Recently, the PTO president was asked by several parents to include on the next meeting's agenda a discussion about safety and cafe policies at our school. The meeting went extemely well with everyone leaving with a feeling of complishment and resign. It has now been told to the PTO members that they can no longer discuss such issues through PTO. Is this true? Is PTO not the place for parents, teachers and community members to discuss the concerns of safety and procedures that take place at our school?

PTO's generally have no authority to change district or school polices and procedures. Ergo, there is no sense in discussing said topics in a PTO meeting. Parents with such concerns need to see the school administration instead.

Jewel - I usually agree with your posts, but not here. PTOs may not have authority, but I'd say a PTO meeting is a fine place to discuss anything related to the school. Often, a parent will ask a question on policy, and the principal (who attends our meetings) can answer it. I'd even think it was a fine place to discuss how to bring concerns to the school board or superintendent.

These types of issues are numerous and seemingly never-ending. To allow PTO meeting time to hear out parent complaints of this nature means that primary PTO business will consistently be given short shrift and/or meetings will be exceptionally long and cumbersome more often than not.

Also, when business of this nature is allowed on the agenda month after month simply for the ears of one board member out of many, the meetings turn into a waste of time for the remaining board members. Besides, there is no reason why these parents can't address the principal at any other time -- singly or as a group, by email or phone or in-person meeting.

Lastly, I think allowing these types of topics on the meeting agenda puts board members in a position where parents come to believe that the board has some kind of authority to make policy and procedure changes. I don't think that's reasonable or fair to subject board members to that kind of expectation from the parent group. Perceived authority where there actually is none would just make the volunteer gig that much harder than it already can be.

Thank you all for your comments... Parents have already individually went to the principal with concerns with no reasonable outcome. Would it be inappropriate to form a group of parents, independent of PTO, to address issues and concerns? Does anyone have suggestions of the most diplomatic way of complishing this?

The rule of PTO's should be not to rule the school or bring parent issues to the meetings. Parents can go directly to the principal and voice their concerns. Also, a PTO member can advocate, if need to on behalf of the parent but not in the presence of a PTO meeting.
This is a cause for conflict, and a misguided direction as to what a PTO is about. PTO should go hand in hand with Administration of the school. Hope this helps.