Question: Help...........Should I stop attending meetings??

I need help!! I just attended my second PTO meeting, even though I said I wasn’t going back after the first one, and things seem worse. The first meeting went according to an article on this website titled “The Truth About Cliques”. ( I even took them copies of the article and they threw them out, not interested in reading them.) Tonight I tried to address what I feel is a communication break down between PTO leaders, their chairpersons, the school – teachers and principal, and parents. This came about because the PTO was sponsoring a fund-raiser and the fund-raiser included an offer of free charm necklaces when your child sold 5, 10, and 20 items for a possible total of three charm necklaces. The parent was suppose to fill out the coupons and send them to the school and the student was to receive their charm necklaces. I sent my child into the school with the coupons for three necklaces since more than 20 items were sold. The teacher and the principal knew nothing about this. Upon returning home with nothing I call the number on the charm necklace offer. It was a parent chosen to chair the fund-raiser. She told me “ I have a life and a family. I can’t do things according to the offer. The students will get their charms when I order them.” The next day I went to the principal, thinking I was treated rudely, she referred me to the PTO president. When I spoke to him he acknowledge parents have had problems with this person but since she does a lot he “was unwilling to give her up for another parent.” Needless to say the charm necklace offer wasn’t handled correctly and I had to contact the fund-raiser company myself. I went to the meeting tonight to express my concern and was met with more hostility. The president said “I don’t want to know anything about events, that’s why I have a chairperson. I don’t want to micro-manage things. I don’t have the time.” How can a PTO run effectively when the PTO president appoints chairpersons and lets them do whatever they want without “checking in”? They have proven they can’t effectively handle issues when they arise because they are uninformed. Should I just give up? Stop going? Is there local help, someone from the national PTO that would offer training? Please Help.............

Asked by VolMom

Answers:

Community Advice

Kennedy551 writes:
I'm sorry you went through this experience. Ask for a copy of the group's bylaws and see how they are supposed to handle the committee chairs. In our bylaws, the chair has certain responsibilities when he/she takes on the job. If they cannot do their job, it is up to the Board to take over and assume responsibility.

Community Advice

jinz101 writes:
WOW.....I am the President of the PTA at our school, and I hold fundraisers every year and raise over $35,000 for our school each and every year. Believe me when I say that I have concerned parents as well that I deal with on a daily basis, and I am extremely courteous and try to answer all questions they have. If there is a problem, I take it to the "vendor" that supplies me with the product. I am embarrassed by people like that whom do not take control over their group organization.