LUV makes a good point, might be a simple case of misinterpretation or misunderstood words (or hearsay passed along that got changed by no ones fault) or poor use of wording and it got taken the wrong way.Happens all the time when 2 people talk.

As another ex., at our school youve got to pass a backgrd check and a TB test, and they can also check on your 'lifestyle' whatever that means. I doubt they even have time for that nonsense, but youve got to sign off that it is OK. Heck, if they checked the lifestyles, we might not have ANY volunteers left. Hahahaha.

There is nothing that specific in our bylaws. We have a section on attending meetings, following bylaws, etc. in relation to officers being removed from office.

mabenton in response to your background checks, more and more schools are requiring it, in my building you must do a district volunteer application, which has on it arrest and felonies need to be listed, this application can be questioned at anytime and it kept on file in the districts main office. It is becomming very common for schools to do background checks on volunteers, and it is up to the discretion on whether they past that background or not.
I am curious on how many have a felony line in their bylaws? Anyone?

Have you sat down with this person and asked her why she lied to you? Maybe she didn't lie, but just misunderstood what was happening to her in the situation. You seem to think she is otherwise a pretty decent person, so why not sit down with her and just chat about how you feel and see what her views are? I'm sure she is well aware of the gossip and concerns that others may have, so seeing where her thoughts are may help give you a better perspective on the whole situation.

I personally would be less concerned about a misdemeanor charge( unless it's a child or money related) and more concerned about her tendency to lie. As others pointed out earlier, she's only been charged, not convicted and everyone in your school community probably knows about the situation, so if the voting members are concerned then they won't vote for her and this will all be irrelevant.

if its ludicrous to run background checks i wonder why many districts require a clean check before allowing any parent (pto volunteer or officer or other) to volunteer at school. so actually if your school runs the checks, you wouldnt need to add it to the bylaws. if your school doesnt run the checks, you might ask them why not. its pretty standard in many districts.

Also, you probably need to consider that being arrested does not constitute being guilty. If she said the cops let her off but the paper posted that she was arrested- well, was she arrested and then let go? Also, just because you're arrested does not mean you've been convicted. I also don't think that you necessarily need to add a No- FELONY clause to anyones by-laws. There are LOTS of people out there who have felonies now (they keep making more and more minor crimes felonies) And if so would all the PTOs need to run background checks before officer elections? You know " please go to your local police station and request an official copy of your criminal background record to include with your request for officer nomination paperwork" Now that would seen ludicrous. If you have your orginaization in shape then all of your officers would be elected, that means enough people have gotton to know them enough that they trust them to do whatever job they are being elected to the best of their ability. Also, your offices and by-laws should be set up with safe gaurds for fraud and embezzlement- 2 names required on all checks, more than 1 person counts the money, etc! For crying out loud this is the PTO for your childrens schools- not "Days of our Lives" But that's jsut my opinion.