actually I'm a board member and brand new to the whole world of PTOs. I come from the corporate world so while in that world I was accused more than once of being overly sensitive to people's feelings I'm afraid in this world I'm on the verge of being accused of insensitivity.

I've actually got no problem with sending an open invitation to everyone but we have somewhat of the same problem as you. How much can you really get done by committee? And we've got some not so positive baggage that this new PTO is trying to get rid of. My gut tells me you need fresh faces with fresh ideas to build a solid foundation so we can grow and attract new parents but how do you balance this and not tick off all the people that have given their hearts and souls to keeping the cause alive?

Part of me says just move forward and if they leave they leave... the other part says - you can't do this alone [img]smile.gif[/img]

I'm presuming this is a PTO that's just starting out, and that when you say "board meetings" you mean officers and committee chairs. That said, I don't have a problem with it (but of course I'm the president of our volunteers group ), though I can see how it would be troublesome to some people. Board meetings are called board meetings for a reason. We were in a similar situation, and opted to keep our meetings closed, because to be honest (and I'm sure there will many who'll have a problem with this) the thought of having a people with no clear direction, vision of the future or knowledge of how the group must interact on many different levels (with parents, administration, the government, etcetera)trying to take control of a situation that they aren't responsible for made my hair stand on end! We felt it would be a futile session intrying to make everyone happy, and we all know how THAT goes :eek: ! NOT that every "regular" member just listening in at board meeting would be like that, but let's face it, we all know how people can be. And of course, I know my board and I are not a power hungry clique with desires of ruling our own little chunk of heaven, and actually are kind of smart-LOL- but not everyone else does, and could easily mistinterpret the situation. I can see it both ways, because I've been at both ends, and felt both emotions. But now that I'm older and wiser [img]tongue.gif[/img] I tend to be a little more realistic, and less tolerant of annoying situations. So if you're one of the board members, don't sweat it, and if you're one of the "outsiders," try reasoning and being pleasant, and I can't see a problem if you want to listen in.

would like some perspective on having "unadvertised" board meetings. How do you feel about the PTO board members meeting without publishing the meeting?

Legally we can do this but there is some push back from a few people in our organization....

purpose of the unpublicized meeting is to lay some groundwork for the new organization. Create proposals on roles and responsibilities, policy on how to run committees, etc. The idea was to have the board create a "going in proposal" that would then be used for discussion at a regular monthly meeting.