I need an objective opinion on this please!
We had Arts Alive at school on Friday. This is a full day of art and music activities where the students rotate through classrooms, either making something or watching demonstrations. It is really a great day! Our music and arts teachers generally organize this; however, this year they both are having health problems and it was left to the vice prinicipal to organize. Now, this man is very nice, but very obsessive and anal about organizing. And he is one who takes on lots of projects and things get lost in the shuffle.He and I have a good relationship and have worked well together. So, I went to him in December and said, I will be glad to help with organizers (I'm the PTO volunteer coordinator) if you would like. He said, Thanks, I will start organizing in January and let you know what we need. Ok--End of January comes, I go to him and say again I will be happy to help with volunteers. (I have developed a pretty good rapport with most of the volunteers and felt like I wouldn't have a hard time.) He says, Ok--I will let you know. End of Febuary--I ask AGAIN (3rd time) if he needs any help with volunteers. He says he will let me know. So at that point, I said, if he comes to me then fine, but if not, thats fine also. I don't think it is a personality issue, because we get along pretty well, have worked together before. I think it is a matter of him being in over his head with this project and not really knowing what was going on.

Well, they began sending home very vague fliers asking for volunteers. A kindergarten parent or a new parent to our school would have no idea of what Arts Alive is, and the flier just simply asked for volunteers. Well, after reevaluating some other situations, myself and the president did not volunteer. We planned to go be with our classes and walk around, like other parents have done in previous years. We generally volunteer to help.
Well, we both had other issues and didn't make it in at all, which turns out to be a good thing.

Parents who went to the school to walk with their classes were told they could not do s, although this is something that has never been a problem before and was not addressed in any fliers. One parent was even called to the office and told he couldn't walk with the class. But they were all told, if they wanted to stay and volunteer, they could. That afternoon, a parent informed me of this and when i asked the VP about it, he said out of 650 students, he only got 5 volunteers, and if they could walk with their kids, then they could certainly volunteer. Now, parents are ticked off, and I expect getting volunteers is going to be harder than normal.

We are a public school. Can a VP do this? Where do I go from here in trying to mend fences? I am pretty mad about the whole thing, becuase I have no doubt I could have gotten more than 5 volunteers, so I feel like he has brought all this on himself.

Yes, they probably can - its retardedness to the nth degree though

Its the "Well if they can walk with a class, they can volunteer" the VP needs to look at carefully-- he needs to realize that in the United States something called the Constitution covers 'somebody acting without legal obligation: a participant in something who is not legally bound to participate and does not expect to be paid OR do something by choice: to perform, or offer to perform, work of your own free will
(ie volunteer)

UNfortunately schools can keep parents from participating on school ground (another retarded idea to the nth degree)

I'd contact the Principal, then the BOE and whomever else above them to have this VP issue an apology and have the school explain why this policy was used and how it will be rectified.

and show the VP the Constitution and definitions of Volunteer

IMHO this and embezzelment are the two worst things that can happen to a Parent Org -- you take funds or make the parents feel unwelcome, slave labor, or unempowered -- the group can cease to exist because of one man's stupidity-- unfathomable

That really stinks, GaMom. You do so much for your school. I can't believe he would turn down help!?!?!?! Do you suppose the hostage method was his plan all along but he didn't say so parents would still come that day? "If you want to stay, you have to work...." That's a very hostile and aggressive approach so I'm glad it failed. Hopefully he'll learn from it.

My last school had a similar event called Arts Day. There's a chairman and six to eight sub-chairs just to pull it all together. Plans for the early April event began at the start of the school year. Soon after returning from holiday break we began recruiting volunteers. It is such a fun day that parents who don't land a volunteer job can still come out and hang out with their child's class, travelling with the group throughout the day. Parents planned months ahead to get the day off work.

Do you want to come at this from a PTO point of view, offering to take it over as one of your sponsored events, with funds and/or volunteer staffing?

Or, are you approaching this as a parent, with like minded parents who just want to say, "Hey, this is supposed to be a fun day for everyone and we'd like to have some say in our involvement."?

We gave them $1300 to help with the event. This is 100 more than last year. They have to pay for musicians, and snack and items needed. It is really a great day and is one of the reasons I got involved in our school. When it was my child's kindergarten year, I was approached by a scary German lady to volunteer. She wouldn't take no for an answer. I volunteered that day, got to know a couple of the other moms, and felt more comfortable and started participating in the other events. So I can really see how just coming and walking with the class can help the school.

But as a mom, it makes me mad because I feel like I have a right to be in my childs class. And to be told to leave, would have made me furious, so I totally understand where these parents are coming from.

As PTO volunteer coordinator, (and I don't mean to toot my own horn here), but I have gone above and beyond to get new people in our school. I have been like a politician constantly promoting the school. I have walked in the parking lot, talking to people int heir cars, and getting to know new people. Our volunteers have been wonderful this year and we have had moer than usual. I have had teachers let me know who has volunteered and sent thank you cards, I have met new volunteers at the school and shown them around and made them feel more welcome. I have sent little goodies all year long, I have sent thank yous, I have filled out cards for the principal to sign to send to volunteers, etc. I feel like this is 10 steps backwords in where we were headed.

As for PTO taking this event, I don't know. I will not be a part of it next year because I will be student teaching in the same school and I have found that it causes too many issues. People can't seperate who I am on that particular day (am i mom, parent volunteer, PTO, substitute, student teacher, etc). Also, being a part of things this year has been a very eye opening experience to some things behind the scenes that I am not particularly crazy about. This is one example!

Thank you for the input. I wanted to make sure I was thinking reasonably and not being a snot head (for you CC).

One more thing--I have no doubt that if had approached these parents with "hey, we really could use a little help doing ..... would you help for a little bit? He would have gotten several volunteers! Of all people, he should know better!!!

You go ahead and toot your own horn. Make it a snappy little tune and Shawn will even throw some lyrics your way!

Funny, Arts Day was my first volunteer job at the last school and it turned into a five year run. Which just goes to prove what many here are always saying, "Make it fun and make parents want to be involved."

It does sound like your AP got in over his head and was a poor sport about it. To change such an important aspect of the day and not communicate it was a bad idea.

Maybe, since PTO funds the day, you could just mention to the AP some of the feedback PTO got about how the day was run.