PTA’s fight with former Maryland chapter now in court

A year-long dispute between what was formerly the Maryland PTA and the National PTA has reached a boiling point, with Montgomery County Circuit Court granting the national organization a temporary restraining order against the state group.

The National PTA’s complaint against what is now called the Alliance for Maryland Parents, Teachers and Students alleges that the latter organization converted National, Maryland and local PTA funds; interfered with the National PTA’s business relationship with local councils; and breached its fiduciary duties to local PTAs. The complaint also alleges that the alliance cannot operate under Maryland PTA bylaws.

These allegations came about soon after the National PTA revoked the Maryland PTA’s charter in March of this year, citing bylaw and standards violations that go back nearly a year. After the revocation, the Maryland PTA changed its name to the Alliance for Maryland Parents, Teachers and Students, and threatened to take assets and remove local PTAs’ exempt status if they did not join the new organization, the National PTA claims.

“National PTA’s primary interest is in protecting the assets and the exempt status of local and council PTAs in Maryland as they transition to Free State PTA,” National PTA President Leslie Boggs said in a statement. “Our goal continues to be to ensure that all PTAs in Maryland are strong and healthy. We also remain dedicated to supporting the needs of all students, families, schools and communities in the state, especially as our country continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and we plan for the next school year.”

In the past, the Maryland PTA had failed to remit over $19,000 in local PTA member fees to the national organization, which would have been put towards various grants and programs that Maryland families and students benefit from, according to the motion for a temporary restraining order and primary injunction.

“The harm resulting from the Maryland PTA not paying the members’ National PTA dues to the National PTA will reduce the efficacy of these programs in Maryland,” the motion reads.

The alliance did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Concerns had first been raised about the Maryland PTA’s alleged bylaw and standards of affiliation infractions in March 2020. These infractions, which included “adopting policies that conflict with the National PTA’s mission” and “electing officers who do not meet the criteria for service,” resulted in the National PTA placing the Maryland PTA under probation in May, according to an email sent from Boggs, to Edna Harvin-Battle, president of the Maryland PTA. The National PTA later placed the Maryland PTA under the “Restructuring Phase of Noncompliance.”

The conflict escalated until three of the Maryland PTA’s board members resigned, with the remaining members choosing LaTonja Carrera, previously the vice president for leadership development and a defendant in this case, as president. Carrera has also faced scrutiny for criminal charges unrelated to her work as the PTA president.

After stepping in as president, Carrera sent letters to local council presidents informing them that their councils were on “inactive status” due to “evidence that most, if not all of the Councils have conducted activity that raises to the level of alleged misconduct.” This misconduct supposedly included encouraging council leaders not to submit dues both in meetings and in the media, and submitting miscalculated financial statements to the Maryland PTA.

Shortly after, the National PTA inquired into why those emails had been sent and subsequently revoked the Maryland PTA’s charter.

There is a statewide PTA in every U.S. state as well as D.C., Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and Department of Defense Schools in Europe. Maryland PTA was the first state PTA to have its charter revoked with state leadership in place; the entity that replaced it, Free State PTA, is now the only authorized state PTA organization in Maryland.

In an email to local councils, Carrera called the step to revoke the organization’s charter “unwarranted and aggressive” and stated that she believed it was retaliation “against my revelation of a plot of individuals affiliated with the National PTA attempting to mismanage and bankrupt our organization.”

She promised the councils that “we are not going anywhere” and that she planned to reassess the organization’s scope to include organizations other than just PTAs.

The National PTA, which was represented by Bethesda-based lawyer Jon D. Pels, chose to file for a temporary restraining order to protect local councils from the alliance’s retaliation. The restraining order, which was granted on June 15, prevents the alliance from taking a number of retaliatory steps against local PTAs, such as seizing, freezing, or threatening to seize or freeze funds from local PTAs without their consent.

The restraining order is in effect for the next 30 days, during which time the National PTA will seek to reach an agreement with the alliance or seek further legal action.