Wow, Metzymom, are you sure you even volunteer at school or on your PTO? Because if you do, you've surely missed the point. One word for you: SUPPORT. Just because a school volunteer expects a certain amount of support, does not mean that they are looking for a pat on the back.
I have the benefit of experiencing two very different PTO's in two different schools: One in which the volunteers were truly appreciated and the one I'm currently a board member on (where the office staff treats us as though we have the plague). Strangely enough, the former was a private school, while my child's current school is public.
What we all should expect is a certain level of respect and courtesy in our workplace, whether we are paid for our time or not.

I am about to become one of the most hated posters ever...lol...

Sounds to me like some folks (I'm not talking about admin here) are looking for pats on the back themselves. So much for doing it for the children. It should also be kept in mind that PTO's are considered businesses SEPARATE from the school and should, as a rule, be treated that way when push comes to shove. Your job varies depending on bylaws and you can literally choose not to do what you do. School staff can not choose 'not' to do their job, which coincidentally, is to educate your children and protect them while in the school care, not help you personally. Think about it for a minute. What are you complaining about? That they won't help poor little you do your job? A job you are NOT paying them to do by the way. You pay them to educate and to protect them from harm while educating those children. And then you have the audacity to complain about the way they are doing what it is you are paying them to do!!! OMG!!!

Get a grip! If you are looking for pats on the back, go get a massage. If you are looking for help, find a parent who CAN stand outside and collect toys. If you think you can do a better job educating and protecting your child, try homeschooling.

There were some nice compromises offered above by some wonderful, experienced posters. Look at them again. This time with an open mind, a quiet attitude and some major compassion for what it is that others do, even if it doesn't suit you.

Good Luck in your endeavors.

I have to agree with jonwilson. Our parents volunteer their time, free of charge, often to do things that the teachers and staff are paid to do.(grading papers, passing out homework, making copies, just to name some of the mundane ones) Without us, these things would still have to be done and their jobs would be much harder. In addition to that, their salaries are paid by us. Don't get me wrong. I do appreciate that they have chosen this profession and the hard work that they do put into it, but I don't see why it is a problem to ask for a little help from them every once in a while. At Nevada PTA, we did VIVA, up until this year. Value in Volunteer Acknowledgement and the number of hours given by the parents is tallied up and presented as a mock check to our Governor at $10 an hour. Our school alone, contributed 4600 hours-$46,000 worth of work. This showed them the VALUE of our time and what we do for our children in a language they understood, money.
It is good to show them that you appreciate their help too, just as they should appreciate you.
Seriously, if you consider the time and work that you save them when you volunteer, it shouldn't be a hassle to have a box in the office or to include a flyer in the weekly passouts. And they sure do appreciate you when you are giving them money too.

PottsvilleMom,
I'm not trying to belittle the work our of school staff, but to say they are under TREMENDOUS pressure is stretching things a bit. If the teachers and principal in your family are under that much pressure, maybe a vocation change is in order.
Our PTO members volunteer in almost every classroom as well as during lunch and recess. To say that PTO's don't know how much work teachers do or how disruptive we are is truly shortsighted. Our time and resources do more to help our staff than disrupt them. As much as we rely on that staff to take care of our kids, the staff relies on the PTO to make their job easier.

I am going to talk to the Principal about her Assistant as there are quite a few other issues that need to be addressed that I don't want to bring here.

Okay, it's more than work load and what we are asking or needing to be done, the pure and adolesent way she (Asst.) HATES our President is the issue with her. Many meetings have been held and may times they have walked away saying that the issues of the past or just that, of the past. No. I have had three activities refused because the President was going to be sitting in the lobby at a table and well, we just can't do that. They like me, not her and it's enough to drive a person nuts.
All I ask of her once a month is to proof the newsletter and she has larned more intresting ways in making that difficult than I care to go into.

Before I became a professional mom (if you will) I was the Sales Asst. to seven sales engineers. I'm no stranger to office ediqite and deadlines and if I treated the "guy's" million dollar proposals the way this gal handles my little newsletter....no. The guys I worked for were polite, fun, and great to work with and I never got cookies or muffins. Okay, a fabulous baby shower and a even more fabulous baby shower/farewell party but there was A LOT of mutual respect for each other and it's how we worked together like a team. I miss that.

The last time I baked all weekend(even diabetic goods because I knew a gal was diabetic) and brought it in to the school the first person to snub it was...yup, the Asst.

You can defend her all you want but come Monday morning I get to resubmit my newsletter because something tells me she lost the purple plastic folder I left it in on December 28th.

[ 01-01-2004, 05:27 PM: Message edited by: mykidsmom ]

sticking up for the admin. asst's here...sure, certain things are their "job", particularly putting up with parents. but for as much extra work that parent organizations typically put on the office staff, it certainly isn't going to hurt to make nice with them every now and again. no need to worry about what is and is not in their job discription. it's common courtesy. in the business world, if you really want access to a ceo or to get something done, you make nice to their secretary. same thing goes in the volunteer arena. face it, pto's can be a pain in the heiny when we ask for last minute this that or the other, or when we want just one extra favor. both the pto and the office personnel are interested in helping the school run more efficiently. if the left and right hands are unable to cooperate, it becomes difficult to accomplish a task. i take my office ladies treats about every other week, even if its something as simple as a candy bar. and in exchange, you can bet my newsletter gets put out on time, even if i forgot about it until the day after deadline.