It is important to remember when writing bylaws that you are not always guarateed a wonderful and supportive administrator. When writing bylaws and defining roles, you need to keep in mind that the person in that role can and does change. The bylaws can provide future groups with protection against power abuses from both the principal and the president.
It's a great world where the principal and the PTO can work together for the common good, and definitely something to shoot for and preserve, but don't let your guard down on protecting your group. Ethics are not an across the board guarantee these days. (Just wondering, can the principal write checks from your account CrewCheif?)
Here is our scenario and it HAS caused serious problems with Admin wielding too much influence. We have 2 teacher reps. We have an Admin liaison who is the Asst Principal then we have the Principal. They ALL have voting rights on the PTO board. Therefore, the paid school staff controls 4 votes. The rest of us account for 11 positions. When some of the 11 have been absent and a vote takes place, the Admin/staff have been able to swing critical issues their way. This does not seem right. I thought a PTO was a way to have the parents involved and give them a say. The staff get to run the school the rest of the time and we don't tell them what to do. They shouldn't control so much of the PTO that it becomes THEIR vision and objectives. We hope to rewrite our bylaws this year and I hope to reduce the # of staff votes and limit their control. In our school the principal has been a dictator and tried to run the PTO too. She has abused her power tremendously. I would recommend that you try to limit the power of Admin to one vote or no vote. They should be in an advisory, consultative role.
This organization shall be known as District 51 Central Grade School Parent Teacher Organization (hereafter referred to as the PTO) and functions under the auspices and regulations of the Board of Education of District 51.
The key word being under. We use the school's tax ID# but we have a seperate checking account. The account has the school's name on it but only PTO money runs through it. The Principal, Asst Principal and Treasurer are authorized check signers. Two signatures are required on each check.
Also, we have a bylaws passage that states:
Section 2
The PTO shall not seek to direct the administrative activities of the schools or to control its policies.
