Wow! It sounds like he has a control issue!
Our super. has very little input (if any) in how we use our funds. Even our principle does not have much input (but some) on how we spend our money. We do run everything by him first though! (to make him feel involved) The only thing I can recall that he wasn't thrilled about was buying weekly readers and such for the teachers. He felt these should be paid for and provided by the district. He did not want parents thinking the district could not provide even though we were more than will to do so.
If you are having so many problems with your super. that you have actually gone to a lawyer for advice, I would be checking in to see when his contract is up! As parents, let your school board know you are not happy with your current super. They are the ones who will be voting on whether to extend his contract with the district or not.

It amazes me that a superintendent would have the time or the inclination to be on top of a parent groups business. With the nationwide education budget crisis, you would think there would be more pressing matters for the super to attend to, rather than worry if the parent group is purchasing supplies for a classroom that the district budget should be providing for!

As a seperate entity from our district, our superintendent is very supportive of our PTA's efforts and has brought concerns to us if he has any. But as far as micromanaging, he has enough to do trying to put together a budget to educate our children with what looks like even less help from our state and federal governments for the new year.

That being said. You still need to have a good working relationship with the district. They do, afterall, have the final say as to what goes on in the individual buildings. Maybe if you had a few people sit down with the super and outline expectations of both sides you can reach a happy median. Communication is key, and the beakdown of such can be disastrous. Call a meeting with the key people involved and get things sorted out before things get more out of hand. Parent involvemnet is the key to a great school [img]smile.gif[/img]

Well our superindentent does not question us either. We do though now have to give the district a copy of our financial statements. They just want to see where the funds are going. But they do not question. If we give a gift to the school then it goes to the district board they
acknowledge it and its put into the board minutes.
We do ask the principals at both schools for their imput but over all the PTO/PTG make all final decisions on what we do. Its monies that we have collected for the schools so why should we have to go thru the superintendent?

I have to agree with critter that our super doesn't take part in any thing we do which is fine. Although when the our old group made a bad choice four years ago he was there as well as the board to voice their anger ! I think it's better that way too !! Although we are facing HUGE budget cuts so I see that as changing as our role becomes more important !

I'm not sure our superintendent knows we exist and that's fine with me.

I would like to take a poll, if possible.
Who does your PTO correspond with at the school level? Who has the final say as to how the PTO funds are spent?

We have a Superintendent who loves to micro manage EVERYTHING, including the PTO. We would rather just deal with the teachers and principals, but this super puts himself in the middle all the time. And if he doesn't agree with how we spend the money -- teachers' wish lists, for example -- he makes it a Congressional Hearing for us to even get to the Board of Education, or anyone else for that matter, to implement it. He has made it so that we need to get approval from him, the business administrator, the prinicpals, the BOE, the custodian staff (no kidding!) before we can do anything. He even commented that we bought jump ropes for the playground without approval! Jump ropes! He has made the PTO's lives so miserable, we have lost a lot of Executive Board Members, and we are down to 3: Prez, Secretary (me), and Treasurer. We're the Power of 3...LOL!

Tonight is our very last meeting. The superintendent will never change, and he is an impediment to our goals of enriching nad enhancing the school for the students and teachers. We can't do it anymore: the harassment, the badgering...

Could someone please tell me how your PTO works, is it hard or easy dealing with the superintendent? Do you even deal with the super??

I guess I just need to get my mind straight in all of this because it does not make sense to me why a super would give a group of parent volunteers, who only want to make the teachers and students happy, such an incredibly hard time. I mean, we even went to see a lawyer for advice...that's how incredibly bizaar this whole situation is! Help!! Please give me your words of wisdom, oh wise ones of PTO's!

Thanks!
~Francine