Does your state PTA/PTO have a mandatory training requirement?

In addition to mandatory training for the treasurer and another board member, check out these bylaws.  I'm the Secretary and am not planning on attending the training course. dh thinks they are crazy.  I agree. Our PTA is tiny, we have less than 100 members and only 5 of them come to the meetings.

MARYLAND PTA BYLAWS
Amended July 14, 2012

A local PTA in order to meet the standards of affiliation shall:

• Adhere to the purposes and basic policies of the National and Maryland PTA;
• Remit the national and state dues to the Maryland PTA office by dates designated;
• Have bylaws approved every three (3) years according to the procedures of Maryland PTA;
• Have a minimum of twenty-five (25) members;
• Shall Submit the names and contact information including phone number, address and email address of all elected officers to the Maryland PTA office within two (2) weeks of their election.
• Remit bonding, liability and directors and officers insurance premiums by the date designated;
• Have an EIN (Employer Identification Number) from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on file with the Maryland PTA;
• Maintain its status as a corporation , have as required by MD Non-Profit law, at a minimum a president, secretary and treasurer and
• Files the appropriate tax forms, by the required dates, with the IRS and submits a copy to the Maryland PTA office within 30 (thirty) days of filing.
• Each local PTA shall submit a copy of its annual financial review, to Maryland PTA within one hundred twenty (120) days following the end of the local’s fiscal year.
• Files all appropriate state forms with the appropriate state authorities by the required date and submit a copy to the Maryland PTA office within 30 days of filing.
• Sends at a minimum two (2) board members, one of which is the treasurer, to be trained by Council, Maryland PTA or National PTA within 180 days of taking office (December 31). Training must include the financial training regarding the required Maryland and IRS tax forms.

Quote:

Originally Posted by aliadam 

Those seem pretty standard to me. The issue is that many places have had PTO/PTA organizations and people stole money from them or could never account for the money, so I think a lot of places have really tightened up their requirements for such organizations. I know my DH was a cub scout leader and their troop had a TON of money in it the whole time our son was in cub scouts. After they all moved up, about 2 years later my DH heard they were BROKE. He complained about that all the time because he said there was NO WAY they could have ran through all that money. He never did anything about it, but all the "older" scout people talked about it frequently thinking there was something fishy. I've heard numerous times about PTAs here where they caught the treasurer stealing money.
I know when I was treasurer of just of our Orchestra Parents Club, I had to submit taxes each year and we had to have an EIN. etc/ It was a TON of work.

Good point on people stealing money.  I guess I just never thought people would steal money from children but I'm sure they do.