We're in the organizational process and are beginning to develop by-laws for our PTO. I'm wondering how other groups determine membership. Do most groups have an annual membership dues? Can I get some suggestions on what qualifies as a member in your groups?
And here's another news flash. The people who serve on the bylaws committee actually have to read them. Ha! Sounds like a no brainer, but it's not. Bylaws are boring. Five minutes into it, most people's eyese start glazing over and the tendancy is to scan it, thinking "sounds official, that's probably okay."
The committee really needs to pay attention, to analyze what different clauses mean, and especially to look for discrepancies.
Bylaws are impartial. They help keep emotion and personal issues out of the decision making process. They probably save plenty of friendships.
I agree that you should view samples. My group's bylaws are pretty basic and I'd be happy to share them. Send a message to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
And Phil is absolutely right that it isn't a speedy process. Our review process takes 60+ days. The committee takes suggestions and reviews options for 30 days. Then they take 30 days to draft the proposed revisions. They are then presented to the voting members at least one full week prior to the voting meeting.
If you have until the start of the next school year, that should be plenty of time. Take your time to do it right. And definitely take Phil's suggestion to get a good cross section of reasonable folks to work on them including, perhaps, the principal and one or two other staff members to represent the school's perspective.
Good luck!
Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same."
"The ultimate aim of karate lies not in victory or defeat but in the true perfection of one's character."
You need something written down to describe how the group is organized - who runs it and what authority they have, who is eligible to be a member or a leader, how the leaders are chosen.
I wouldn't plan on putting them together in a night and voting on them the next day. IMHO, to generate a good set of by-laws you should have representatives from a broad cross section of the organization and discuss them. Select a group that is prepared for different opinions and open to the fact that someones elses thought might be better for the group than their own.
Once the committee has drafted the by-laws, it should be read to the whole PTO and then discussed. A second reading (I suppose this is optional) and the vote to approve should come at the next meeting. People should have an opportunity to think about something this important.
I agree, you do want bylaws. But in creating them, scout around and get some samples that fit your organization, then customize. Don't start from scratch writing your own.
On RRO - sometimes people envision the most formal version of this with meetings steeped in elaborate rules and ritual (imagine a Senate hearing). You don't want that level of formality, but you do want to follow the basics - which are really mostly common sense. Your Principal probably just needs to understand the scope.
Stick to it. Yes, any PTO needs bylaws...you're handling lots of money and planning important events and have officers. YES, write bylaws! They don't have to be complicated.
As far as RRO goes, you don't need most parliamentary procedure, but there's some basics that are important: agena, meeting minutes, election process, voting... There's a list of 10 RRO basics on the Bonus Tools page of this website. RRO really doesn't need to be intimidating. Like you said, bylaws and a little parliamentary procedure will keep your group running smoothly and help avoid conflict.
