#1 - Perhaps the most important relationship in having a successful PTO is a strong relationship between the exec committee/board/officers and the principal.

That being said, there are two sides to every relationship and YES the principal is one side, but in your case - from what I read, it is a very one-sided relationship.

My first suggestion is for you or another concerned parent to contact your school district. Not from an argumentative standpoint at all, but to determine whether there are any guidelines that the district has for parent/teacher organizations. If there are - obtain a copy and go from there. If there are not - go from there anyway. I think that you need separate bank accounts so that there is no question that the money is being appropriately spent which is raised by the organization. I am not questioning that it is, but if you read the "latest news" section of this site, the mere appearance of the possibility that something has gone amiss would make me be 100% sure that if I am involved there are no questions about the money.

My other question is this - how does your principal have the time to run this organization and successfully operate a school? If you approach it with him/her that you are making an effort to give him/her more free time to run the school or, heaven forbig - have a life, perhaps it will be taken better.

To answer the short question you asked - no this does not seem appropriate from my experience with parent/teacher groups or any other child-centered organization that I have worked with over the years.

I am a teacher and a parent. In the five years that I have been at my school and attended PTO meetings, the principal has always ran things. There is no president, vice president, treasurer, or secretary. There are no by-laws. She tells new people that attend that we have never done things that way, that it is just a group decision. We suggested we vote on a board and she said she didn't think it would be a good idea. Does this sound right? To be honest I don't really trust her, and I've never seen how a real PTO is run. Any suggestions on where I can find out this information? ANYTHING would be helpful!