We have no official "officers". Five years ago we did, but as those parents moved onto middle school, there haven't been any interested parents. I was appointed the group "leader". I assist the principal with notes from the meetings and she has taken over the checkbook. I am her main contact person. Probably not exactly what we want, but works until we find parents who are interested. We have done this for three years.
My PTo is in the same boat. Have one person mildly interested, but afraid to take it on. I am current prez and had to take on a lot this year, due to lack of availabilty from fellow members. She's reluctant because of this. Hoping to convince her, as she'd be GREAT!! And I'm still there to help.
Our bylaws state that our PTO cannot exist without a President. For some reason, any board position is hard to fill. The principal stopped me one morning after I dropped my son off at school and asked me if I would be President. I thought about it for about a week because I knew filling the position would take a lot of work and dedication. This is now my second year as President, and I'm loving every minute of it! I've always been involved in the PTO but never held a position. I can definitely understand why people don't want to step up to accept the challenge.
Maybe you can send home a letter explaining what the PTO is all about and what the school and the children would lose out on if the PTO didn't exist. You can also explain what duties the President is responsible for. Good luck to you!
Check out the new post Starting a PTSO under the Robt's Rules, Bylaws, Legal Topic. I started a new thread for you, essence, because you're likely to get more responses from a new thread than piggy-backing off one that has nothing to do with your topic.
Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same."
"The ultimate aim of karate lies not in victory or defeat but in the true perfection of one's character."
We faced that a few years ago with the middle school PTO - which has far less activities than our elementary group. We went all the way to the end of the year with no takers. Our final plan was that the 3 or 4 of us that typically volunteer would collectively work as an executive "council" sharing leadership/responsibility and oversee the bare minimum programs (basically Teacher Appreciation activities and 8th Grade Prom) to keep the PTO functioning.
Luckily, someone stepped forward right after school started, so we didn't have to implement.
