Sometimes the Principal is leery to letting someone have a little more control because they are afraid of the issues they might have to deal with if a loose cannon of a PTO president comes in and stirs up a ruckus. Now on the other hand, the principal's usually don't feel that way with someone they know. Spend time taking small steps that give them the opportunity to trust you.

Let them have a chance to read emails from you. Call or stop by and talk with them one on one.

Find out what they like. Propose some small non-revolutionary ideas that are consistent with the things they like. Then make absolutely sure they are a success.

JP26 - It is possible to operate as a school program - basically a volunteer committee for the school. In that model, you are under the school's umbrella and they ultimately have control of the PTOs actions and funds.
A key question is: Will the school district allow you to operate this way?

This model is very common in private schools. In public schools, a lot of organizations operate this way in sort of a don't-ask-don't-tell fashion because the lawyers and accountant and risk managers go nuts with potential liability issues. They are kind of independent, kind of part of the school. And basically everything rocks along until there's a major problem, then everyone disavows everything.

The other end of the continuum is the organization being an independent 501(c)(3).

The middle ground is that the organization is an unincorporated association and not 501(c)(3). Independent from the school, has its own bank account, has its own EIN. These probably aren't sales tax exempt because often having the 501 status is pre-requisite (Sales tax exemption is controlled by state law and varies for each one). This organization shouldn't be using the school's tax exempt number for purchases (but many of them do).

The issue with the association model is that if it makes more than $5,000 gross per year (everything that comes into the account), then the IRS expects the group to formalize and apply for the 501(c)(3). Otherwise, it's not operating legally by IRS rules.

And then, of course, there's every possible hybrid imaginable. But most PTOs fit into one of these three categories.

As far as grants - definitely you can go after them if you are a 501(c)(3). Each grant organization makes its own rules. But I suspect you would need to pursue the grant in the school's name, not the PTO's, if you aren't a 501.

I have read a lot on this site about PTOs becoming 501C3s. Our group currently has its own bank account but has been operating very informally and independently from the school operations. We have bee hitting roadblocks in our attempts to follow the path to 501C3 status. (One main issue is that the PTO board changes as kids move on to the next school and the continuity of expertise is very volatile. We are afraid many of the formalities necessary for incorporation and 501C3 status may slip through the cracks from year to year.) If we decide NOT to become a 501C3 but continue to operate as a somewhat independent arm of the school, what are our reporting requirements to the Board of Ed.? The BOE has never asked us for any information to date. Would they need to include our small financial "profit" (amount rolled over to start the next school year) in their annual reports? I don't think our principal would want to interfere with our operations since we do a lot of good things for the district. Can we still use our own bank account but use the BOE tax exempt status so when individuals donate money to our group they can take a tax deduction? Can we apply for grants as a small PTO because we are under the umbrella of the school's tax status? If anyone has some insight into this type of situation I'd appreciate the help.

As the others have stated, the answers to your questions all depend on whether or not you are a 501(C)(3) group, what your Bylaws state, etc....

If you are a 501(C)(3) then likely your Bylaws (if you have them) will indicate that total control of the decisions and organizations of your group are by your Executive Board and/or through a majority voting taken at an offical meeting and put up for motion by your President (or something similar).

My group's Bylaws actually state that only the extecutive board has the right to vote, and only a PTO member (parent of a student or staff member at the school - not the Principal) can be voted into a position of this nature. But again it all depends on what your Bylaws state.

If you are independant, but don;t have Bylaws then you and your other members should sit down and define your Bylaws. Define evenything, incluidng elections, terms of office, a quarum, who votes, control of funds, etc.

If you are independant then your executive board has the right (again, based on Bylaws) to hold meetings anywhere you want, to allocate funds for anything you want and to define the voting process.

At my school we had a new Principal last year. As the new PTO President I set up a summer meeting with him to outline my priorities, to go over our plans for the year, to hear his priorities and to explain what has been done in the past and what things we would like to change. Effectively I set the precedence that this PTO is not controlled by the Principal, but that we want to work with him to make the school better for our children.

If you think about it a Principal would have to be an idiot to alienate their PTO. A PTO can do so much for a school, so why ruin that. But, if the existing precedent is that the Principal has control, then why would he ever relinquish it? You need to answer our questions about being independant and your Bylaws and then go from there.

If things turn out in your favor regarding being independant then something needs to be done. Who was defined as the PTO President for the year? Was this the same person as last year? Is it a staff member or a parent? Was there minutes written regarding these elections? And using your Bylaws can you "challenge" the elections asking for new ones?

Worst case scenerio, and it seems that this might happen, you may need to go to the Principal's boss. This may be the Superintendant of Schools or the town's School Committee. Either way try defining things first and then talking with him and/or the other parents and see if an ammicable decision can be made.

Good luck, PresidentJim

You have to ask prior board members if you are just using the PTO name or are you a registered organization with the state and IRS. You should have bylaws that would clearly outline all the "rules" governing your organization. Although your principal does have the right to approve or disapprove activities that go on in the school (you are, afterall, partnering with the school), he cannot run it as a dictatorship since the bylaws must be followed. You could always address this with him and your board of education.

You will have to do some research to find out about the bylaws. If you don't have any and you are operating under the schools Tax ID, then you really aren't a fully organized PTO.

If your organization is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and running itself as an independent organzation, then the PTO is definitely separate, although certainly intertwined with the school.

Otherwise, the parent group's existence could be anything from a stand-alone, independent group to a committee appointed by the principal. Probably our most typical image of a PTO is that there are bylaws, elections, decisions by officers/members - e.g., some level of independance. But there's really nothing that dictates it must be that way.

That's not to say your principal is "right" or "wrong" in the way he's handling things.

You might check to see if your school district has any guidelines the schools are supposed to follow. (They probably don't, but it's worth a shot.)

You may be able to change things over time.

By the way, when funds are raised, where are they deposited? If they are in a separate PTO bank account (i.e. the illusion of an independent organization), but totally controlled by the principal, that might be a small chink. If he's truly running the PTO as a school committee, funds should probably be in a school account (and thus subject to school district audit).