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Vice President


What Does a Vice President Do?

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The vice president’s role is often the least understood, but the office provides a real opportunity for a motivated leader.

by Christy Forhan

The role of vice president is typically one of the least-defined jobs on the PTO executive board. Most bylaws identify the duties with a vague description like “Assist the president.” These loose guidelines allow vice presidents the unique opportunity to tailor the job to their own skills and interests.

As vice president, you will play a role in day-to-day operations of the PTO, help formulate the group’s long-range plan, work out issues as they arise, and participate in executive board discussions and decisionmaking. That equates to a fair amount of responsibility but not necessarily a lot of time demands, which means you can take on additional responsibilities that suit your talents and availability.

Maybe you decide to focus on increasing involvement for kindergarten parents. Or maybe you provide training and leadership support for the committee chairpeople. You could even volunteer to chair a specific project like the spiritwear sale. That’s the thing about being vice president—the job is flexible enough that it can be what you make of it.

Serving as vice president is a good entry-level executive board position and provides good training for future presidents. And as vice president, you get the best of both worlds: You are part of the PTO’s overall leadership team, but you can also get in the trenches and do some of the work that defines the PTO.

Job Qualifications

  • A passion for the school and the PTO
  • Good listening skills

Basic Duties

  • Assist the president
    • Lead meetings in her absence
    • Accept delegated responsibility
  • Participate in executive board meetings and provide input for decisions
  • Be an ambassador for the PTO and the school

Optional Additional Duties

These optional duties may be enumerated in your PTO’s bylaws:

  • Serve as PTO parliamentarian
  • Serve as a bylaws expert
  • Oversee committees, train committee chairpeople, and be a liaison between committee chairpeople and the executive board
  • Be a liaison for new families
  • Lead the annual membership drive
  • Oversee fundraising selection, planning, and evaluation

Keep in Mind:

  • The vice president is subordinate to the president, not a copresident.
  • The president is ultimately responsible for the executive board’s decisions.

Rate This Article

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Comments

  1. Posted by Ms. Dolphin on Apr. 24, 2008

    I am glad that this email was sent to me. I am the VP for the PTO at my child's school. This helps me to understand exactly what my role entails.

  2. Posted by Ms Letson on Apr. 25, 2008

    I was recently voted for the upcoming school year as PTO VP. I haven't been given the bylaws and I am really up in the air about my responsibilities. This article helped me get some idea of what my responsibilites clould be. We will soon have a meeting and discuss everyone's responsibilities and their desire for our school and PTO activities.

  3. Posted by JESSICA on May. 07, 2008

    I NEED SOMEONES HELP.WE ARE FIXING TO ELECT NEW OFFICERS AND WE ARE TRYING TO FIND A WAY TO GET PEOPLE TO COME TO OUR MEETING. SO FAR WE HAVEN'T HAD MUCH OF AN OUT COME BUT HOPE IT WILL CHANGE SOON. I AM GOING TO BE THE PRESIDENT AND WANT OFFICERS THAT I CAN DEPEND ON AND THAT WILL BE THERE WHEN THEY ARE NEEDED. WHAT CAN WE DO THAT WILL HELP US GET PEOPLE TO JOIN OUIR PTO AND HAVE A CHOICE OF OFFICERS. TAHNKS FOR THE HELP AHEAD OF TIME.

  4. Posted by Kathryn Lagden from PTO Today on May. 07, 2008

    Hi Jessica - sounds like you're jumping in with both feet and getting ready for your role as president. Nice! Here are a couple of articles i think you'll find useful: http://www.ptotoday.com/pto-today-articles/article/137-7-steps-to-
    grow-involvement and http://www.ptotoday.com/pto-today-articles/article/608-build-a-strong-
    executive-board

  5. Posted by Madeline on May. 10, 2008

    Hi, I'm Madeline
    Well I'm running for VP and it was kind of a quick decision that I made, because only one person was running and everyone said they didn't want the other person to win. Well this next week we need t to have a short little speech ready. Well at the moment I have nothing... My mind runs empty when I think of things to say. does anyone have ideas that can help me. Our school is VERY small. We only have 25 high school students, and I really just need some points that can speak about. PLEASE HELP!!!

  6. Posted by cessalie on Sep. 13, 2008

    I have just been elected VP of the pta at our school and we have got our hands full because the schools pta has not been good the last few years. We need to get some advise on how to get our pta back on track ! We have a BIG problem on our hands. We don't even know how to start . We ar haveing to start from the bottom. PLEASE HELP!!!

  7. Posted by Craig Bystrynski from PTO Today on Sep. 22, 2008

    Hi Cessalie -- We have a couple of publications that might help you. The PTO Start-Up Guide walks you through all of the nuts and bolts of getting organized -- creating bylaws, filing for tax-exempt status, and more. Also, the Leadership Toolkit offers advice on some of the key topics of leading a PTO. You can find information on those and our other toolkits here: http://forms.ptotoday.com/store/catalog.html?id=1002 I also strongly recommend that you post specific questions on our message boards. There are lots of experienced PTO leaders willing to help out with advice and support. http://www.ptotoday.com/boards/ Good luck! -- Craig

  8. Posted by Tracy on Sep. 23, 2008

    We are in the process of getting Tax Exempt Status. We need to add a statement to our Articles of Incorporation, can we present at our next meeting and take a vote at the same time, since it is not our by-laws but our Articles of Incorporation?

  9. Posted by Matanah on Nov. 18, 2008

    I am the current president of a PTO. I have been with the school as a non-parent for over 10 yrs. Just recently we have had parents that have stepped up and volunteered to serve on the exec. board. From the way these folks are acting, I have a distinct feeling that they don't want me at the helm. They think that a president should be around all of the time and not just (as they say) run things. I wish that is all I did. How do I get these folks to understand that we all have a job to do? Mine happens to be lead, help make responsible decisions, delegate projects, and do some myself.

  10. Posted by tori on Nov. 20, 2008

    I'm writing a speech on why should people elect me as vice president . I'm very nervous .I will try my best . even if i dont when at least my voice would be heard .

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