Three issues that our group needs advice on ASAP!!!

1. We are having EXTREME difficulty with our school board as well. We have a VERY small school (about 200 kids) and only raise from $5000 - $10,000 a year. We operate as a PTO and have been around for 5 years. The board refused to sign our by-laws this year and we have had meeting after meeting to make changes with them. We make the changes, they read it and still don't like it, etc. They say that as of right now we are not operating as a PTO because they haven't ever signed off on our by-laws!!

2. Then they wanted us to have an audit done (not that we care it seems like a good idea) so they set it up with their accountant. We assumed that meant they were paying for it- WRONG!! Turns out it is estimated to cost at least $1000 for the CPA to review 3 months of receipts!!! We gave the school copies of all of our receipts months ago and now they say they don't have them and that if we don't hand copies over to the CPA immediately we'll be disbanded!! And we need to shop around for an accountant. I can't believe it's over $1000 to look at 3 months of receipts when we hardly have any expenditures (mostly popcorn materials LOL!) maybe only 5-10 receipts a month if that!! And they want us to have the audit every year at 10-20% of our budget seems financially irresponsible!

3.We tried getting insurance for liability and the school said that we couldn't because everything that we do is covered under their policy because we operate at the school. Now they are saying that we can't buy anything for the school because of liability that we can be sued!! That we need to give the money to the school for them to buy anything! Like they couldn't spend it on something else!

I don't know what they are allowed to do but this has been SOOO frustrating. We think that we need to get a lawyer for advice either pro-bono or will the school say we're not allowed to spend PTO funds for a lawyer! And if so how do we look for an accountant and a lawyer? HELP!!!!

Serendipity;127891 wrote: As with most groups when you are a seperate organization you govern yourself and the BOE and Super have no control over what you do or control of your money. The catch however is that you opperate within their building so if you do not do what they want they can tell you that you can no longer operate within their building. So they can choose to put you out of the building and form a new group.

It's true that they can make demands on your group, but the worst they can do is keep you off campus. They have no authority regarding the details of your structure or most anything else in the bylaws. IMO, the demands you noted are extreme, and it seems as if the board does not get the concept of an 'educational charity' - an independent entity with the sole purpose of supporting that school. Accountability? To your members and the government office(s) that allowed your incorporation/organization. That is enough.

The school and board are obviously stakeholders, and your financial info should be made readily available, but that's it.

We are a public school, but if our BOE messed with us like this, I would fight it hard.

PBC;127911 wrote: this is a Charter School. Were can we go and what can we read on to see what our rights are?

AAAHHHH I too am in a charter school and this is where things are differnet for us.

Who sits on your school board? We have seven parents that sit on our School Board but almost three years ago we had all Administrtors and 2 parents and it was a joke.

What we have done is become a committee of sorts of the school board and we are Accountable to them. This means we give a monthly report during their meeting and while we do have our our checking account and the CFO is not on the account, the Business Office gets a copy of our bank statement each month. We also have a copy of the school's by-laws and they have a copy of ours.

To show we have nothing to hide and we are here to make our school the best we can, these few steps were agreed upon.

Sounds to me someone was in a meetign and questioned who is the PTO accountable too. Accountablity is a big thing in the charter school world! I would check the charter or have someone guide you through it. But an honest opne light conversation needs to happen here. A complete copy of your by-laws will be handy.

I applaude you in beign involved and this is a differnet world but one that appreciates the fact that you are more than a parent!

If there is malouse (sorry can't spell) then that needs to be addressed seperate. Hopefully it's the accountablity thing and nothing more.

It's amazing how we all have the same goal and yet so many have to take all the glory!

May the force be with you! I know you will need it!

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

I suggest your PTO board set up a mtg with your school board superintendent & business administrator. Your group is a seperate entity from the school board. Your PTO board & members should have the final say in how your monies are spent. We try to work together with our business administrator prior to the purchase of any large items. What we do is meet with the school board administrators after fall fundraiser is finished to ask them to gather wish lists from our principals. (Our PTO covers 3 schools. If you have 1 school, they could collect wish lists from each of your grade level leaders & the principal.) They in turn decide what is in the budget and what is not. They then give us a final list, our PTO board then gets together to decide which if any we will try to fulfull. Anything that is over $500 has to be voted on by the membership at a membership meeting. Anything under $500 can be voted on by the PTO board itself. There is no way at all that the school board administrator should be on your checking account. Tread lightly with this. I've heard of instances where if the PTO/PTA group does not abide by their wishes they are, in turn, not allowed to fund raise through the school. Another words, your group will be disolved. Hope this helps.

this is a Charter School. Were can we go and what can we read on to see what our rights are?

I would like to offer a completely different perspective. I have been involved with three parent groups that were service branches of the school. Therefore, I assumed that was how all parent groups function and never thought it could be a different way until I started coming to these message board. My last group's bylaws went so far as to say that we "function under the auspices and regulations of the Board of Education of District..." And at every board meeting, the attendance of the principal or his designee was required. We required two signatures on every check and the treasurer and principal were the two autorized signers.

I have to say that I felt a great deal of comfort from knowing that we were being watched over. Parent groups are cyclical by nature. Folks come and go through the ranks. You're never really sure what kind of experience they're bringing with them. History and tradition can be forgotten over time if not properly passed along. The principal and the school board bring a continuity to the group that would otherwise not exist. If anything gets a little sideways or goes beyond our ability to manage, it's good to know that there is a place to turn.

I know now that many groups run a very successful, independent team and I am amazed and impressed by them. Through this forum I've learned a lot from them.

The bottom line, I think, is to work within your own reality. Right now, your group is going through a transition forced upon you by the principal and BOE. You don't like it. You don't think it's best for your group. You don't have any control over it. But it's going to happen anyway, with or without you. What better way to smooth the transition and make the future of your team a bright, positive one than to graciously accept these changes and be proactive in helping to decide how things move forward from here?