I AM CURRENTLY A CO-CHAIRPERSON AT OUR SCHOOL. I THINK IT IS A GREAT IDEA TO SHARE THE RESPONSBILITIES WITH SOMEONE. OUR SCHOOL PLANS SO MANY ACTIVITIES FOR THE STUDENTS
THAT ONE PERSON COULD NOT DO IT ALONE.
I ADMIT THAT WE DON'T ALWAYS AGREE ON CERTAIN ISSUES, BUT OUR MAIN OBJECTIVE IS THE
"CHILDREN". TO EASE SOME OF THE STRESS, WE HAVE A VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR. WHEN WE NEED VOLUNTEERS, WE CALL OUR COORDINATOR TO GET VOLUNTEERS WHO HAVE PREVIOUSLY SIGNED UP TO HELP.
We've had cos for as long as I've been at our school and last year was the first time we ever had a problem. There was a controversial issue of giving money to another charity in town. When we finally had a vote, there was a tie including the two co-presidents splitting their votes. Was messy. I've heard since that a lot of groups don't have the president vote and then if there is a tie, the president is the tie-breaker, but that only works if you have one president (or three I guess).
Our co's do have different jobs that are spelled out somewhat in our bylaws. One of our co-presidents is usually a second-year co,a nd the other is a first-year co. the second-year co usually runs the meetings and such and tries to work the new co into an understanding of the job. They share the "work" stuff like newsletters and mailings and meetings.
Hi Kindergartenmom,
I am the Co-President of a Parent Teacher Council. I am now serving my second term and have had a Co-President both terms. The way we have always looked at this is that the "Co" part was for collaborative. For the most part, we work together on everything and divide up "chores" to make things fun and easy. We do split up some of our big undertakings with both of us working on the project but one of us clearly taking the lead. The two people who were the Co's before me, each served for four years.
It has been wonderful and I have made two very nice friends with my Co's. It helps to have someone to partner with and share the load. I think it is the best way to survive the hectic times, and it is nice to have someone to share the fun times with.
Does anyone have advice on how to operate a PTO that has Co-Presidents? Should the Co-Presidents each have specific duties? Should all decisions be made by both Co-Presidents? Any tips will be appreciated. Thanks.
