PTO Today

I am part of what was a small school PTO, with about 4 parents involved on a regular basis. Our school has recently experienced major growth, (from 90 students for about 50yrs, to over 230 in a year, and still growing). With the new growth, we have had more parents involved, and some significant issues arrising.
We are not incorportated or anything, and we have began that process, (discussing that process), and I have used some of the sample by-laws I have found for schools in our state.
We still have limited involvement, and few people who "follow through" w/ jobs we designate. I have been told that PTO officers cannot write our by-laws, that a committee must be formed, etc.
Are there any rules about who can, and cannot be involved in writing the by-laws? I am at a loss!
AZmom

According to Robert's Rules of Order, it is customary and prudent to form a committee to draft bylaws (constitution) for the society. From a practical perspective, it is also an excellent move given the long ranging, monumental task inherent in defining an organization's foundation. In fact, it would be irresponsible for the PTO to rely on just one person's talents and resources, even if that person were a parliamentary expert. The committee will consult an attorney and a parliamentarian, conduct research, discuss the pro's and con's of various options, and form the inital by-law drafts to be presented to the PTO for discussion.

For further information, obtain a copy of Robert's Rules of Order, 10th edition. Start with pages 538 - 547.

A committee is the best way to go so you have multiple viewpoints. But beware - working on bylaws is incredibly boring. It's all to easy to start out attentively enough but then start skimming and thinking "sounds official/looks good" without fully thinking of the meaning.

You never want to write bylaws from scratch. Get samples from well-run organizations, ideally that are 501(c)(3) organizations. Then you know their bylawas have already passed muster with the IRS.

If you join PTO Today, they have a bylaws template in their kit.

Consulting a lawyer is a great idea if you have a volunteer source. But it's not something I'd spend money on for a traditional PTO. Committed volunteers and commons sense will get you through.

We had a thread going awhile back where we listed some of the main items that vary between groups (dues/no dues, list of officers, fiscal year, purpose). If I can find that, I'll past the link.

Yikes! I think that's overkill. I agree with JHB: get samples (eg from the File Exchange area, http://www.ptotoday.com/filesharing/...bylawspolicies). Maybe get 5-10 of them and have a couple members review them for key points. Then take one of the samples as a starting point and have one person add in the pieces you liked from the other samples.

There's no law that the officers can't write the by-laws; in fact, I think it's important for the officers to help define what their duties are.

In addition to purpose, dues, etc., you'll want to pay close attention to how the by-laws are modified. You might not get it right the first time, and you don't want to have something where 2/3 of your entire school has to approve an amendment. (We had to amend our articles of incorporation, and the state required 2/3 approval, and our by-laws said every family *is* a member -- rather than "may choose to be" -- and it was a struggle to get that many people to respond.)

It may sound like overkill until you actually get into the guts of it and fully realize how quickly a good PTO can get off track if guided by poorly written by-laws. And, unless the committee does their research, consults with experts, etc. the average committee isn't going to realize where they're steering the origanization into the weeds until the organization is in a mess.

Anything worth doing is worth doing well. And, if done right (the time and effort are put into it by people who understand why the utmost in care should be taken instead of thinking it's overkill), the by-laws should successfully lead the PTO for years and years before needing review and possible amendment as circumstances have changed.

Here are two web resources you may find helpful. This one is where you can find a parliamentarian to guide your efforts:

Parliamentary Associates Home Page

This website has an excellent Q/A forum so you (and your committee) can start becoming familiar with Robert's Rules of Order:

RONR Message Board

A PTO can get off-track if they're not good about following their by-laws, no matter how carefully written however many years ago. (There are a few posts in these forums about parents who can't find the by-laws for their PTOs.)

I'd be more worried about burning out your 4 volunteers so there's no one left to actually do the work specified in the by-laws. I think if you look at a few samples, you'll get a decent sense of what should be there, without paying a parliamentarian and an attorney. But, if you have some people who are actually interested in by-laws more than fundraisers, put them to work -- and see if they'll look into other details like the IRS filings and permits.