Sometimes I wonder why we even bother volunteering for anything. When I worked full time this behavior would not ever be acceptable. Why is that so many parents are overly emotional and angry?

Our board dislikes many of the parents in the membership and the membership dislikes the board. I am constantly reading about this discontent. It's a shame that everyone can't just get along and work together and remember that the PTO was formed for the CHILDREN.

We are supposed to be their role models!

If I was the person that said that everyone has a right to express their feelings like the first question did, I would sign in as anonymous too. That's embarrassing and I agree that our children are turning into bullies because of attitudes like that.

We just had our board meeting and one of the Executive members almost got up and hit a woman that was expressing concerns about funding.( the parent expressed her concerns in a very professional manor) It was ridiculous. She was refusing to take minutes. She wanted to take mental notes instead!!! She did later resign from her Secretarial position, which we are so thankful for, but she was very out of line and immature. She had no grounds for her arguments whats so ever. Anyone with half of a brain knows that a Secretary takes the minuets!!!
So to answer the question from the first post, NO they can not act that way and you have to stop it somehow. Get the negative people out!!! That is what we are doing. It feels refreshing!
Good Luck

Are you kidding? Everyone doesn't have a right to pour their FEELINGS out at a BUSINESS meeting. Save that for some social event. When and where do some people feel the need to be rude and uncivil to each other in such a public manner? It's no wonder so many of our children are bullies- they learn it from parents who let anything they "feel" come out of their mouths!

Every one has the right to be heard at those meeting's. And their feeling's need to heard as well. That's why it is called P.T.O. With out parent's there would be no P

It sounds like it's time for the board president to have a private meeting with the board member to discuss how her behavior was inappropriate as it promotes and justifies contention between parent volunteers. Any matters of disagreement need to be handled in a private, solution-focused manner and that, as a board member, she needs to demonstrate a better example of leadership in matters of dispute.

Then, the president needs to call in the other two parent volunteers who did the same thing and deliver the message that the parent association wants no destructive and negative behavior of this sort going on within the volunteer group.

After that, the president needs to work with all four parents involved (the two board members and the two parent volunteers) to come up with a positive, go-forward solution. It's possible, since three parents all feel the same way about the fourth, that there are issues the fourth needs to address in how she conducts herself or handles her responsibilities so she's not alienating other volunteers.

Recently it came to our attention as a board that a member of the board held a meeting starting a committee and when she started the meeting she introduced herself and proceeded to tell the group that she did not get along with another board member who was present. After that 2 more people there did the same thing (they are not board members). We are at a loss about what to do. We know this is wrong but how do we handle this? Can a board member be removed based on behavior like this? HELP!!!!!