If this group really is a PTA chapter (as opposed to an independent PTO), go to the next person up the chain of command within PTA. Oversight is supposed to be one of the advantages of being a PTA. I don't know the PTA titles, but mabye there's a district council or county council this group should be accountable to.
If the group really is independent, you have two choices. Live with the awful situation, or raise a stink. Politely at first. From what you've described this clique doesn't have the kids' best interests at heart. That much loose financial control would make me very suspicious that money could be lost or misappropriated. Yes, stop supporting the fundraisers. Yes, demand an audit. And yes make things better for the school. Are you ready to take this on? It could get nasty. Good luck!
PTO's have a fidiciary contract with the general members...that is the members money! No board has the right to deny any member their voting privilages This is not a dictatorship.
I would call the CFO of your school district and demand an audit of this board.
I would also grab a copy of Robert's Rules, gather all my friends and at the next meeting vote all these board members out of office! Be ready to fill their positions!
The Principal needs to be put in his place--PTO's are self-sustaining and Principals should be seen as mediators, partners, suggestion makers.
How is this board spending money on your child? Be assertive! This is your childs school!Bylaws can also be ammended at anytime! Majority always wins!
Good-luck!
Assuming that the large sums of money that they are distributing willy-nilly come from fundraising or donations from parents, the surest way to get some response is to vote with your wallet. In other words, organize your group of 200 to not make any further donations. If you can spread your concerns and increase the number of parents in your group that will do the same, all the better. It may take some time to get a reaction from the PTO, but it will happen if you stick to your guns.
As an aside, you may want to access a copy of the PTO's bylaws. Many PTO's do not give voting rights to the parents -- only to the board members.
Assuming that the large sums of money that they are distributing willy-nilly come from fundraising or donations from parents, the surest way to get some response is to vote with your wallet. In other words, organize your group of 200 to not make any further donations. If you can spread your concerns and increase the number of parents in your group that will do the same, all the better. It may take some time to get a reaction from the PTO, but it will happen if you stick to your guns.
As an aside, you may want to access a copy of the PTO's bylaws. Many PTO's do not give voting rights to the parents -- only to the board members.
Wow!! Sounds like quite a dictatorship you've got going there!
Have a group of concerned parents sat down and talked with the group President and/or principal about your concerns and desires to be better informed and involved? If that hasn't worked or you've been ignored then I know you said that you don't want to organize in an "in your face way", but it sounds like that may be the ONLY way to get heard. Look at it this way: Are you happy with how things are run now? Are you willing to sit back and let it continue? If you say "No." to both of these questions(and I mean a loud, "are you kidding me?" kind of no), then it's time to rally the group of parents who have found each other and come en masse to the next meeting. Don't have just one spokesperson though: figure out what items you want to address and see if you can find individuals willing to stand up and voice each concern. If you have more than one person "leading the charge" it will be difficult for the principal or any of the current board to point a finger at one individual and later target them for retaliation. It's probably going to get ugly, but in my view, it looks like the only way you are going to be heard.
There is one other option here too: If they are spending, that means they are getting funds from somewhere. Shut down the funding. If there are fundraisers being sent home, don't participate. I know that would mean that the school might have to go without some things, but since the parents don't have any idea what the money is being spent on, how do you know you'd really be losing anything? Then when the board starts asking why families aren't participating, the parents can let them know that they want more say in the group, want to be better informed, and want to have the opportunity to be involved in the school, and that they will not be raising funds until those requirement are met.
An emailer requested I post this for feedback. I told her I bet she'd get great advice here. Hope I'm right
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The PTA at our large middle school w/several thousand parents has almost no participation. Only 10-15 people attend meetings including the board. I cannot attend due to the time. They hold only 3 meetings a yr. and despite all the issues in our county and at our school, the meetings last approx. 12 minutes during which they approve the last minutes, etc. and then adjourn. The PTA & school will not do a directory or e-blast to inform members and parents of school info. They do not have a detailed budget and when recently asked for soem generic breakdowns of categories, could not provide them. They do not maintain (or apparently require) reimbursement request forms, often do not have receipts, receipts they do have are not always original and are not itemized (so you don't know what they're for or how many children/parents were served). The Treasurer has reimbursed lump sums for expenses that he says he does not know specifically what the money was spent on. The PTA/Principal use our funds to give huge "cash grants" to selected teaching groups but have not tracked exactly who's been given how much, and do not require the teachers to turn in receipts or say what the money is spent on, so we just don't know. They budget a large sum each year for Teacher Appreciation gifts.. when asked what the gifts are, they simply said "monthly tokens of appreciation." When asked specifically what the monthly tokens are, and who receives them, they could not provide details. There are many more issues here. The PTA and Principal seem happy with the status quo. Parents believe the PTA and school do not want their involvement, and believe they do not want info distributed outside their small closed circle. The PTA changed the by-laws and extended their terms to 3 years (so each member can serve 2 terms of 6 years), some parents complained that vote was held and closed quickly in such a way that few people outside the circle got to vote. In short, you can come and go from this school and never get a chance to have a say on voting on a PTA board member because their terms go so long. They also changed the by-laws from eight meetings a year to just three. The majority of the parents feel helpless and have no way to organize outside the PTA because we don't have access to each other's names etc (we don't know each other and there are no big school events at which we get together). About 200 of us have just by word of mouth started our own informal newsletter and directory but this is a poor substitute for what should be done by the PTA and school to include many more people. And the 200 parents involved in this newsletter (and some staff) do not want to organize in an in your face way because we either don't have time or many are afraid of retaliation (which has been heaped upon some parents by the Principal already when they've asked a question or raised an issue, at least they believe so). This is a sorry state. Lastly, there is nobody to take over for the PTA even when these members finish their terms because: the middle school only is 6-7-8 grade. Terms are three years. If they hold an election at the end of this year as planned, the only parents who will really be at the school for three whole years to serve are currently in ELEMENTARY school and wouldn't even know there is an election going on in middle school, if you know what I mean. Any advice would be appreciated.
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