By Nelson Hernandez
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 8, 2007

The Maryland PTA has revoked the charter of the Council of Prince George's County PTAs for the second time in seven years, saying the organization had committed "serious bylaws violations."

The vote to remove the charter took place Sunday at a closed meeting of the Maryland PTA's board of directors. The president of the county PTAs, Bob Ross, said he did not become aware that his organization faced dissolution until Wednesday, when he received a letter announcing the decision and demanding the surrender of the organization's assets and records.

But the reason the organization is being dissolved remains a mystery, even to the people affected by it. The one-page letter to Ross did not state why the charter was being revoked. A public statement issued by the Maryland PTA mentioned violations but did not specify them.

In a telephone interview, the Maryland PTA's president, Mary Jo Neil, said she could not discuss the matter.

"I can't really go into detail," Neil said. "It's a personnel issue."

Ross said he was frustrated by the lack of information: "They haven't given any written explanation to us as to why they are removing the charter," he said. "We are owed an explanation, whether we like the explanation or not."

As a private organization, the Maryland PTA is not bound by the same transparency laws as government bodies.

Neil said the removal of the contract dissolved the leadership of the county organization, but that PTAs at the school level would continue to exist. Those local units may receive assistance from the state level, she said.

"Local PTAs still have . . . to go before their governmental bodies and the school board to advocate on behalf of their schools and communities," Neil said. "They still have a voice in the county, just not as collective as the [Prince George's] council would have provided."

Ross said the leaders of the county organization would meet next week to decide what to do next; in the past, they have discussed forming a separate parent-teacher organization or taking legal action. Neil, meanwhile, said that the local PTAs had been advised to "wait for a period of several years" before applying for a new county charter.

The state PTA dissolved the county's PTA council in 2000 under allegations of financial improprieties. The details have never been disclosed. Another council soon replaced it, but its effectiveness was questioned by some parents in Prince George's.

Discussion of the charter's removal has been going on for at least two months. At a turbulent meeting of the county organization in mid-April, some members accused then-president Darren Brown of misappropriating funds and speaking disrespectfully to members of the state leadership but provided no evidence of wrongdoing. Neil declined to comment on whether there was substance to the allegations.

But a scheduled April meeting to discuss whether to remove the charter was postponed, and last month Ross was elected to replace Brown as president. Ross said he thought that new leadership would help the organization mend its relationship with the Maryland PTA.

"To pull the charter is sort of a slap in the face," Ross said. "If someone stole some money, then say it. We had an audit, and everything's coming up right. Just say what it is. Let everyone know exactly your reason."