To Just a volunteer - I have been on the opposite side of such a conflict. I encouraged my parent volunteer to run for President and lead the group in any way that she see fit. Being the PTO President is a difficult balancing act. If and when you are President I guarantee that you will be able to show compassion and understanding regarding your current officers. It is easy to be critical and not be in charge. Only when you "walk in a another's shoes" can you pass such judgement. I look forward to seeing your first post as President!

a1chef;129076 wrote: justavolunteer-from the tone and exuberance in your post I think you are indeed a very energenic volunteer. This may scare people who are comfortable it what has been done in the past. I would temper my enthusiam with a little restraint.

I am going to totally disagree with this. Leaders can't complain when noone is helping and then also complain when someone really steps up. When a new volunteer storms in with guns blazing, the leaders need to simply show her where to shoot. They should not return fire.

Justavolunteer, I'd love to have you at my school. You rock.

This post has stayed with me since I read it back in December. I thought the OP was off base even with her side of things. It makes me sad that some people expect their PTO leaders to act this way.

I am struggling with the fact that we have no candidates to replace me as president. If I do not run, our group will be done. Even though we have quadrupled the number of parents, we still do not have many willing to lead. A zealous volunteer is a valuable commodity.

Justavolunteer, if you want to move to SW Florida, I have an offer for you. Our county has excellent schools and the real estate market favors buyers right now.

Bayshore, is this group a school committee or an independent charity? It sounds like your bylaws stink. While it has been nice to hear the other side of the story, my opinion has not changed. Your group sounds elitist and exclusive. Will there even be elections? Is Justavolunteer going to have to butt heads and shake things up again next year?

I have found all of the posts to be very enlightening.

We had and SMALL accounting drama at a PTO I was on about 3 years ago. To boil it down, the books were audited at the request of the Principal and other PTO members. Any funds not accounted for with valid receipts had to be reimbursed by those (2 or 3) who had the check-writing authority. The main problem was not really one of theft, it was just ABYSMAL recordkeeping. There were several entries made out to Petty Cash. After the audit, we voted to do away with Petty Cash and to require receipts for all reimbursements.

Although the members in question did not have to leave, they did quit, which left us short-handed. At one point, I think MOST of the board (myself included) wanted to quit. We did not quit because we wanted to be there for the kids (and our hard-working teachers). We made it through the year, all pulling together, and it turned out to be fun.

For all the "factions" in this discussion, perhaps you should think about what you REALLY want.

If you want the drama -- go for it, keep on wounding each other, (and the PTO and school in the process), go behind each other's backs as much as possible and drag it all out, over and over again. Pretty soon, you'll get everyone into their own trenches and make life miserable all over the place.

If you don't want the drama, here are my suggetstions:
1) Get an audit. Request this from your Principal or School Board, if necessary. Keep your minutes and budget where anyone can look at them.
2) Announce your meetings so parents can attend.
3) If you don't have a volunteer coordinator, get one.
4) Do not reimburse yourselves for lunches and minor travel expenses.
5) Require receipts for ALL reimbursements.
6) Do away with Petty Cash.
7) Find out who gets to vote for officers in the by-laws. If it is the entire PTO (parents, teachers, etc) publish the meeting date for new officer elections.
8) Run your meetings in a business-like manner. Don't let it turn in to one big time to complain. We would go through our business aganda QUICKLY, then at the end of the meeting, open up the floor to new business and discussion. Even if it is not "just complaints", but is valid discussion -- get the main meeting over with so those who don't want to "chat" can go on home. If the meeting takes more than an hour, you are all probably talking too much about issues that should be resolved in the various committees (should we paint the teacher's lounge baby blue or sky blue?.......).
9) Politley put up with people who don't work the way you do. Nobod'ys perfect.
10) Lighten up, for GOODNESS SAKE -- After all is said and done, it's the PTO, not open-heart surgery with your son's beating heart in the doctor's hand!

See, now I've gone on for too long.
By the way, after our problem, we went on to have a couple of GREAT YEARS!

Bless your heart! I sure can relate to your frustration !

It's awful to grow up, have kids of your own and want to do some good in your community only to find out that the grown up world is not that different from when you were in school. "Adults" (and I use that word loosely) forming cliques and deciding who is worthy to belong. Exclusion of others based on personal feelings of inadequacy that they themselves apparently have. Fear is the driving force at work here. Fear that someone may be able to do a better job, or have valuable ideas, or question them on their actions seems to be driving this team.

Anyway, regarding notification of meetings - we hold meetings every second tuesday of each month for the officers. We discuss upcoming events, share ideas, and work out details of those events.

