PTO Today

Start an email chain with your Principle, politely documenting everything. If she tries to speak with any of you in person, politely refuse stating you do not have time now but state that would like to discuss further, follow up in email. Be very, very careful what you write. Have someone else always proof read too. Emails are considered public documents. The School Board can read them. YOu need to be careful so that your words cannot be misinterpreted in any way.

Email to and from public employees are public records. You will have your own records to hand to the School Board or any other authority as needed. You will eliminate the he said/she said factor and her own words will speak for themselves.

I suspect when you limit her communications to email, she will back off without any choice.
Good Luck

you cannot know if emails are successfully deliverd and opened.

If you need to get documentation-heavy, certified mail is the one and only way to go.

I would suggest NOT using email for your situation. they are all too easily (and happily) forwarded to other staff, and who knows where else, district and board. not that you dont want them to have the info, but your email should be read by your intended recipient only, and the forward button on ohters PCs, you have NO control over, and principals are only human.
also emails along the path of multiple forwarding, can be manipulated, truncated, inadvertently changed etc, creating possible misunderstandings that can make your problem WORSE.
Talk in person is best, with folluw up in regular letter format, to record what was discussed. Oldfashioned is sometimes the better approach. Just think, how many emails have your freinds forwarded to YOU from others that didnt know it was being sent on???

More than likely you have a losing battel in your hands. The superintendt and school board HIRED the principal. Doubtful they will not side with her.
Politics are always messy and unpleasant. Would be nice if your principal had been more communicative and conciliatory. seems way over the top and a waste ofeveryones time, to have had to go to the lengths youve gone with a mediator and all. after all, its a parent group. cant parents and principals work things out among them???? wonder how the principal and the staff relations are...............surely similar.

I logged on to this message board because we are having the same types of problems. We also have tried to work with a new principal who feels that every cent PTO raises should be spent by her. She also trys to run our meetings and our board agenda. I think you have taken the correct steps by seeking help from School Board and Superintendant. There are some people who will never benefit from a heart to heart. Control is the only way for them. You need someone outside of your organization to tell the Principal to butt out. He/She does not understand this is not hers to control. You need to do this for future Boards. Please post your results. We are pursuing similar plans.

smalltown -- Results did not turn out the way we had hoped. Long and short of it all is that the meeting with school district was weighted, in her favor, of course! At our subsequent meeting in early Feb. the Superintendent came and told the entire group that, yes, the Principal has control over everything ( a fact that we know is untrue)! This, unfortunately was the breaking point for many of us! We had one officer resign after that meeting. The following week at the general meeting (the best attended meeting of the year because parents had finally started paying attention to the noise being made) two more of us resigned (myself included) and by 8am the following morning our president resigned. The only officer to stay on was the treasurer because she didn't want the principal to get the money. Now with four new interim officers the treasurer and the president are the only two who agree how business should be done (according to the by-laws) the rest are just "yes-men". The principal now goes through the budget to see where we have underspent to pull money for "her activities". She demands that PTO activities that have been planned for months be cancelled to accomodate "her activities" that conflict with PTO's. So now she has the upper hand, which is what she wanted all along! She also went so far as to "invite" parents from her previous school to come to our Feb General Meeting to "support and defend" her, a fact that she denied in an email, but the women who came admitted to. In my opinion she is not a good example of a role model for children!
I love being involved and helping at my kids' school but not at the expense of my sanity in working with such a childish administrator! I feel much better since resigning. Those of us who left know we went as far as we could therefore we do not consider it "quitting".
Sorry to be so long-winded.
Best of luck with your endeavors and figuring out your PTO's difficulties.

You guys... as voters... *hired* the school board. There is so much evidence re: the importance of active, enabled parent involvement, and empowered, independent groups create more and better and deeper involvement. How can you share that research? Your winning argument is that what you're lookig to accomplish is *great* for the schools and kids. You're not looking for control for control's sake. Rather you're looking for appropriate empowerment and collaboration, so that the school can excel. Test scores rise, dropout rates fall, absentee rates fall, discipline problems lessen -- all of these happen with more involvment.

How can you get that message understood by key leaders in your district?

Tim

Tim, I've been thinking about this question ever since you posted it. It seems to be a Catch 22. As voters, the school board answers to us. As volunteers working within the school system, we answer to the school board. It's a delicate balance and takes some savvy to know which hand to play when.

I'd hate to think it's a weakness on their parts but it does seem that many BOEs and administrators side with paid staff over volunteers because it's easier that way and they feel they have less to lose. The one variable they have the most control over is the volunteer. Not the principal with a five year contract. Not the tenured teacher. The volunteer.

I'm not pessimistic or jaded. I've been blessed to work within several very positive environments in which mutual repect was the key to our success. I know that when things work right, it's great for everyone.

I congratulate parents who do stick around and work within a difficult environment so they can continue to help create a positive educational experience for the children.

It just seems that when things are at their worst for some groups, the parent volunteer seems to be the one expendable variable in the equation. I wish their BOEs would see it differently for all of the reasons you list, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

__________________
“Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same.”

Hope you are still checking this message board. If your bylaws are set up that all expenses and budgets must be voted on by your PTO, then even if she had the Treasurer in her corner, it would have to be voted on. When we wanted to add a new expense catagory, we had to present it at our PTO meeting and hold a vote. Any expense from general funds over $75.00 must be voted on as well. So the Treasurer and Principal can be best friends, but if your bylaws are set up this way and you have enough parents attending the meeting, she will never get her special committee funding added to the budget.
In addition, you need to remind her that she is not at the XYZ school any longer, she is at the ABC school and there are traditions & a history that has been established there. Students & families alike look forward & have come to expect certain events at certain times of the year. Your awards & number of active parent volunteers attest to that!
Be sure you are aware that you walk a fine line here. The principal approves PTO events, so she can pull that card & not OK you for things. So you have to give a little to get a little. If her committee benefits all the students of your school, you may want to consider funding it, IF it does not interfere with your scheduled events. Going to the board wouldn't do anything but aggreviate the issue. However, parents voicing their opinions at meetings about the proposed changes in events, cancelling of events, etc. would show her that she has more than just the PTO Executive Board to contend with.
Our school obtained a new principal last January, but we were blessed that she respected the work we did and what we did to enhance the educational experience of the kids throughout the year. She did have ideas to offer, but nothing that detracted from our usual course of business. Good Luck

This appears to be a problem across the US. We too have a principal that does not take action we request. Currently, our treasurer is a teacher. All other board members are parents. It seems the teasurer and principal now how much money is in the account. We have had issues with school wanting decisions about money or checks written without meeting or voting. The school will contact one member or another all day. The members will say this needs to be discussed at a formal meeting. This does not stop. The treasurer will copy the principal and give a time like by noon you must respond. Is this right? Should decisions be made by emails, phone calls or voice mails. We have new elections scheduled for May per our bylaws. Yesterday, we received email stating the principal said no elections until next school year but he wants us to leave our positions next month. Does this mean he will get all the money over the summer.