Kma, You have the same by-laws as my school does. Take a look at Article VIII, Section 7. It explains the duties of the Executive Committee. Pay attention to B-- to elect/appoint chairmen of standing committees. Since you are going into a new year, your new officers, by-laws chair and princ. get to appoint the new chairs. NOT THE OLD BOARD!!!! This is a county rule not a school rule.

With that being said and looking at who is on the new board, your new Pres. still may have a hard time.If you're talking about who the old board wanted for fundraising, let me tell you she's awful! I know, I've dealt with her in the past and your school will not make any money with her in charge.

Good Luck!

Robert's rules keep everything cordial especially when you have a group that is anything but. If you need backing, contact the state NJ PTA office, by e-mail for a written response. They too will tell you to follow your bylaws and that Robert's picks up where bylaws leave off. Remember that you will have to show the e-mail to those in charge so be careful about what you put in writing. No need to give the harpies something new to whine about!

I like LUV's idea a lot, but in our case it might not work--we have a few... strong personalities who "know" more than others, and those types seem to take over and scare others off. It's too bad too, because I'm all for everyone sharing the load--chairing can be overwhelming, especially if you're good with ideas, but not so good with "giving orders".

Michelle--I looked through Robert's :eek: , and that's what I got out of it too. Everyone thinks I'm being a tighta** for wanting to go by the book (figuratively, not literally), which I find hysterical because usually I detest the stuffiness of things like Robert's Rules, but in this case I feel it's the best way to go.

Why can't everyone be as smart and easy-going as me? [img]tongue.gif[/img]

kma- if you are absolutely certain that the appointment of the chair is not in the bylaws, Robert's Rules are then to take over where the bylaws leave off. (I would make certain that it is not in the bylaws though- most that I have seen have committees defined)
In combing Robt's for an answer, I think this is what I've come up with... (my eyes are starting to hurt!)
If you have had executive board (usually defined again in your bylaws and may include Principal, perhaps teachers etc, in addition to the elected officers) then it is responsible for appointing the chairman.

I read this with interest because I had a similar, but very different experience. Let me explain.

When I became involved in our middle school PTO 2 & 1/2 years ago, it was my first experience. Before then, my child had been in a private school & parent involvement was very cliquish...

So I was excited to become involved. To be brief, I became president this year & thought the orgs. vol. coordinator would help with finding chairs, since she had MANY more connections than I.

Unfortunately, she was just interested in creating databases & not willing to recruit. Needless to say, we also don't have much parent involvement & it's dwindled since my first year at this school (for several reasons...)

Anyway, I've thought about this a lot & wonder how it would work for the committees to meet at the beginning of the year & let them decide who will be chair (or co-chairs).

If there are no takers, or no one signs up for the committee, it seems like it would then fall to the volunteer coord. (who's familiar w/all the vols.) & the president to work on finding a chairperson.

I don't know if that would prevent cliques--they just seem to spring up before you know it--but if the group is selecting, it might help.

Also, do you have "job descriptions" that help guide you to volunteer's strenghths & weaknesses?

I look forward to other ideas/suggestions.

When we're looking for committee members or even just someone to take on a task, we just ask for volunteers at our meetings or put it in our newsletter. If more than one person steps up then they just work together. Sometimes this method is the best way to get new people involved. They may feel too "frightened" to volunteer alone but if we put the offer out there for multiple people to work together, we tend to see hands go up more freely. We used to have everything run by the board but a couple of years ago we started committees to oversee some of our larger projects. It's much easier for people to take a small part of a big project. More people can feel like they are contributing and no one feels overwhelmed. We've got a lot more new parents and teachers involved in the organization using this method.