We are a small school and right now our pto president is not liked by very many people in the school and community. The 1st vp is her best friend and everyone feels the same about her. The problem is they don't want anyone else to be involved in the pto they want it for themselves. They always refer to the funds as there money. People want to rejoin the pto but won't with them in charge.
I have asked the President for copies of the minutes and she won't give them to me....she told me to come to the meeting. They changed the bylaws and passed them by the Excective committee voting so we don't even know what the new bylaws are. We are suppose to have elections in a few days and they vp is suppose to move up to President buy we don't want her. They don't want to take nominations from the floor. We have more problems but can someone help with what I have listed so far. THANKS

First off you need to ask your PTO secretary for copies of the minutes. As far as the voting issue do you have a nominating committee? If not did you guys have nominations at a prior meeting? We also leave a blank space for a write in nominee on the election ballot (I am assuming here that you guys use ballots). Also do you have a strong enough candidate to run for President (enough people that will actually show up to vote for someone new)? It seems to me by just what you have said so far your pto membership has let these women take control of your organization. You need to really look to your bylaws and perhaps if your pto follows Robert's Rules of Order you'll find your answers there. It may be too late to change anything this time but you need to take note of all the issues and ask to be placed on the agenda to have some by law changes made to help your group run more smoothly. Good luck

You sound like someone who has not gone to the meetings. If you went you might find out how hard these women work. The bylaws are to protect people who have their own interest at heart. This sound like you are a one women army. I am ussuming you have decided that you know best, Maybe you ought to look in your own back yard. Try reading your Bylaws and Roberts Rules of Order. It is for gentlemen-Have you been gentle or strong arming. The PTA belongs to its members not to the ONE. You sound like you need a life.

There's a great deal of problems that have come down in our PTO. Some certain persons have been trying to shoot down the people that want to bring our PTO out of the gutter. My problem here, is that I hear about everything that goes on. I hear both sides, full strong. The involvement that I have with PTO as president has had nothing to do with these problems. Its the relationship I have with the people involved in the arguments and such, that has caused me to look as if it was my fault. The by-laws have been revised for the better of our community, and in hope for cooperation of the PTO. In the past, we have had many different presidents, which is obvious, and many different members. But as the years had progressed, the PTO became lament and uninterested in making our school a better place for the kids here. Many of the students never even realized that PTO was still involved. Some students claimed that they had forgotten that PTO funded their trips and such, and this caused PTO to look insignificant. When I became president, I was in the middle of a new administration for the school, and those problems had caused me to receive more negative comments between my members and the past executive committee. The school administration had been through so many changes, that PTO was left in the dust, and therefore was practically being told to "take care of yourself". This caused a large problem for me, and many of the other persons on the executive committee. Two years ago, after my first year in term, I had brought over twice as much funding to PTO as they had ever had. The past executive committee members STILL cannot handle this fact that PTO looks better on reports and the newer records. Our by-laws have been revised and clarified only because our members could not follow what had been stated in them. Many past presidents have been shying away from following those by-laws, and were never shot down for it. One certain president had brought the elections from April to March, when in the by-laws it states that the elections are to be held in April. The Robert's Rules and By-laws have been studied many times over to make sure that our PTO was doing everything legally. This caused a problem amongst the past presidents and executive committee members. Their problems seem to be that when I followed the way the old presidents had run certain things, because it seemed logical to stay in that certain pattern, that the by-laws immediately became important and needed to be followed. What I would like to say to you, bulldog, is that if your president is so disliked amongst your community, that maybe you should talk to her, and ask her in a polite way to try and follow what she's apparently not doing. If you want a copy of the minutes, go to the meetings and wait until afterwards to ask for them. Many meetings ask for things to be off record, just because they are unneccessary in the files.

First of all Giddy, I am a board member at our school and have seen this very same problem! You don't have to be a life member to see a control freak! We have many parents that have asked 'what would it take to get rid of this person and who do we need to call to get the votes!' Did you not read SHE CAN"T READ her By-Laws they were changed by the committee! Bulldog is asking for help, and sometimes it's that ONE squeaky wheel that gats the attention and job done!

Bulldog- Your Secretary is the one to talk to about copies for anything! As far as elections, Crystal has it right on the nose! Also can your Principal support you on any of this? Just a thought. Our group has a President that no one trusts and there are a group of us that are trying to get her out. We are tired of not getting a chance to help with the work she needs to do. She has no idea what she is doing but rather thought this would help her gain more 'in' on school business. There is a will there is a way. If one person will run but can't afford the time, remind them deligation is the key to teamwork and a good team works together. You want so much to be involved but it's tough with people that want the cake, frosting. candles, plates and glory. THEY ARE THE ONES THAT NEED A LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Certainly a topic worth discussing and understandable that it brings up emotions -- however, we ask that folks tone down the rhetoric. "You need a life", etc. is beyond constructive. Your cooperation is appreciated. Let's try to solve issues and add value whenever possible.

Tim