Question: President thinks she is a oneman show

last year the president resigned leaving vice to take her office which is ok by our bylaws BUT secretary quit treasurer quit so it was basically just the president. she refused offers of temp. help never followed up with an election or appointment of other officers. There are no current actual financial records she is refusing to give up the checkbook and the PTO laptop anytime she is asked specific questions everything is ALWAYS at home meeting minutes are not available ect.... and she has treated the new officers very rudely and gives us the silent treatment I have asked that she turn EVERYTHING into the superintendants office for accountability we have a pto meeting today and am not sure what to expect I have studied roberts rules and still am confused any advise???

Asked by lfparish

Answers:

Advice from PTO Today

Craig writes:
I'm not sure from your post whether this woman is the current president or is now out of office. If you have a new treasurer and the president is refusing to turn over the financial records and checkbook, that's a very bad sign. Has the new treasurer's name been added to the checking account? If so you can get account records from the bank. If not, it's possible that the old treasurer's name was never taken off -- you could ask her for assistance. If old records are lost or poorly kept, they can be reconstructed. But what you really want to find out is whether your group's funds are being misused. Situations like that occur when need meets opportunity. Opportunity is certainly present here, and these suspicious actions don't help. It's essential that you get some financial controls in place. You especially need to have someone in addition to the president looking at the bank statement every month. Enlist the other officers and the principal to help put pressure on the president to turn over the checkbook and financial records. If she continues to resist handing over the records, go over to her house to pick them up. If she still makes excuses, go to the police and explain the situation. If this woman is no longer the president, the property she is holding belongs to the PTO. Start by going to her house to pick it up. If necessary, threaten to go to the police to get it back. Unfortunately, you can't usually resolve a situation like this by being nice. You have to get tough. Good luck.