PTO Today

HELP, I'm a new PTO pres. with a VERY controlling principal. This person wants all control of money matters & were they are distributed. We just had a fundraiser & principal is demanding half of profits. What legal right does this person have over us?? The half they want was suppose to be split between all teachers evenly to use in classrooms. Principal states they need the money more. Please help, Thanks, keepsmiling

What is your principal's role as stated in your bylaws? Ours is just an "advisor"...We also had that issue the last few years..contact other elem schools in your districts or your Admin Office for a copy of any such rule. You should also have a budget as to where the money is already going. Good luck!

keepsmiling,

pennysue is on the right track. We see these types of questions here on the boards all the time and we always have to ask a couple of questions.

One is whether your group has Bylaws, and what they indicate regarding your Principal's role, control of funds, allocation of funds, etc.

The other is whether or not your group is an independant organization. Most independant groups are registered as a 501(c)(3). Some groups that are not considered independant, nor are registered as 501(c)(3), fall under the school's "umbrella". I believe you see this more often with private schools though...

So, assuming that your group is an independant group, and that your Bylaws do not indicate that the Principal controls the funds, holds the checkbook, or has signing (most groups would not have this); then I would say that your Principal is slightly over-stepping his/her place.

IMO, the way to "combat" this type of Principal is to have a defined yearly budget and use that as the guide for the allocation of funds. If the budget indicates that 50% of the profits from a certain fundraiser is to be allocated to a "teacher's supply fund", and this budget has been approved by committee vote, or by whatever means the group's Bylaws indicate, then that's the situation.

I would say that the next best way to try to fix this problem is to set up a meeting (possibly private, or with just Executive members) and discuss expectations for the year. Be understanding of the financial difficulties that the Principal is under and see if you can become a team to work on this. If he explains what the need is, and you feel that it is indeed justified, then you can inform him that you will bring it up at the next meeting, allowing him/her to "convince" the cimmittee of this need. Maybe there presently is not enough funds available, but you can try to approach this issue by proposing a new fundraiser, specifically for this purpose. Maybe try to get the Principal and/or his staff involved.

This is something that has worked for my group in the past. When the new Principal came to the school and explained that he wanted to try to create a portable laptop cart that would cost around $15K we did so by holding a new Golf Tournament fundraiser. The Principal was actually the chair of the event and used his staff to contact local vendors for donations and such.

Now it is possible that this Principal would not be willing to do this. If not then you could still try to run your own new fundraiser and allocate those funds to this need. If you only raise half of what he/she states is needed, then thaat's what is allocated.

The truth is that most groups control their own funds, but with input from the Principal. But without the Principal's support you will find it more difficult to do all of the good things that you do. Trying to become "partners" is the best way, so how you handle this issue may end up have some very lasting effects.

Good luck,
PresidentJim

Kick the principal out of your bylaws, or he might be able to arrange a coup and disband you and keep all your money. This happened in our District at another elementary. We also reincorporated when we found our status had lapsed from neglect. Now we have to start all over to get tax exempt status since it wasn't renewed 20 years ago.

Our principal is always trying to get us to do parts of his job, trick us into working for him. Check with your District to see what the School Board policies are on your rights or privileges to use the school and to send out materials. Find out the principal's authority and responsibilities without relying on him to tell you so he won't be able to take advantage of you or your money anymore.

I am at a charter school in Texas - Harmony Science Academy - the administrators wont even set up the initial first meeting to elect board members for our school - I am getting upset because I believe THEY want to have someone from their own team to be the president - is this appropriate?

Hey Naylahknee. I understand your frustration. One bit of advice first.... Consider editing your post and removing personal info. Many, many people lurk without ever posting. Posting your school's name in a negative context could cause harm.

As for the administrators stonewalling you, I'd say it doesn't seem unusual in a new charter school for the admin staff to want to have a great deal of oversight and control over the initial parent group. If the parents who help with the launch are cooperative and respectful of the administration and the school's overall goals, I would suspect that control would gradually turn over to the parents.

I've even heard that when a new school opens, the PTO board is actually appointed by the admin staff or school board rather than elected.

Is there a way to meet with the principal to discuss his/her vision of the PTO?

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I would be very careful. If you push the principal and/or the school board too hard, you may very well end up without a PTO at all. Parent/Teacher Organizations can be dissolved. Developing a partnership with the principal is definitely the best way to go.

I feel your pain! We had a principal years ago when I was president and we had no parent involvement other than the principal and three teachers...needless to say whenever we did fundraising, the parents had no say becasue the principal would strongarm the teachers and make them vote her way.

On the other hand I am president of a brand new school (opened last year) and our principal is fantastic. We actually DID have an open nomintion for our school and our board was not premade by the administration. We are in our second year and doing wonderfully. OUr principal is an advisor and while we run everything through him he rarely turns down anything from us and if he does it's for good reason not just to say no. He appreicates us and we work well together....we are a team working for the betterment of our families and staff. If principals can keep that in mind instead of making things a power struggle things would be so much easier. I've seen both sides.

In our district, our district office has people who work directly with our parent club presidents. I know we all hate to go over someone's head but maybe you can ask to speak with someone at the district office for "advice". Every school has different bylaws and they can always be ammended. You can always ammend your principal be an advisor as long as you have a majority of the general parent club member's approval.

Good luck!!
Colleen ^i^

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