This bill requires an education entity to allow all parent groups equal access
to certain opportunities and resources.
He makes this sound like there is some sort of discrimination towards parental groups. Has parental group violence reached an all time high? Do we need new parental group hate crime laws? I can be the first to recognize the tension between the PTA and other groups, but is it really this bad?
He proposes to all but eliminate the PTA and their relationship with our local schools. His bill, SB 199 states schools are not to work in conjunction with a parent group that requires the payment of dues as a condition for participation. See Lines 52-58.
Why is this absurd? Two reasons:
- Not all PTA dues are the same. Some PTAs charge more and others less. Each PTA organization sets their dues— $5 is not universal. Rolling Rivers Elementary PTA in Granger, charges only $1, North Sanpete High PTA charges $2.75. Is Senator Bramble really saying we should stop working with them because they charge $1 a year? What about the PTAs that do not charge a due and instead get their funds via fundraising?
- More importantly - This could be a huge loss to schools! In Ogden, the local schools partner with Goldenwest Credit Union and the local PTAs. Every year they coordinate a 5k Race and donate plus match all the entry fees to the runner's school of choice. The PTAs jump all over this donating, man power, time, money etc. This is all done to help the schools pull off this huge event. PTA participation is crucial to the success of the event. The Goldenwest 5k has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Ogden schools. According to Sen. Bramble's legislation, this partnership would now be illegal. He could be jeopardizing thousands of dollars that go to our kids?
Why is he on this vendetta against the PTA? Maybe because Sen. Bramble's 2008 election opponent was RaDene Hatfield, the president of the Provo PTA Council (See Paul Rolly for the rest of the story) and is upset with their alleged involvement in her campaign.
Whether you are pro-voucher or not, this bill is disturbing and damaging to Utah's students. Bramble is out to get the PTA on this one and is going to hurt education in the process.
Comments Welcome:
7 comments:
I'm all for the an organization that helps parents and teachers work for the benefit of the students. I support our local PTA (and schools) with both volunteer hours and financial donations.
But part of the problem is that the PTA as a state and national organization has grown so big and involves itself in political groups and causes that I do not agree with and which do not benefit my kids.
Since getting involved in the PTA, I was shocked to learn how little of our dues actually go to the school PTA (less than $1). The remaining $4+ goes to higher-ups, with the lion's share going to national.
So we are forced to pay dues to a national organization supporting causes we don't agree with just so that we have the opportunity to volunteer our own time and money to work with our local schools.
It sounds like Sen. Bramble's bill may be a little extreme and takes things a little too far.
I think the solution lies not in legislation but in parents and schools having the courage to abandon the overbloated PTA and adopt their own independent PTO's (Parent Teacher Organizations).
Unfortunately, this seldom happens because 1) it takes time and initiative to make your own charter, and 2) it's just easier to pay the devil his $5 and get on with life.
Mike,
You bring up some great points. I won't pretend I am always happy with the PTA or the National PTA's decisions. However I do know the local elementary school in my area receives thousands of dollars a year in fundraising dollars directly related to the PTA's efforts. To try and damage them for their hard work doesn't make sense.
Hi Mike - Actually, State PTA dues are $1.00 a member. $1.75 goes to National PTA. I oversee 87 PTA schools - and those local PTAs gained about $40,000 this year through payment of dues.
PTA members all over the state come in to vote and those votes dictate what stands PTA takes on the issues. I haven't really seen any top-heaviness in my first year in this position. My PTA budget is quite small.
I spend 40-50 volunteer hours a week working on PTA issues. About 90 percent of that time I spend working with parents, helping them navigate the system and supporting parent involvement. I do it because the kids of this state need us.
I have found the National PTA to be full of wonderful people. Do I agree with them? - Not always, but I think change can only be made if you're part of the conversation. Linda
Thank you for your post. I am so upset by this bill. I have been involved in PTA since my 14 year old started kindergarten and have seen all the good that it can do. To target PTA in the name of "equal access" is ridiculous. $5 is a pretty common amount for dues, but only $1.75 goes to National PTA and $1.00 to State PTA. Even if you disagree with PTA and don't want to be a member, fine. Find other ways to get involved in your children's school, but don't outlaw PTA!
Thanks for the great comments! Keep the energy alive and write to your legislators. We will do our best to keep posting about this crazy issue.
Michael,
Almost every group that I belong to does things or has policies, or positions that I don't necessarily agree with. That could be anything from the Boy Scouts to the church I attend to the political party I belong to.
If you don't like the stands the PTA has on causes and issues, get involved and change them. It's to do from outside the organization.
Did you know that the stands they take are based on resolutions voted on by PTA members? You don't like one of the resolutions, work to get it changed. There is a process for that and you can be part of it. I would agree that it is probably a bit cumbersome and certainly not well known but it does exist.
Have you ever attended the state PTA convention where they vote on the resolutions? Have you ever worked on changing one of the resolutions? If not, I'm sorry, but you don't have much to complain about. It's kind of like politics, in a way. If you don't get involved, it's difficult get things changed.
So many people look at PTA as just fundraising for the local schools. But PTA is the largest child advocacy group in the country. I think that is one of the more important things that they do. Will you agree with everthing they do? No, of course not.
My wife spends around 1000 hours every year volunteering for the PTA at the state level. She works on many issues ranging from child abuse to adoption to early childhood development. She is up at the legislature almost every day it is in session working with legislators on the bills that are in areas that she follows--all based on the resolutions that have been passed by PTA members. Take a day off work and go visit with them during session and see what they do.
They also have a brown bag lunch every Tuesday 1:00 in the Copper Room in the East building to discuss issues with people. Drop by and discuss your concerns with them.
It seems to me that $1.00 isn't all that much to give to a state organization that works on so many issues related to children. And $1.75 for the national organization. There are a number of programs that are provided by Utah PTA that will probably stop if this bill passes (Reflections, Battle of the Bands, Golden Apple awards, just to name a few).
Your local PTA can charge whatever they want, as voted on by their members, if you feel like more money needs to go the local school. But $2.75 per member doesn't seem like much to send to the state and national organization for all that they provide.
This bill seems to me to be an attempt to get rid of PTA. It may not be, but I don't know of any other parent groups that are involved with our schools that require dues. And it would be very difficult to allow anyone to not have to pay the $5 just because they ask, when $2.75 has to be sent to state/national for each member. That money has to come from somewhere.
Michael Booth said: So we are forced to pay dues to a national organization supporting causes we don't agree with just so that we have the opportunity to volunteer our own time and money to work with our local schools.
What I'm waiting to hear from the proponents of SB199 is what that mythical "national agenda" is. I've asked one of those moms who testified in favor of the bill to email me the research she told me she's done about National PTA; I've yet to see it.
In the meantime, I've read the Mission of National PTA and their Public Policy Agenda, and I can't see a thing wrong with those causes.
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