Once each quarter we have a meeting with the general membership. These meetings are scheduled in conjunction with an event at the school such as a concert or honor roll awards ceremony. This way we have a better chance of more parents attending, which is our goal after all. The meetings are normally printed in our school art calendar which is given to all students in our county on the first day of school . We also submit the dates to our main board of education office which publishes a monthly newsletter. I have a membership list which includes e-mail addresses and so I e-mail our members prior to each meeting and event to remind them of the date and time. We also send out flyers. Most local newspapers will also publish (free of charge) any notices of meetings and/or events for the schools.

Regarding not being able to speak about subjects not on the agenda -we include an open discussion/comment period on every meeting agenda. This way we are able to hear about any concerns or suggestions our members may have and this also gives us an opportunity to become acquainted with new people while making them feel valued and part of the group. We always let them know that this organization consists of every member - not just the officers and that their thoughts and opionions do count!

I see red when you talk about the officers using PTO funds for reimbursement of personal expenses. This is totally out of line. This is a non-compensated (monetarily) position. What is the point of working so hard to raise money for the school if the officers turn around and spend it on themselves? Do you really think parents would continue to support the fundraisers and events if they knew that a portion of their hard earned money was going to put gas in the car and feed the officers? Volunteer work is deductible on your tax return but you absolutely should not be taking money from the PTO. Another idea - - Check your local Board of Education policy handbook. They may have a section that addresses parent run groups. Ours does. It is very specific about the handling of any funds associated with the school including the policy that an audit is to be conducted at the end of each school year. You should be able to access this information through a web site. We also address this issue in our bylaws.

Another issue is the access to records by members. Bylaws, budgets, treasurers reports, activity reports, etc. should always be accessible to any member wishing to examine them. A copy of this information should be kept in the school office. This is a public school organization financed with the community's support and should not be a secret.

Last tip - A Parent Advisory Board. I started one about two months ago as a way for parents to be involved and stay informed regarding the activities of the PTO. Because their are only four officer positions this limits the opportunities for regular team involvement. I made the announcement at one of our meetings and the response was great! The parent advisory board can make suggestions, bring up topics of concern and act as a sounding board for ideas. They act as an extended part of the PTO officers board and we contact them regarding any matter we feel is important. They are not required to attend meetings which makes it convenient for those who are not physically available although many of them do. Our contact is through the telephone and through e-mail. Maybe you as an individual parent could start a parent advisory board of your own completely independent of the PTO. You can keep them informed and work with them in regards to the future direction of parent involvement at your school.

I'll say it again - I would love to have about a dozen parents just like you willing to get involved and not afraid to make suggestions.

Don't be intimidated by a hot stove! It's hard to be the one stirring the pot but the alternative is burnt stew! Keep stirring!

mileage for conferences and food come from petty cash. i am not saying its right or wrong (and i persoanlly never 'benefited' from any kind of such compensation) just sharing one example with you.
as for meetings not being posted, well if misery loves company you will love this anecdote. imagine holding meetings at different places every month, and when they dont want someone to attend, they just give them the 'wrong' venue to the 'unwanteds'.
anyway, if like one person above correclty pointed out, its about the adults and not the kids, then its time to get yourself elected and change the status quo, or else just volunteer directly with the teachers and in classrooms, and have that be your contribution. you cant change the catti behavior patterns, or clique stuff, if in fact it exists in your group. its sad when the adults act more juvenile than their kids, but it does happen. good luck, yuve got the right attitude!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, I'm not usually one for "drama", but for some reason I began reading this post. I am a board memeber myself, and I see some seriously wrong with officers. It seems they are forgetting about the kids. PTO is NOT a "me" thing. We do it for the kids, not the power or recogonition.

Justavolunteer, I know I don't know the whole story, but I see it that you have done NOTHING wrong. I would be estatic to have a volunteer like you. You were obviously appointed as Room Parent Coordianator. You found volunteers to help out and you put them to work. If you hadn't have done it, who would??? There needs to be volunteers at a Thanksgiving lunch. Why didn't the officers ask parents themselves?? I've always seen volunteers as the backbone of the PTO, not the officers.

I am going to have to agree with all of the other post encouraging Justavolunteer to run nect year. President would be a perfect position for someone with your energy and drive. People serving as officers in PTO need to see past their own egos and do it for the kids. It's as simple as that. I wish you the best and hope that the Pres and VP stop buring their bridges. Next time the do need volunteers, they might not have any.

Oh, and the husband/wife thing, that is a conflict of intrest. I don't think that should have even passed. So sad that when it comes time for elections, there is usually only one person to chose from.