Thanks for sharing. A few things: It sounds like the bylaws revision process blew up a bit. It does make sense to have a committee (even just a few people) draft changes and then have group members review and comment on revisions--in fact, Robert's Rules says it is required.
As you are determining what should be in the bylaws to cover voting privileges, you might want to consider looking at the problem in terms of how to bring new people in rather than set up voting requirements that may put people out (literally.) We totally get the unfairness you point out of people showing up only to vote, but there should be a middle ground so your group appears open and welcoming.
As a separate but related issue, Ashley made reference to an ice cream social and I think that is a great idea. If possible, try to throw a casual get together for families before the end of the year that doesn't cost much but helps bring people together. This can go a long way in helping families feel connected to each other and that is an important step in building community. The more of a sense of community you have, the more likely parents and families will want to pitch in, want to come to meetings, and want to be an active--and positive--part of your group.
That is a rough situation. It seems like your board is working hard to improve the PTO's functionality and kudos to that!!
I suggest you keep it up, and maybe try to offer some sort of gimmick(ice cream social or bingo night) to get more parents involved in your upcoming meeting and the vote on Bylaws. Be sure to include some changes in the bylaws that afford the general membership a little "control," like any expenditures that would cost more than $600 requires approval from the general membership. I would also explain that by creating an official General Membership gives you a contact list should these expenditures arise. I also suggest creating a General Membership form that would state the requirements of being a general member.
As a parent(not as a PTO officer) I am put off by the meeting and volunteer requirement and most parents/staff I've encountered over the last 6 years would be as well. You may want to rethink the wording or come up with a different way to ensure your general membership stays active. Also don't forget to encourage staff members to be part of the General Membership and help them understand why the changes to the bylaws will make the school and PTO more successful.
Please allow me to apologize in advance for the length of this message. =/ Sorry!!
In September I attended my very first PTO meeting. Apparently the entire group was "no longer". There were 8 or so of us (6 who are completely new to school and have never been part of a group like this) at the meeting, we got officers in place and started to get things moving. The 2 who had been involved in the group last year and in past years did not speak up once to accept officer roles. Needless to say, we've hit quite a few bumps in the road, we've had some change in the officers, but over all we've been keeping it together pretty well. As every other group in the world, we have a few members who are only there to start trouble over and over again. They don't volunteer, and they take on very limited responsibility if any at all.
Unfortunately, our Constitution and ByLaws are very poorly written. The Article on membership reads that every person in the school (staff and parent) is a member. No dues, no meeting requirements, no way to be sure that voting members are truly invested in the group, etc. There is no quorum listed, and the list of issues goes on and on. We sat down during an executive board meeting and came up with revisions to the ByLaws (no easy feat!). We then proposed them at our public meeting and the members who are only there to cause trouble were in an uproar about some of the changes. One of the concerns was our attempt to update the Article on membership to ensure that only members who are "active" or invested and interested in the group could vote at elections and any member could vote on everything else. The clause reads that an active member is someone who has attended at least 3 meetings and volunteered 3 hours of their time in the current school year. So, there are 10 meetings leading up to elections, they have to have attended less than a third. Not unreasonable- or so we thought.
Everyone sent their concerns and we were set to discuss and vote on the revisions at our meeting this month. Executive board aside, we typically have 2-4 members at our meetings. However at our meeting this month, amazingly, we had 5 new members. These members wanted nothing to do with any events that were discussed. No one spoke up to help with volunteer needs. Clearly they were there to sway the vote. Luckily, we had decided to call the ByLaw revision to a vote in May for reasons unrelated to our guests.
I'm struggling with where to go from here. This group has not ever been successful. Last year, the principal wanted it dissolved because it was so bad. We're only trying to make changes to improve the functionality of the group now and for the future, but it seems so impossible with our current ByLaws, and now we might be unable to change them.
Anyone have any words of advice? They are greatly appreciated.
