At our January membership meeting, the Northshore Council PTSA membership voted to approve a new fee structure. Beginning July 1, 2026, Council will charge a $2.00 per member fee to each local PTA as well as an annual fee of $100 to each local PTA except for Sorenson PTA and the Northshore Special Education Community PTSA. This is a 50 cent per member increase over last year and it is the first increase to our fees in over 15 years.

Each local PTA's minimum cost per member will be $11.00 ($3.25 to National PTA, $5.75 to WA State PTA and $2.00 to Northshore CouncilPTSA). Please discuss this change with your board and membership to plan for next year.

Some PTAs may decide to change their membership fees for next year in response to these changes. If your PTA feels that this is the way to go, make sure to have this decision voted on at a membership meeting, as the membership has to vote on a change in membership fees. Whether you decide to change your membership fees or not, this is also information that your Budget Committee will need to consider in planning next year's budget. 

If you have any questions about how to maneuver these changes or other considerations to make, feel free to reach out to one of our Vice Presidents of Elementary Support ([email protected]) or the Vice President of Secondary Support ([email protected]) and ask.

How did we come to this decision about our fees? This fall Northshore Council PTSA's Board of Directors created a Fee Structure committee tasked with researching various fee structure models to recommend a sustainable option that will carry Northshore Council PTSA forward for several years. Members of the committee reached out to the surrounding area’s PTA councils to see what their fee structures are and discussed the pros and cons of various fee rates, which were then modeled out by Council Treasurer Abby Polasko. After reviewing the forecasting models and much discussion of Northshore Council PTSA's goals with the fee structure, the committee made a recommendation to the board that they felt would give the council the most sustainable option long term. Since our model prior to this year had been in effect for over 15 years and we felt that our membership appreciated the stability, the Northshore Council PTSA board wanted a model that would last at least five years. 

Council Fees Presentation LINK
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Northshore Council PTSA General Meeting | 7pm | Online **Council Meet & Greet @ 6:30pm

After many years, it’s time for a change of fees. 
For the past 15+ years, Northshore Council PTSA charged a fee of $1.50 per member plus a $100 restricted fee* for Northshore Council PTSA’s Educational Speakers and Community Events Grant Program. For this year only, in response to National PTAs’ membership fee increase, Northshore Council waived membership fees and only collected a $50 grant fee.

Last spring, Council fees were changed to an annual flat fee of $200 for local PTAs except for Title 1 schools, which would pay an annual fee of $100 [Northshore Special Education Community PTSA (NSEC) and Sorenson PTA would not pay a fee]. Some members felt that the year-end bank account carryover had a high balance and that it was time to spend it down. To spend down some of this balance, Northshore Council was able to fund additional signage to Northshore School District for Emergency Preparation, co-sponsor with Northshore School Foundation a parent map education speaker series, make a $1000 donation to Threads and Treads, and is in the process of giving $100 to each school campus for nutritional assistance.  

With further discussion, Council's Board of Directors created a Fee Structure committee tasked with researching various fee structure models to recommend a sustainable option that will carry Northshore Council PTSA forward for several years. Members of the committee reached out to the surrounding area’s PTA councils to see what their fee structures are and discussed the pros and cons of various fee rates, which were then modeled out by Council Treasurer Abby Polasko. After reviewing the forecasting models and much discussion of Council's goals with the fee structure, the committee made a recommendation to the board. 

At their most recent meeting the Northshore Council PTSA Board of Directors voted to recommend a combination of a per member fee and a flat fee as this combination will give Council the most sustainable option. Whereas our flat fee was a restricted fee in prior years, this new flat fee would go into Council’s general budget allowing Council to more easily react to needs outside of the grant program. 
The Fee Structure Committee moves to change our council fees to be: $2.00 per member and an unrestricted flat fee of $100 per year for each Northshore PTAs except for Northshore Special Education Community PTSA (NSEC) and Sorenson PTA who will be exempt from the flat fee. 
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*the restricted fee was originally $150, designated for Northshore Council PTSA’s Scholarship Awards, a program that ended with the opening of North Creek High School in 2017, replaced by the Educational Speakers and Community Grants Program.