We had our elections two days ago and our Pres. of one year was voted out. Not a big problem but the individual that ran against her was the kindergarten teacher. Still not a real problem until you see that more than half of the people that showed up to vote had never attended a meeting all year and that more than half of that was the staff of the school (teaching and aux). So currently our Exec. Board is comprised of 3 staff members and one mom (secretary). The signers on our PTO account happen to be the Principal, the Principal's secretary(the PTO treasurer) and the kindergarten teacher (the new Pres). Do you see a problem? How do we handle this? Our thoughts are to change the by laws (redone this year) to eliminate the Principal as a co signer and make it manditory to attend at least two meetings and volunteer for one event to run for an office and/or vote in an election. Any other ideas?
I have read others say that the pres. or the principle wouldn't allow anyone to see the bylaws. I don't understand how so many people allow this to happen.
I would politely ask for a copy of the bylaws. If they said they don't make copies I would say that I would make my own copy. If they still say no, then I would get a little less polite and tell him/her that I am not no longer asking to see the bylaws, I am demanding to see the bylaws. If they still said no, I would contact their immediate supervisor and if that didn't work, I would contact the media. They love stories like that.
I am so hard headed that I would not stop until they released the bylaws. They are not state secrets, they are public documents and he/she has no right to deny you access.
The PTO pres, Treasurer & the Principal are the ones that are on the checking account. That was one of the "TERMS" that the principal made before SHE HELD THE ELECTIONS THIS YEAR. She choose who she wanted to run for each office...as I said it's her way or no way. We have a hand-full of parents that will stand up for our kids there but we don't know how to go about getting started. We plan on running for a office this yr but we have only had 3 meetings all yr long
First of all, the bylaws are not private and they are not exclusive to the prez or princ. Any and all members should have access to a copy, in fact it should be their responsibility to know what's in the bylaws. How else can you be sure your group is running as designed?
You might try explaining to your principal that you have learned alot of great ideas from this website and that you would like to see if your group's bylaws cover all these important topics. She probably has the students' best interest at heart, and think she's the only one qualified to oversee the parent/school group. Avoid confronting her even though that may be how you feel.
It's quite possible that there really aren't any bylaws or that the only copies have been misplaced over time. If you get a copy, see if they address check signing privileges. Your bylaws might require the principal to be a signer. Do you have more than two authorized signers? [We have 3 (prez, vp, treasurer - not principal).] It's helpful to have 3 so 2 are always available to sign.
Bylaws can usually be amended by the members, assuming that's allowed in your bylaws. If so, you, or any other member, could propose an amendment to revise the check signing procedure - define which officers have check signing privileges. Once that is settled, your prez or treas would submit a new signature card at the bank. But it all starts with a detailed reading of your PTO's bylaws.
If your PTO comes to the conclusion that there are no valid bylaws, come back to the forum for help. Good luck.
I have a question.....This yrs PTO let the principal have her name on the checking account... when PTO wants to buy anything she will not sign a check!!
MY QUESTION IS, HOW CAN PTO GET HER NAME OFF THE CHECKING ACOUNTING???
Our PTO MAY have by-laws...the principal said she has the only copy and if a person has a question about PTO they need to see her not the PTO pres.
This lady if VERY hard to get along with, its her way or no way!! Our PTO Pres. will not stand up to her at all...ANY IDEAS ON WHAT WE PARENTS CAN DO???
