Question: Time for Elections

When is the best time to hold elections for PTO positions. After running ads in our last two newsletters and hosting an open meeting at the end of the school year in May, we had only two people offer to run for our four open positions. Would it be better to wait until the beginning of the school year, when enthusiasm is high, to undertake this?

Asked by ERMS PTO

Answers:

Advice from PTO Today

Craig writes:
That's a good question. I think for continuity sake, you're better off having officers in place in the spring if possible. That gives you more time to plan, and it's a lot easier to seek out previous officers for advice, etc. before the end of the current school year than at the beginning of the next -- especially in cases where past officers might have moved on to a new school. I think it's OK to elect your two officers now and hold elections for vacant positions in the fall.

Community Advice

CMay2CK writes:
I agree with Craig. We utilize the summer to plan out the coming school year's calendar (as far as fundraisers, events, etc are concerned). We need the officers in place prior to the close of the school year. That said, you must begin your campaign for new officers early enough to allow for time to solicit empty spots. We also had an empty after initial correspondence went out. We put our heads together and came up with a few names of parents we thought would be a good fit for the position. Then someone talked directly with those parents, explaining what was actually required of them, etc. We had the spot filled within two weeks, which was a full month before the close of the school year.