For the first year or two, the PTO's election process could stipulate that the board will be comprised of one representative from each of the formerly separate schools. You could draw from a hat to determine which school the President will come from, which school the VP will come from and so on, using those requirements to conduct the election. No one school will then have board representation in numbers overwhelming to any other school.

Or, you could have the Principal appointment the first President with all remaining board positions filled by election (again, each school having equal representation).

Hopefully, within a short time after the merger, the PTO will no longer need to take such measures to ensure equal representation.

I think you probably do have to have an election ... what if you were the dad, you hadn't heard anything about the PTO being formed, and you showed up at the first meeting and this group of 4 buddies from one small feeder school had taken over the whole thing without consulting anyone from the other schools?

If you were the one person who did all the work over the summer, it would be polite of him to let you have the office you'd like -- ie, he'd ask his friends to run for other offices.

Otherwise, you should look into a fair way to set up the elections, such that you get a fair chance to describe your accomplishments, both at the previous school and over the summer. (It would be great if the principal could vouch for your work at the PTO meeting.)

hello. Our school district has restructured and several schools have closed/merged together. The school in question had no PTO in place because it was a middle school. It is now considered an upper elementary school. several parents are trying to start one up. We contacted the principal in May and well he said it was a go. I worked dilligently all summer long to get the ball rolling only to go to the school today and have another parent step forth and say that HE wanted an election. He knows several people that wants to run. The school that my son came from had a student body of 175 kids. The others in the district had 300-400 kids. The parents that were on the board at my sons school were the only parents that attended meetings and did anything so our name is not known. We really don't think it's a fair way to have an election nor do we think this should get political. How can we do this so it's fair as well as not against the rules so to speak. Can a principal just make a decision as to who is the pres,vice-pres, secretary and treasurer?
Any help would be appreciated.