I support much of what the others have said. A good relationship with the principal and his/her involvement in the PTO is critical. It can work either way (vote or no vote) as long as there's good involvement. With or without a vote, the Principal practically has veto power on most things anyway, as he/she controls the school.
In our case the Principal, Vice Principal, and two teacher reps are voting members of our Board (which has about 25 members).
In our bylaws, the administration are members of our executive board in an advisory role. I have a wonderful relationship with both principals and the superintendent and feel that without a good relationship so many things would not have been accomplished. When I became the president at the end of last year, I then approached the principals and together we worked out a calendar of events for the year. This kept the PTO's events from conflicting with other school events. It also allowed us to make good choices based on already planned activities. An open line of communication makes all the difference!
Having a good relationship with your principal can make all the difference in the world as to how well your events and activities are received in the school. Our principal has a voting spot on our board. We make sure that everything we do is run by her not just so she can give her "yes" or "no" but from the standpoint that this is HER school. Everyhting that happens here is ultimately her responsibility. Ours has never told us "no" but she has pointed out problems and we made changes and moved on. I must say that in my 2 years as president, I have established not only a wonderful working relationship with my principal, but a great friendship. I could go on but if you read the article, you'll see some of my views and comments in there.
Without a good relationship with the principal you won't get too far with anything. You need to work together on scheduling, and it has been my experience that the principal leans on the PTO as much as the PTO needs the principal. When I left my last school we cried together - we had become friends as well as "co-workers".
All that said - it is my personal opinion that a principal should not have a voting position on the board but rather an advisory one. There could appear to be conflict of interest, in the non-legal sense of those words, and even the appearance of impropriety is one I strive to avoid if possible. Of course, the better relationship you have with your principal the better able to have clear lines of communication you will be - and you would be able to have that conversation with the principal.
Veto power? you ask - well, it is the principal's responsibility to oversee everything that happens within the walls of a school that the district has entrusted to him or her, so technically yes, they do have veto power. Back to the relationship issue - you do not want to burn this bridge.
The article Tim mentions about partnership with principal - it was GREAT.
Could someone PLEASE tell me how much should a principal be involved in the everyday running of the PTO. Should the principal have a vote on any or every thing that's done? Canthe principal nominate people for the PTO board? Can the principal decided what is or is not done on,for, or with the PTO. We don't have anything about this in our by-laws and I feel that this will be a real sore point if put in. Please help me with this ASAP!!!
