Question: How to deal with a president who does everything?

The reputation of our parent group is that the president takes charge and does everything herself without letting people help. As treasurer, I often don’t know about events or even checks or deposits made. I really like being involved, but I’m afraid I’m not going to run again next year because of this. Do you have any solutions?

Asked by

Answers:

Advice from PTO Today

Elly writes:

Elly can imagine how frustrated you must be feeling! She suggests that you set up a meeting to talk one-on-one with your president to try to work through some of the issues you raised.

Begin by letting her know that you feel out of the loop and would like to be better informed about your group’s events and activities. Explain, too, that you’re concerned about the perception other parents might have about your group being a one-woman show. As a fellow board member, you know how hard she’s working for the PTO and the school’s families. But she doesn’t have to do it all herself—and, in fact, involving as many parents as possible now will lead to a stronger group in the long run. Let her know that you would be more than happy to help recruit members to assist with activities and events the PTO has planned.

The second matter you should address is how to implement some financial accountability controls. Talk about how you see your role and officer duties. As treasurer, it’s your job to safeguard the group’s cash and to manage transactions into and out of accounts. Requiring two signatures on checks and insisting that two officers or committee volunteers count cash together at events is a good start, as is setting up a system to track withdrawal requests and deposits. If the PTO has any policies or bylaws already in place, talk about how you can start to implement them; enforcing these policies protects the members as well as the PTO. (To learn more best practices, check out the article “What Every Treasurer Should Know” on PTO Today's Treasurer page.)

One final note: It’s important not to point fingers or assign blame; this conversation is about making the board and the PTO stronger, not telling the president what she’s been doing wrong. But don’t fall into the mindset that you are “just the treasurer.” Even if you’re not president, you’re still in a position of leadership. Speak up when there are issues preventing you from performing your job effectively. Good luck.