Advice from PTO Today

Craig writes:
It depends on the situation. Felony is a broad term that can apply to murder or passing bad checks. Say you have a 35-year-old in your group who is family oriented and has led a perfectly normal life. But at age 18 he got into a fistfight and was convicted of battery. To me, I would judge him on how he lives his life now vs. on that mistake he made 17 years ago. On the other hand, if the felony involved embezzling money, I wouldn't let this person near the checkbook or put him in situations that involved handling a significant amount of cash. And obviously, I'd be very concerned if the felony involved a crime against children. But broadly speaking, I think if someone has paid their debt to society, that past mistake shouldn't automatically disqualify them from being a PTO officer. If you have an officer who is being currently charged with a felony, I'd use a similar standard. Is it something completely separate from PTO work, or will it cast a direct shadow on this person's PTO work? (For instance, you don't want a treasurer who's accused of passing bad checks.) You might also ask whether the charges will affect this person's ability to do her job properly. In such a case, it's perfectly legitimate to ask her to resign.

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Community Advice

Imursexy1 writes:
If the felony was because of violence, murder, or of a sexual nature then I would have a problem. If it was, let's say, drug possession from a few years ago and this person has changed their life around then I have no problem at all allowing it. No need to keep punishing a person for their crime if they have turned their life around.

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