Question: Voting Privileges for Teacher Representatives

We have recently examined our by-laws and found that the Teacher Reps do not have voting privileges although they have been voting for a few years now. Should we amend the by-laws? Should teachers have voting privileges at all? Why or why not? How do we keep teachers interested and involved even if they don't get a vote on how to spend parent money? How are the majority of PTO's and PTA's run as far as voting members go? Are the majority of Boards made up solely of parents? We are at a crossroads with this issue, and any opinions, ideas, or suggestions would be helpful. Thanks!

Asked by kmarsh7473

Answers:

Community Advice

mum24kids writes:
I'm at a school now where all parents and staff are members of the PTO (no membership dues), and there is no differentiation between parents and staff for voting rights. In other schools I've been in, even if the teachers have paid lower dues to join, they still have the same voting rights as any other members. In both cases, Boards are made up primarily of parents. I don't see a downside to giving teachers the ability to vote, either as part of the general membership or as part of the Board.

Community Advice

kmarsh7473 writes:
Thanks, mum24kids, however this answer isn't helpful, as I don't know the details of how your organization is set up and how other parents on your board feel. A PTO can be set up any way it chooses, and initially it set itself up to not allow teachers to vote. That must have been done for a reason. This is parent money, the school already has a budget that they decide how to spend, PTO (parent money) is NOT their budget to decide how to spend.

Community Advice

Cmshane2002 writes:
If you continue to allow your teachers to vote than you must amend your by-laws. We allow all parents and teachers alike to vote as long as they are a paid member. You do not have to pay to be a member, you only have to pay to be a voting member. All of our teachers and staff are voting members, but mainly the teacher/staff reps attend the meetings along with at least one administration. We feel they have a right to vote as the goal of our PTO is to work with the teachers/staff to nurture the home and school relationship. I am the PTO president and I am the only one that cannot vote unless it is as a tiebreaker.

Community Advice

Cmshane2002 writes:
I should also say that as long as we have quorum we will hold a vote if needed. We have no rule about the percentage of teacher reps compared to parents. Usually we have more parents than teachers.