Ours are posted on line at

www.macarthurschool.com/pto.htm

Then click on the Charter link on the right hand side.

Section 6 is what you are looking for.

Just curious if anyone has their election bylaws that they can pass my way. We are in the process of revising the bylaws to avoid this in the future and would love to see what other schools are out their doing?

Thanks,
Stacey

I am not sure what to do in this situation. You are right - it is a mess.

In my experience, voting is done at one time in one meeting. Can you clarify how your group voted? It sounds like ballots went out and were returned over several days or weeks before they were tallied.

In my mind it is important for this reason: if, as President, you want to declare the election null and void due to the irregularities you cite, you need to take that action very quickly after you becamne aware of them (and then, of course, schedule an Emergency Meeting in accordance with your Charter to redo the elections properly). If the elections happened at a meeting, and you saw marked and changed absetee ballots, you should have said something then (and it may be too late now that the votes have been counted). On the other hand, if the election took place over a period of time, and you did not become aware of the irregularities until sometime later, then you may (just may) be within your rights and authority as Pres. But this is going to be a hard road to take either way and expect a lot of loud complaint to come down on your head.

You will need to balance this storm against the potential harm and good it would cause. It sounds to me that if you go to the mat on this your group will consumed by how this plays out and the wounds would take a very long while to heal. But if you do nothing, how effective will the group be under the new regime? - who pushed out the previous movers and shakers by rumor, innuendo and intimidation (this is begining to sound like a Sopranos episode).

I'm afraid I don't have any intelligent insight - you will have to decide what the best action to take for yourself.

One other point - people other than the treasurer can embezzle (sp?) from a PTO. I say this not as an accusation but just as a point of reference that it is not a strong comeback to the accusation.

Gosh, it does look like an uphill battle. Lucky for you that there are a lot of very smart people on these boards who have insight into these types of problems.

Are you still on the board for the coming school year? Is there a group of parents who might work together, along with the principal and superintendent, to straighten things out?

It seems the "new principal" issue comes up a lot. Our principal was so wonderful his first year. He took an 'observer' position at our meetings, respectfully watching how we conducted business, frequently met with members to discuss goals and projects and learned a lot. The second year, he came back willing and able to take up the advisor/liason role and meshed very well with the community. So many others appear to go into their school with the "This is myschool now attitude.

Hopefully some of the brilliant minds working the PTO Today boards will chime in and offer some great advice.

Good luck to you and your group!

We do use absentee ballots. As for our bylaws, they are very grey. This is all it states.

Officers shall be elected by ballot in the month of May. However, if there is but one nominee for any office, election for that office may be by voice vote.

Officers shall assume their official duties the close of the meeting in June, and shall serve for a term of one year and shall remain in office until their successors assume office.

A person shall not be eligible to serve more than two consecutive terms in the same office. (Exception: A person may serve more than two consecutive terms in the same office when there is no other person willing to serve).

Election ballots shall be distributed to the membership at large and results will be given at the last PTO meeting of the school year.

In regards to who told implied that the staff should vote, it was the Principal. Because this is her first year at out school, the staff is being real careful to try to do as they are told so that she doesn't make their life worse. Because she doesn't like the fact that some of the board members don't just sit back and let her tell them how to run the PTO, she recommended that they vote for change. She's very good like that...careful with what she says so that she get's her point across without actually saying anything to get her self in trouble.

As for the color coding, when we asked the nominating committee why this was done we were told many different things. It just depended on who you talked to. The following were some of the things we were told.

We didn't color code, the copier just ran out of color and then had to be replaced.

We were numbering the ballots as a procotionary measure.

We did it as directed by the principal.

We didn't number in any special way. We just wanted to make sure that everything was fair.

When the problem first arose, I went to the President of our President's council and was told that they are just their as a support system but that I should try to work it out with the principal.

I didn't think about going to the school board because I didn't really know who to go to and to be perfectly honest, I didn't want to make things worse for my daughter and family who have many years left at this school and with this principal. I do think that this is a major violation even though it doesn't state that it is in the bylaws. It doesn't discuss that at all.

More advice would be great!

Oh my! You are, sadly, seeing the dark side of parent group politics. It's the worst kind as it's ultimately the children who suffer from these rediculous games.

Whew... Where to start.....

First - It sounds like your group used absentee ballots. Is that correct? If so, do your bylaws allow that? Mine, for example, do not but rather state that members must be present to vote.

Second - Who told the staff members that they "needed to vote" and then how to vote? In our country, the right to vote also means the right not to vote. Where is the principal in all of this if parent groups are instructing staff behavior?

Third - Color and number coded ballots? That's got to be a major violation.

I'm no expert but it really sounds like the entire election process was a farce and should be considered null and void. Hopefully, your group has bylaws that outline the nominations and elections process. I am absolutely not a "run to the school board" person, but it sounds like mediation is urgently needed. Would your superintendent or school board provide this service?