Question: District control of the PTO

Hi, We are a newly formed PTO Board who is going into our second year. How typical is it for a PTO to have their policies and procedures as well as bylaws written by the School's district instead of the PTO Board Members? As a non-profit organization with a 501(C)(3) shouldn't this be done by the PTO Board? If so, how do we go about dealing with this situation?

Asked by Anonymous

Answers:

Advice from PTO Today

Rose H writes:
Hi,
It isn't common for the district to actually write the bylaws and it isn't the best of ideas. Two options: Is it possible for your group to write the bylaws and have them approved by the district? Or, can the district provide bylaws that you could then tailor for your group? The potential problem using bylaws straight from the district is they won't reflect your particular school community and your community members won't be a part of crafting the bylaws.

Rose C.