I agree with Phil about having experience with the group. If I was interested in becoming part of a group, I would start attending meetings and get the feel of the group is run and how they do things. When I joined my first pto 8 yrs. ago, it was awhile before I would add my input. It was couple yrs. later before I took an officer position. I've seen people show up to meetings, stir things up and never show again.

Thanks for the link, Phil! [img]smile.gif[/img]

Given you have no written by-laws or even a "traditional" term of office, for continuity (experience) sake I would recommend having the VP take the Pres. position and hold an election for VP among those interested. Normally, you should have some experience with a group before you get to run the show.

Make it a priority to define and approve some document describing how your group will operate. Make a plan on generating the document, invite all members to participate, and state when you expect to present the committees recommendation (with Q&A) and when you plan to vote on it.

If you are considering an application for Non-Profit status, the IRS requires several things in your application. You can look at our web site to see out charter and a presentation on what we did to achieve Non-Profit status. We also started with generating a Charter (what we called our document - the IRS calls it Articles of Organization) from scratch.

The URL is www.macarthurschool.com/

Then click on the PTO link at the top. The Charter and the presentation are separate links you can click on the left hand side of the page.

Good luck!

rac76 - I agree that it would be nice to have some continuity in your group and perhaps having the current vp step up to president is ideal for your group as you go through this transition. Then, perhaps hold an election for the vp spot.

I guess, since you don't have exisiting bylaws, use it to your advantage to fill key roles to the best interest of your group.

You're right about needing by-laws and some organization! Maybe your executive board (officers) can draft them over the summer. I'm also happy to share my groups by-laws. Send an email message to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

If you'd like a copy of my by-laws just e-mail me at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Good luck!

Thanks Crew Chief for the link. Renee, we have no designated term lengths. Its however long you want it. Its such a free for all, that a situation like this was bound to happen. I agree with you Renee, that the v.p should take over since we already kinda had elections. We all said that we wanted to stay in our current positions, and everyone else agree with it. The president knew that she was going to leave sometime soon, so honestly, she probably should not agreed for do it for another year. Then again I also agree with crew chief that there should be some type of election so that way the rest of the board can vote and have their voices heard. Honestly, our pto really needs by-laws and some organization!! Really soon!!

Thanks to all for responding! I let you all know what happens in June.