Originally posted by <Curious>:
Can a principal totally take over a PTO that has it's own tax id #,bylaws,etc.,etc.? Due to tension and mistrust in the past couple of years the principal has totally taken over the PTO, although not necessarily for the worst. Last years elections, to say the least did not go well, the pres. was accussed of stuffing the ballots, it was a tie, when a lot of members present knew it shouldn't be, it was voted that reelections for those positons would be held in the fall(the accusations came about right after the meeting). When fall came and since there has been no mention or meetings of the PTO has it existed. No clearing of the air, nothing! He (the principal)has gotten parents together under a different name (all good stuff, that they are doing)with some of the same people, including the former Pres., whom is acting as pres. when his term expired. Can he still act as pres. and sign checks (he's name is still legally on the form at the bank), etc. if the principal gives him the authoritiy? It was a tie, so I would assume that his term ended when the bylaws state it ended? (nothing in the bylaws about ties when electing officers) What are the legalities here? As far as I know the money has been spent appropriately, so fari Can a legitimate legal PTO just be dissolved this way? Some of us (very dedicated old timers) feel that we are not at all welcome, totally being left in dark. It's a long,long story. Just curious if a PTO can be dissolved so easily, just dismissed and swept under the rug?
Thanks for your input.
Curious

To answer your first question concerning your principal taking control, you should contact your school district's finance director and find out what your District's policy is. In our District school administrators (principals, head teachers, etc.) are not allowed to be officers or check signers. NO district employee that is not an officer can be a check signer. Our school secretary used to be a check signer but she held no officer position. THIS IS A LIABILITY ISSUE FOR OUR DISTRICT. When it became known we had to correct it immediately.

We revised our by-laws this year and specifically included a provision that principals/head teachers could NOT hold an officer position OR be on the executive board because it was a conflict of interest.

We conduct our PTO much like our school board does. We have a separate tax ID number with our own by-laws. We operate independently from our school and our District. We make our own decisions about our budget and how money is spent.

Our officers are the only ones that have voting rights. ALL members of our community, regardless of whether they have children at our school are considered PTO members but they do NOT have voting rights. This was done because historically only the officers attend monthly meetings and because of this were the only ones adequately informed about PTO matters to make informed decisions.

This change was met with parent frustration at first but we explained that this is how Boards of corporations and our own school Board conducts itself. Our job as officers is to hear the parent concerns and desires and balance that with the rest of the information that they have missed by not attending and then make a decision.

This change was also made to prevent the possibility of a person from inviting parents to attend a particular meeting just to vote to sway the outcome to their advantage.

While it sounds like your principal is attempting to keep your organization afloat and is well intentioned I believe he has overstepped his bounds. Contacting your District's Finance Director should be your first action. Based on what he says will determine where you go from there.

To my knowledge only the current officers can dissolve your organization.

We may be faced with dissolving our organization simply because we do not yet have a Treasurer for next year. It is my belief that, at least for our small country school, "key" officer positions (chairperson, treasurer and secretary) MUST be filled and if they aren't then the organization should consider dissolving. Due to lack of volunteers we have allowed two positions to be filled by one volunteer but NOT the key positions.

If no president steps up to take office and the past president is willing to serve again I doubt anyone will require his resignation even if it violates your by-laws especially if the alternative is to dissolve the organization. As long as he is still listed as a check signer at your bank he can legally sign checks. In our organization our principal holds no authority over us and can not make a decision to have someone sign checks.

I would assume that until the tie is broken the past president would continue to serve, however, it would be imperative that another vote be held immediately to make sure you are not in violation of your by-laws.

It is my understanding, but you would have to do some research, that to dissolve a legal entity would require disbursing all funds and other assets, closing all accounts and filing a FINAL tax return.

Just because they have stopped having PTO meetings does NOT mean that the organization has been dissolved.

Our by-laws have a provision that should our organization dissolve the current Board would decide how to disburse the funds. We could donate the cash and other assets to another non-profit OR we could split it among the teachers and let them splurge until the money is gone.

