Momski;148812 wrote: When is enough - enough?
Possibly our booster club has done it's service and it's time to move on. I realize it's for our kids, but without any support from the directors, and four parents doing all the work - who is it really helping?
Like a Phoenix, sometimes it has to die and then be "reborn" in a new fashion with new energy and new people. I'm ready for the phoenix.
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Very well put. It gives me something to ponder. My son will be in 6th grade next year in our middle school. Our PTO is pre-k through 5th in two separate buildings. I'm President this year with no one in the wings to take over. I need to move my allegiance to the middle school PTO, also sorely lacking for parents. I am committed to volunteering in our lower el library for the next four years (because the librarian is the superest coolest lady who ever cracked open a book!) and she retires in four years. It will hurt me to the bones to know and see something I've poured blood, sweat and tears into for 6 years die. But, as you said, sometimes things do need to die to be reborn.
I too am the Prez of our 30 year old music booster group and nobody is stepping up. Our top notch volunteers are senior parents and they will be gone next year.
I have asked people who I felt would be great leaders all year long, and all came back with valid commitments (elderly parents, working 2 jobs to make ends meet, going for their bachelors/masters degrees - I've heard it all). I have no hurt feelings. This isn't 1965 with stay-at-home moms. It's just the way things are.
In addition, the expectation of involvement needs to come from our directors that this booster group is important, and they are not doing this either.
So, I put the first warning shot in the air today that if we do not get at least 8 committed members, we will consider disbanding.
Possibly our booster club has done it's service and it's time to move on. I realize it's for our kids, but without any support from the directors, and four parents doing all the work - who is it really helping?
Like a Phoenix, sometimes it has to die and then be "reborn" in a new fashion with new energy and new people. I'm ready for the phoenix.
I have wondered if the PTO was more of an organized parent volunteer group with no fundraising or offical role with the school if there would be more people willing to say "Yes, I belong to ABC PTO and love it!"
No one wants to take over the world, just make sure it stays spinning .
Because of the lack of participation we have sent a survey out to parents to see how the PTO can be improved and to get people to set up and be board or committee members. It seems to becoming harder and harder as more people start going back to work plus having a combined PTO where one school controls the PTO doesn't help either.
JHB, our school might have to do that when my son graduates. He only has 1 more year at the school. I'm searching for people now that I can mold so to speak before my son graduates. I hope the PTO will continue. I do a lot for our school, and our parent involvement is seriously lacking. I hope someone will step up to take the leadership role, or our PTO is doomed!
We ran into this problem in middle school where the PTO has a much less active role. One time, the PTO sort of died out as existing leaders moved on as their kids moved to high school. There was still some money in the account. We didn't officially close the organization as it was not a 501(c)(3) and run informally. The principal was able to recruit some parent leaders the next fall.
The other time, we had no one willing to be president or take a leadership role. Our plan was to define the bare minimum the PTO should do. It included Teacher Appreciation in May and maybe 2 other things. We figured we could recruit volunteers to form a simple commitee to accomplish just those things. Beyond that, there would be no meetings, no reports, so formal activities, no officers. At the last minute, someone volunteered - but our plan would at least have kept the parent group from totally dissolving.
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