Membership

Contact chair: membership [at] planopta.org
* Membership Q&A
* Membership Awards
* Texas PTA Member Benefit Card
* Training and other materials

Life Member Celebration News

This year, 2010-2011, we have decided to return to a banquet format at the Plano Centre on February 10th, 2011. The cost per ticket will be no than $25 per person.

Membership Resources

Hi, I’m Gretchen Abner, the PTA Council Membership chairman. I want to introduce myself before the school year gets along too fast. The Texas PTA Membership theme for 2009-10 is “Building for Success” and we’ll be playing with that theme throughout the year. Logos are available for downloading from the “Members Only” part of the Texas PTA web site. There are all sorts of membership resources available on the [Texas PTA website](http://www.txpta.org) and I know more are coming.

If you haven’t visited the site yet, go to www.txpta.org and sign in as a member. The username and password (found on your membership card). You’ll find Membership Theme information under “Resources,” and you can find Joining PTA information under “About PTA”. You will see there is a lot of good information available!
I know many of you have already been hard at work with your membership drives and I hope you are finding it easy to encourage parents (and high school students) to join. I’ve already heard from many of you, but if you have any membership questions, I’m happy to help you find the answers you need.

If there is anything I can do to make your job a bit easier or help you find the information you need, please let me know. If you are able to attend any of the PTA Council regular meetings (see schedule on www.planopta.org), please come say hello to me! I look forward to working with you this year!

What Is PTA? Download a brochure printed with Six Languages
* Cover and outside content [pdf file]
* Inside content [pdf file]

Chair Guide: For new and experienced Membership Chairmen, the best resource available is the Texas PTA Membership Chair Guide [pdf file]. This will cover all aspects of membership including campaigns, forms, suggestions, ideas, awards and more!

Dues: Local units must remit council dues of $75 by October 15. You can download the dues form [pdf file].

Texas PTA Membership Benefit Card Info

Texas PTA member discount information has been collected and posted in the member-only section of the Texas PTA website. You’ll need the username and password from the back of your PTA Membership Card or Texas PTA Member Benefits Card to access it. The 2009-2010 username and password will still work for another couple of months, then you must use the current passwords on this year’s PTA cards.

Each participating company has slightly different ways of accessing the PTA member benefits, but none of them work by showing your card. Here is the list of benefits.

Membership Awards Info

Texas PTA eliminated two membership awards a couple of years ago- the Hand-in-Hand and the 100% Participation Award, but the Plano Council of PTAs will be giving these awards again to those locals who earn them. We know y’all have been working hard to INCREASE your PTA membership and we want to encourage you to continue! Both the Hand-in-Hand award and the 100% Participation award are awesome goals, and will help you build a stronger, more vibrant PTA at your school. AND because I have heard such great ideas about how you are conducting your membership drives this year, we’ve also added an award called… Creative Membership Campaign. So, please continue your wonderful efforts to gather those PTA members and community members. The award entry form will be available in the fall.

Thank you for your commitment to our community and your school’s success! If you have any questions, please let me know.

Membership Q&A

How can you determine who is a Community Member of PTA, rather than a Faculty Member?
Texas PTA defines faculty as principals, assistant principals, teachers, counselors, and aides employed at the campus full time. To apply for the Golden Apple, you will need 100% of your school faculty as PTA members on your membership list, with dues paid and sent to Texas PTA by October 15. The award application will also need to be sent by October 15.

How would you classify a grandparent – a regular PTA member or a community member?
That is a great question! It depends! If the grandparent is the primary caregiver, they should be a regular member. They would probably be interested in the newsletter and directory, etc.. If the grandparent is not the primary caregiver, but is in support of the local school, a community membership would probably meet his or her needs. Each local PTA will have different standing rules that will dictate the differences in regular and community memberships. Generally, most PTAs don’t give a directory to community members but do give them to regular members.
I don’t think our PTA got an invoice from Plano PTA for Council dues. Can I get another copy?

I don’t think our PTA got an invoice from Plano PTA for Council dues. Can I get another copy? Where do I send the check for Council dues? What is the deadline?
Invoices were sent in the first week of school to each local PTA. You can print out copies on the Plano PTA website at www.planopta.org, then click on Board and Chair information, then click on Membership. Scroll down to the topic of Membership and you will see the link to download a new form. According to local by-laws, your Council dues are payable no later than 10/15. Please send your check to:

Plano ISD Council of PTAs
c/o Gretchen Abner
2700 W. 15th Street
Plano, TX 75024

I’m totally lost! I have never been the Membership Chairman and I was unable to come to any of the training. What should I do?

