Hi. I am a incoming co-president and I really need help. Our PTO has been run for the last 3 years by the same 3 people. When they turned over all of the PTO stuff to us there was basically nothing there. WE have no idea how much PTO raised last year and where the money was spent. They didn't give us any bank statements,cancelled checks or records of any kind. Not even the check register. So here's where I need the help. First off is that normal. It seems to me it wouldn't be, but hey what do I know?

Secondly does anyone know where I can get a draft of some by-laws? We don't really have any and my co-pres and I want to put some together.

We also want to get the parents more involved. Our meetings usually have a total of 6 people there and we really want to get everyone involved. We want to put together a volunteer form that we can send home the first week of school. Does anyone have a form that I can get some ideas from.

I read on one of the posts that someone has a list of vendors that they used to get things donated for a silent auction. We are bringing back our Fall Faire and we hope to have a silent auction and raffle. Can anyone send me a copy of that list.

Right now I'm feeling totally overwhelmed, but I'm also excited and ready to get to work. I appreciate any help you all can give me.

Thanks,
Jeniene

Here is a quick response to one of your problems. Having been a bookkeeper as well as a PTO Treasurer and President, I can tell you that you should be an authorized signer on your checking account. Assuming you are, then you are entitled to request from your bank, a copy of all of the financial records including statements, and copies of cancelled checks. Their may be some fee for this, but I don't see how you can efficiently run your PTO without them. They should give you an idea of your budget outlook and how much you brought in on your fundraising efforts. Request actual profit amounts from the fundraising companies themselves. Then be sure to keep public files somewhere that future Officers will be able to access. Good Luck with this sticky situation!

My first question to the outgoing officers would be where is the bank information. There's no way they should not be passing that along to you - it makes me wonder if there's something to hide. If they won't answer you, get the principal involved. Admittedly you don't want to start a war, but you can't be expected to function without the bank info.

Marion

Thanks for responding so quickly. I have to agree something doesn't quite feel right. The problem we're having now is that they Principle and the out going Pres are very good friends.

We haven't been able to get into the bank account because no one authorized us to look at the account. We have to get a letter signed by atleast 2 members of last years board authorizing it. So far no luck

We're kind of stymied on what to do.

Cenoz1, Can I assume that you have tried speaking directly with both the outgoing pres. & treasurer? Before you speak with her again have a list prepared of the specific things you're looking for (i.e. check book & bank statements, receipts, copy of bylaws, copies of minutes, computer disks, etc...). Do you have a filing cabinet at school where any old PTO records are kept?
I guess I've had an even better transition than I realized. Our previous officers turned over lots of information & if anything's missing, we just ask for it.

Good Luck & keep us informed!

Jo

Jo,
We haven't tried asking the outgoing pres about this stuff yet. We did ask the outgoing treasurer to call the bank so they will let us look at the accounts. She said she would then called the Principle and complained. Our problem is that their board and the principle are very clickish. I guess no one ever inquired about any of this stuff. I don't even think they took minutes at the meetings.

It's so frustrating, it's like they want us to fail. We just cant figure out why.

thanks,
Jeniene