My last group's election process was about a three month long event. Once the process begins, we follow the bylaws to the letter. Any abrupt changes would have been disallowed and would have sent up some major red flags.

It sounds like you are very aware of the process and the actions of the current board members. Good for you. Sitting idly by while they do whatever they want would be a catastrophe. I say continue on this watchdog path to find out what they're up to. Discuss your concerns with the board members - put it in writing so you have a reference to the conversation. Talk to the school administrators. If your PTO is a service branch of the school then they report to the admin and BOE. They might be very curious to know that this kind of behavior is taking place.

It's just a copout to say that they bylaws, "have been removed from the school office 'for review and approval'." During the review process, your existing bylaws are still your governing document and will continue to be so until new bylaws are properly reviewed, presented, voted on and accepted by the membership. There is no "gray period" where you're functioning without bylaws. You have existing bylaws that you follow until the new ones are accepted. Then you have the new ones. It's a seemless, instantaneous process.

Besides, that whole explanation makes it sound like you have one golden document that lies under a locked glass display case. It's ridiculous. Every board member and, really, every member should have a copy of them.

How do other PTO's handle elections? My PTO had an election scheduled, then abruptly cancelled it while the current officers scramble to change the bylaws to require all voters to attend three PTO meetings during the current school year, thereby eliminating almost all voters except the current officers and ensuring their continuation on the board. We are in the process of trying to obtain a copy of the current bylaws with no success. We were told they have been removed from the school office "for review and approval."