The first stop you should make on your membership journey is the Plano PTA website at www.planopta.org, then click on Board and Chair information, then click on Membership. Scroll down through the information and take a few minutes to go through the PowerPoint from our fall coffee and training. Also, a great resource is the Membership Chairman Guide from Texas PTA. You can download a FREE copy. You will see a link to it from the membership page on the Plano PTA website.

I have some parents and teachers that have filled out the PTA member forms and are requesting some of the free items from the PTA national office. How do I go about getting those?

Some PTAs use the membership form provided by National PTA. On the bottom of this form is a list of things that National PTA provides to members, like resources, training and email updates about important issues and news. To sign up for the email updates (there are several topical email newsletters), go to the National PTA website. All the other items are also available on the National PTA website, including training.

How much are PTA dues?

There are several kinds of dues. The local membership rate is comprised of the National dues ($1.75/per person), plus the Texas dues ($2.25/per person), plus the local portion (this is set by the by-laws of the local campus). Last year our Texas PTA State dues went up by a dollar (as of July 1st, 2009). All by-laws were automatically updated with this change. That means you are now charging $1 more for your dues this year. If last year you charged $20, this year you’ll charge $21.

Additionally, each local PTA pays annual dues of $75.00 to Plano ISD Council of PTAs. Please keep in mind that if a PTA member decides to claim his/her Texas Life PTA status at any one given school, they are only reducing their dues by the Texas dues of $2.25. They must still pay the National dues and your Local dues to be a PTA member with local voting rights in our community. Please be on the look out for the PTA Council dues form, which will be inter-office mailed to your school’s office attention PTA Membership Chair.

What are benefit cards? I’ve been in PTA a long time and I’ve never heard of them! Is it the same as the membership card?

Texas PTA has worked hard to show its members that there are MANY benefits to being in PTA. The benefit card lists many of the vendors that offer a discount to PTA members, including Sea World. To access the benefits, you must go on the Texas PTA website (www.txpta.org) and sign in as a member. The user name and password are on the back of the PTA membership benefit card. There is no longer a Benefit card per se; however, the benefits are listed on the Texas PTA website.

Did I miss the Early Bird Award?

The Early Bird award is for local PTAs that have submitted a membership list and paid dues for at least 75% of the number of members they had on record on March 15, postmarked by September 30th. This is an automatic award, so there is no form to fill out.

Where do we get the Membership Cards?

The cards come from Texas PTA, if you are missing them, please contact your President to be sure first, then contact Texas PTA. Some unit’s cards are still in Austin because they needed a piece of information before they would release the cards. To get those, please call 1-800-TALK-PTA.

How can you check if someone is a Texas Life Member?

Each local PTA should have a list of the people to whom they have awarded a Texas Life Membership. I have an inexact, but fairly comprehensive Plano ISD Council of PTAs list of Texas Life Members. Originally, I was planning to post the list on the Plano PTA website. Because of privacy considerations, I will email you the list of recipients awarded from school if you request it from me. If you are in a secondary school and would like to check if someone from one of the feeder schools has received the award, please email me or contact the Texas PTA office, which maintains the comprehensive list (1-800-TALK-PTA).

Once I have completed the membership list, what do I do?

Make a copy for your Secretary, Treasurer, President and your procedure book. Then send your original or a copy to Texas PTA along with your dues check. If the check is sizable, please send it return receipt requested, certified mail.

Our PTA is refining our budget. Can you tell me what to expect with Life Member Banquet?

This year, 2010-2011, we have decided to return to a banquet format at the Plano Centre on February 10th, 2011. The cost per ticket will be no than $25 per person.

You will also want to budget for the LM certificates ($35) and LM pinettes ($15) and/or Extended Service certificates ($50) and ES pinettes ($40) from Texas PTA. These can be ordered off the Texas PTA website, but you should make sure to do this at least one to two months in advance. Most PTAs hand out the awards and pins out at the banquet.

At our middle school registration, we had someone say they were already a Life Member, but that it was awarded at the elementary school. Can they get the Life Member discount at both schools?

You can take the Life Membership at whichever school the member chooses, but it can only be taken at one school. Remember, they have been awarded a Life Membership from The Texas PTA but not likely from the National PTA or from your local unit. Life members still must pay those dues any subsequent dues from another school.

I have not ordered membership envelopes for our PTA. Is that necessary?

No, the envelopes are just one way to collect dues. Some PTAs like them because it is easy for members to fill out the envelope and stick a check inside. You can use whatever method works best on your campus. If you want to order the envelopes, you can do that on the Texas PTA website.

How do I know what our PTA number is?

Please contact your president for this information. If you still can’t get it or are unsure, please email me.

I am unsure of the number of PTA members we had last year. How can I find out?

You should have this information in the binder that was passed on to you, but if you don’t, please email me.

Have an unanswered question?

Email membership@planopta.org
Gretchen Abner, Membership VP, Plano ISD Council of PTAs