After elections were held in early May, we had an incident of a paid member hiding in the bathroom when we locked up the doors. I was outside of the building when he came walking out. Our president called this member to find out why he did what he did.

We also did report it to the principal.

He wanted to recount the votes for the other presidential canidate. Two women who were president and vice-president two years ago, put this young man up to this.

To make a long story short, can we refuse all of their memberships?

PT stands for Parents-Teacher, but can we allow anyone in the membership legally 18 or older?

I am really set against them being part of the membership this comming year, our Principal also stated that we could refuse their membership.

Thank you so much for your help in this matter.

Renee

You need to check with a lawyer. It could be discrimination, but it should fall under We Reserve The Right To Refuse.

What I would do? Call me a witch (everyone else does...lol...), but I would make sure to bring it up to the membership at the first meeting. I would tell exactly what and why. I would give them a chance to explain. I would then call for a vote and toss 'em out. I would make sure that an addendum was written into the bylaws about shady dealings.

We had a Vice President show up to a meeting drunk. Not a big crime, but... As Paul Harvey would say, here is the rest of the story: She was drunk. She got into her car with her children. She didn't seatbelt anyone in. She drove to and from the PTO meeting. She was fired from her position.

Usually, there's a simple clause in your bylaws that specifies who members are. In our case, it's all school faculty and parents or guardians of currently enrolled students (who have paid their membership dues).

While you might be able to remove an officer or chairperson for various behaviors, I don't think you can kick out a PTO member. Do any of you have clauses that allow for this? We don't. Nor do I think we would ever try to insert one. It seems such clauses would be tough to enforce, and could easily be be abused.

I can't think of a single PTO event or meeting we have that is "members only", so what would be the point? We are a public school, public property. Anyone interested can come. Kicking someone out of being a member wouldn't keep them from attending something, necessarily.

I would think it was the SCHOOL, not the PTO that this person potentially committed a criminal act against (trespass?), and they should be the ones to decide how to proceed, such as limiting the person's right to be on campus.

I have mixed feelings about how publicly I'd handle this. On the one hand, I'd want to discuss it at the next Board meeting. On the other, having the Principal speak to these people privately might be better. No matter how wrong they were, this type of thing can be very divisive and spiral out of control. It doesn't sound like the election was affected. Is there any point in starting more gossip and humiliating the children of these people? Do you really want to turn it into a public feud?

While JHB is right about the bylaws, and enforcing it would be tough, I certainly wouldn't want to cause any harm in any way to the child. On the other hand, I would still take the parents to task by bringing it up, maybe not kicking them out, but definately bringing it up at the next meeting. Theses people will eventually be in charge of something, perhaps even an exec position. I would hate to find out that the person I just voted in as Prez was someone who tried to pull a fast one on everyone.

I would talk to the Principal, she and I are closer than most. She has never steered me wrong. Maybe between the two of you...

But my first advice still stands:
Talk to a lawyer before you do anything.

[ 06-02-2002: Message edited by: TheMetzyMom ]</p>

*Why did he feel he needed to hide in a bathroom to recount the votes?

*If he is not an officer, why did he have the ballots?

Our by-laws state you must be a parent, staff, or teacher of the school to be a member. We had an alumni at our election meeting and was not allowed to vote. I made the decision, not a popular one but he is not a parent, teacher, or staff member. Period.
I agree with the other "gals" here... you need to make some calls to see legally what to do. I am glad to hear the Principal is on your side though. Hey, keep us posted on this one....

I shudder to think about the coming year in the School's political arena (PTO). As this writer has revealed, there are always some people that blow everything out of proportion and make things too complicated for the rest of us. I would ask those people involved to appear at the next private session of your PTO and I would handle it like a mediation. I would ask them for the details on their reasons for this incident and their reasons why they should be allowed to participate in a great organization designed to benefit our children and their School after what they have done. Everyone deserves their day in court, and then those guilty can have a say so in the repercussions. I believe this would be fair and handle the situation and also enlighten the wrongdoers of their bad decision. Just chucking them out would also send just as bad a message to the children --and it is all about them, right?