Question: Help! Dominating & Rude President

Our PTO pres was not re-elected, just continued this year against wishes of other board mbrs. We're terribly disorganized (don't follow Roberts' rules, no written mins, no budget). She waits until the last min for planning, then declares she needs to make executive decisions since there isn't time to brainstorm or vote. She wants to control all details even when board members want to do things differently. Everything is done for her convenience. She has access to bank funds so never asks permission before spending. She is rude and confrontational. When one of our board members challenged her, she escalated the situation until the Principal had to get involved. We have a few big events left this yr, but is there any way to vote her out now? Or are we stuck thru the end of the school year?

Asked by Anonymous

Answers:

Advice from PTO Today

Rose H writes:
Well, this sounds pretty messy. But, there are always things you can do. Wondering, what happened when the principal got involved?

A few things: Is your group organized as a 501c(3)? There are rules on how the group needs to run and not having a budget, having only the president dip into the bank account are not OK.

The group needs to have elections. That's where your energy needs to go, rather than trying to oust this current president. There's just not too much time left in the school year to focus on that.

Can you and a few other volunteers step up and ask for an election to be held? Then someone should run against her. If she tries to refuse holding an election, then, yes, seek help from your principal. Let your principal know the parent group, which is vital to your school community, is going to fall apart if it continue to be run by this person.