As a member of your PTO you have a LEGAL RIGHT to ask to see their financial statements and to ask about the time and place of their next meeting. If there is a conflict between the two of you they may not want to comply with your request but the law says that they have to because they are a nonprofit organization and you have contributed funds.

START WITH A CALL TO THE FINANCE DIRECT FIRST!

Good Luck

Originally posted by <Curious>:
Can a principal totally take over a PTO that has it's own tax id #,bylaws,etc.,etc.? Due to tension and mistrust in the past couple of years the principal has totally taken over the PTO, although not necessarily for the worst. Last years elections, to say the least did not go well, the pres. was accussed of stuffing the ballots, it was a tie, when a lot of members present knew it shouldn't be, it was voted that reelections for those positons would be held in the fall(the accusations came about right after the meeting). When fall came and since there has been no mention or meetings of the PTO has it existed. No clearing of the air, nothing! He (the principal)has gotten parents together under a different name (all good stuff, that they are doing)with some of the same people, including the former Pres., whom is acting as pres. when his term expired. Can he still act as pres. and sign checks (he's name is still legally on the form at the bank), etc. if the principal gives him the authoritiy? It was a tie, so I would assume that his term ended when the bylaws state it ended? (nothing in the bylaws about ties when electing officers) What are the legalities here? As far as I know the money has been spent appropriately, so fari Can a legitimate legal PTO just be dissolved this way? Some of us (very dedicated old timers) feel that we are not at all welcome, totally being left in dark. It's a long,long story. Just curious if a PTO can be dissolved so easily, just dismissed and swept under the rug?
Thanks for your input.
Curious

No.

They can, however, make life very difficult so that your group folds. They can take away your priviledge of meeting on school grounds; stop letting you send stuff home in backpacks; stop any fundraising efforts where the school name is used; etc.

It really is best to be partnered with your principal. When issues arise that he/she might be able to help with, like some of the problems you are having with your membership, let them help guide your group. I'm saying it badly, but hopefully you know what I mean.

As for the pres holding what sounds like two positions and signing checks: I would think you could actually apply your bylaws here. Your pres cannot hold both the pres and veep positions, or the pres and secretary positions at the same time, so I would think that loosely translated your bylaws would cover two parent group positions. Think about what I'm trying to say and then reread your bylaws and see if you can make it fit in as applicable. Under normal circumstances I would never try to make bylaws fit a problem, but this time I'd have to try. That's just me though.

Last, if the bylaws can't be read that way, I would take whatever steps necessary to ammend the bylaws before school starts back up in the fall. I would immediately take steps to make sure that all checks require two signatures (ours already do) and make sure the other signer knows what's what.

Good Luck!

[ 04-12-2004, 02:26 PM: Message edited by: TheMetzyMom ]

Can a principal totally take over a PTO that has it's own tax id #,bylaws,etc.,etc.? Due to tension and mistrust in the past couple of years the principal has totally taken over the PTO, although not necessarily for the worst. Last years elections, to say the least did not go well, the pres. was accussed of stuffing the ballots, it was a tie, when a lot of members present knew it shouldn't be, it was voted that reelections for those positons would be held in the fall(the accusations came about right after the meeting). When fall came and since there has been no mention or meetings of the PTO has it existed. No clearing of the air, nothing! He (the principal)has gotten parents together under a different name (all good stuff, that they are doing)with some of the same people, including the former Pres., whom is acting as pres. when his term expired. Can he still act as pres. and sign checks (he's name is still legally on the form at the bank), etc. if the principal gives him the authoritiy? It was a tie, so I would assume that his term ended when the bylaws state it ended? (nothing in the bylaws about ties when electing officers) What are the legalities here? As far as I know the money has been spent appropriately, so fari Can a legitimate legal PTO just be dissolved this way? Some of us (very dedicated old timers) feel that we are not at all welcome, totally being left in dark. It's a long,long story. Just curious if a PTO can be dissolved so easily, just dismissed and swept under the rug?
Thanks for your input.
Curious