Two area schools have added the next chapter to the parent-teacher association debate, as South County Secondary and Woodson High School parents have voted to branch out and start parent-teacher organizations.

The decisions, which have been months in the making for both institutions, call for the creation of independent student advocacy organizations as an answer to the problems created by an affiliation with the county, state and national PTA hierarchy. Though representatives for both PTA groups cited multiple concerns with the affiliation, money was the mitigating factor for both groups.

“In evaluating our expenses, we determined that the cost of continuing our affiliation with the PTA did not justify the benefits we received,” said Nanette Henderson, second vice president for the South County Secondary School PTA (SCSS PTA). “We could better utilize those dollars within our school.”

Nell Curry, president of the Woodson High School PTO, echoed this sentiment, saying that money was a major factor for the Woodson PTA as well. The money that both Henderson and Curry referred to is the $3,000 dollars in dues that PTA member schools must pay each year. According to Curry, the due money does not go back into the school, but rather goes to fund advocacy efforts at the state and national level.

“The [Woodson] PTA prided itself on various political actions and lobbying for children, but a lot of our members are only worried about what goes on at our school,” Curry said. “It’s just a different viewpoint, whether you want to be a part of a county/state/national lobbying association or not.”

The talk of starting at PTO at Woodson arose, according to Curry, at a March 10 Woodson PTA meeting. At the meeting, parents voiced their concern that the money they paid in dues every year could be better spent within the school. In addition, Curry said that the state was planning to raise PTA dues by 33 percent in the 2009-10 school year with 54 percent of the money going to office expenses at the state office in Richmond, so concern was only growing. She also said that increasingly restrictive PTA bylaws such as graduation party regulations and the desire to stay politically neutral also were major issues for the group.

“A lot of our members didn’t know that they were signing up to follow PTA policy and didn’t even know what it was,” Curry said. “The county council graded candidates, which appears to us as an endorsement.”

As the desire to create a PTO became clear, the Woodson PTA began preparations to dissolve the PTA and start the new group. To dissolve, a PTA must follow a parliamentary process, so the Woodson PTA hired a parliamentarian who made sure the school abided by the “Roberts Rules of Order,” a handbook for parliamentary procedure. Then, after giving 30 days notice for the Sept. 15 meeting where the vote would take place, the Woodson PTA voted 42-7 to dissolve.

AT SOUTH COUNTY Secondary, the idea of starting a PTO came last April, as financial problems forced the PTA to make cuts to its budget, resulting in the reduction of services to the school. Instead of spending $3,000 in dues, the group felt that they could help their budget and their children more by starting a PTO. So, the South County PTA met in April and May to discuss their options, and at the May meeting, voted unanimously to create the PTO.

“Midway through the year, we had to go through our budget and cut several services that we provide to the school, as well as come up with new fund-raising ideas,” Henderson said. “We had a stronger need to use funds for our students, faculty and staff than we did to give money to the PTA.”

Though both PTAs voted to start their own PTOs, the future for each school’s parent-teacher groups will take different paths. Curry said that the Woodson PTA will officially dissolve Nov. 1, the day after their one-year PTA memberships end, and that parents who wish to remain a member of the PTA can do so, but that Woodson itself will not be a member. At South County, Henderson said that the PTA will continue to exist alongside the PTO, but that the PTO already has more than 1,000 members, while the PTA only has about 10.

For their part, county PTA council president Michelle Menapace said that her council is sad to see the changes at the two schools, but it is currently reviewing what went wrong and how they could address it in the future. Menapace said that the county council will learn from what went wrong, and will make adjustments moving forward.

“I’m really sad that it happened, but I was pleased that we were able to participate in the processes,” Menapace said. “The concerns from those parents gave us a lot of information on how people feel about PTAs. We’ve already implemented changes to our communication [with our schools] so that they’re more aware of what the PTA affiliation does for them.”