Holy Cow!! What a problem you have. First, our PTO is totally seperate from the school administration. Our principal has no part of our money issues. We have a full PTO board made up of 4 parents. If our principal wants something, she needs to ask us and we vote whether we agree. We are a registered not-for-profit organization. (compliments of a free parent/lawyer) One person should never be allowed to access money alone whether the principal or a parent. Double signature are a necessity. Second, if you have already gone to the 'supervisor' maybe you need to go farther. Do you know any school board members or the superentindent? (sp) This may be the time for you to add some new friends to your list. Remember, you will get more with honey than vinegar. Make sure you are documenting all issues in writing. This will carry more weight at a later date. Third, we had a former principal that was terminated due to 'financial and administrative issues'. I thank god that she did not have any hands in our money. Remember that you are there to help the principal's school be a success therefore be strong when you are at school.
Based on your description, we are looking at potential financial impropriety and abusive retaliatory behavior. If the school district is unable or unwilling to deal with this petty tyrant (and it sure sounds that way), then I think there is only one solution left and it can be summed up in four words:
SEEK COMPETENT LEGAL ADVICE
[This message has been edited by KC Swan (edited 10-18-2001).]
I would definitely call the school district and fine out who the principal's supervisor is and talk with them about this problem. We have had some problems this year with our principal and that is what we have done. We just asked to remain anonymous so there were no reprecusions with our children. It seems to be working out for the best in our situation.
As far as the money issue, it was always my understanding that the PTO is a separate entity from the school. We have our treasurer taking care of the money, our principal isn't even on the list of people who can sign checks.
I have a question for your group, what are the school districts policies about pto/pta and how the organization is handled by the school's admin. An example I learned of, in our district a member cannot be banned from our PTO by the School's Principal; ALL money is kept in an account for the PTO by the school's accountant with funds managed by the PTO but we do not hold the checkbook (if you will)-- There are a few more but I'm not aware of them.
I would call and look into just how much say can the Principal have AND compaint procidures (sp) and policies. This may take a few calls to get to the right person but I really hope you can find the answers your group and students need. I've never understood how someone finds joy in taking away 'candy from babies' especially when you know how hard some of them work for it!
May the force be with you--let us know what you learn!
Wow, that's an tough one and I don't have any experience in such a matter, but it would seem to me that you need to quietly organize a group of "heavy hitters" among the parentss in the school. The parents that are very active in their child's education or in the community. Put in writing a list of the main problems and go with that list to the supervisor. I think you have tried handling this problem at the lowest possible level, by speaking directly with the principal, and now it's time to take it to a higher level. Make a definiate appointment with the supervisor, plan it out, ahve several parents present but only one or two should speak, give him you list of concerns and don't take more than 45 minutes os his time. Hope it works. I'll keep you in my prayers. Will he retire soon?
Our pto faces a principle that doesn't allow the parents to function as a pto. The principle counts the votes, which by the way no one is allowed to see, except him. Our principle counts the money we collect , alone. He deposits the money in some school account, then despenses it as he sees fit by check to put in empty pto seperate account, only for functions. PTO never recieves logs or moneies collected from teachers for fundraising activities such as pictures. During my inquires as to how a pto should be run, I found that the state board in which i live cannot audit or have any say so into a pto of the schools in the city. Parents are told they are welcome to help out, but are discouraged at the same time. As a parent I reported this to the schools Cluster Supervisor. The supervisor called the principle to ask that he let the parents run their organization. Now he has become very nasty to teachers that the parents help, the parent/teacher that is in place to help parents, the children of the parents involved in the pto, and the parents. Nothing is done directly but finds any reason to suspend these children. He even went to my childrens teachers to inquire what type of students they were. There is lots more that is happening but, I want to know how can I help the pto, without fear for my childrens safty. HELPPPPPPPPPP
