Question: Getting Help From Others

Our PTO has a large workload for a small board (3 members) and we only have 34 children 12-6 in our school. Our PTo has to do alot to support the extras in our school or we would not have them and we are stretched. WE thought about adding 2 people to our board as members and my question is how is the best way to present or handle this situation... thank you fo your time!!!


Asked by amostazi

ANSWER IT


Answers:

Advice from PTO Today

Craig writes:
I can think of a few ways to do this, depending on what your current situation is and your needs are. One possibility would be to take two existing and important positions and make them board members. Example might be your fundraising chair or the chair of your largest event, and your volunteer coordinator. If instead you need two new people who do not have significant other duties at the same time, you could simply add additional officer positions, such as a vice president or perhaps a co-president who is in training to take over as president next year. As far as adding board positions, it's a simple matter of changing your bylaws. You would need a vote to add x and y positions to the executive board. If the positions need to be filled, you would include a motion to hold elections at your next meeting -- or you could conceivably appoint someone to take over on an interim basis until elections are held. (I'm assuming you're not likely to have competition for those positions.) You could also simply invite two of your current chairs to participate in board meetings. They might not be "official" members, but they could lend their support, advice, and volunteer power. As far as presenting the idea to your members or the principal, I wouldn't expect it to meet any resistance. You need more people in leadership positions in order to get the group's work done effectively, so you need to add to the board. Three is actually a very small board -- I'd say most parent groups have at least four and some have many more.


Answer this question: