were supporting a political group.

Thank you, I really appreciate your response.

A PTA specifically prohibits you from raising money for X/earmark funds. You can raise $50K in one year, but it must serve multiple purposes and go into many different buckets. In the same way, a PTA is not specifically supposed to sponsor one single student or single out a cause (you can have a Carnival or annual event, but it should benefit the entire year's budget/multiple line items, not a specific thing). Scholarships and benefits for all is more the thinking there.

A PTO allows you to do that and keep all funds at your school. For example, you want a new playground and it is going to cost $150K. You can hold $50K from a previous year and apply that to the project, raise $50 this year specifically for the playground and then keep raising for it until you reach your goal. In a PTA situation, it's $0 in, $0 out year over year. So if you happened to raise $150K that year OVER the budgeted amount, you can fund it. But that's a big lift for one year. You also lose the support of National PTA and basically have to invent your own structure/bylaws/rules, and some are not willing to do that.

I have also heard of schools establishing funds/endowments that you can pay into. Pre-covid, I knew of a school that needed laptops the school wouldn't fund for around $150K. Parents had been paying in for years, and they finally reached that goal, and the money had also been invested so had grown modestly. Now, how you agree on the risk and who's managing that, I'm not sure.

So while you may see it as hoarding money, I think it is useful for longer-term goals and aspirations that require a lot of fund raising and gives you more freedom for bigger school support.

In any event (PTA or PTA), budget reports should be transparent and available to any member, and usually at every meeting.

- Former PTA treasurer whose Executive Board once contemplated going PTO

I know the difference - PTOs are private organizations that can make their own rule, but PTAs are part of the national organization and require parents to pay dues. They also provide a ton of resources to the school PTA - including access to fundraising materials, to speakers, help with community building, etc.

What are some reasons your school chose a PTO over a PTA? I really can't see the upside other than being able to hoard money and not be transparent about it.