Thanks to all,
Just got home from a 3 hour meeting, brought up the election issue tonight. The officers felt the principal on restarting the pto in Oct. had given them the understanding they would still be the officers for not only the remaining portion of this year but also the next school year. It was a struggle for a while. I finally said our bylaws state that will have a nominating committee and officers will be installed at the first meeting we are going for our nonprofit status and the IRS will pull that status if we do not follow these bylaws.
We are going to ask for permission to stay as officers for the next school year by a vote. If they do not vote for that then,we are going to ask them to vote in a nominating committee which our bylaws state the organization picks. And go from there.
Thank you so much for listening and your replies. We are finally getting some of the serious issues to the forefront.
If I am reading you right, your board cannot agree on when elections should be held, right? What does it say in your by-laws, spring or fall? If it says spring then you need to insist on having the elections. Bring this matter up at the general membership meeting. If there is no set time for elections written in the by-laws, then bring the matter up for a vote at the general membership meeting. Take the issue outside the board to the rest of the membership. If you have by-laws, they were voted on and approved at some point, no one, not your board or your principal can change them without a vote on the proposed amendments. (There should be a clause in the by-laws stating how they can be amended. If there isn't, propose one.) Your organization can only run smoothly if there are some basic rules which everyone understands.
At the general meeting, explain that the principal appointed this board, but now it is time for the membership to elect its own officers. Keep fighting for the length of your term. If you keep hitting a brick wall then don't take the position again next year.
I need some more advice. I researched the timing of elections and gave my principal and president a copy of the findings. Hopefullly, our Principal's views have changed, I don't know yet. Our principal wants us to remain in office until the start of the new year. I'm sure he has his reasons. But I think the intergrity of the pto and it's officers would then be in question if we did not go to our pto and get this okayed or have elections. My belief is whomever the officers(new or us)are going to need that time for planning. I do not want to go through the summer unless I'm reelected. I just think that is a gray area especially if it is not approved of by our members. And in the case of elections I think everything should be considered black or white. We have a meeting on Monday and our first general meeting is scheduled for the middle of march and we need to let our membership know about what is going to happen with the election process. My first inclination is to say I will need to resign if the board is the only ones that will have a say on this subject. But then I see post that say stick it out and work through it. I'm not sure that this is one of those cases. Please let me know what you would do?
How do you counter someone who says noone really pays attention to bylaws? Am I doing the right thing or not?
We went through some major by-laws changes a couple years ago and the same question was asked (well, at midnight and after an hour fusing over language) but it's a good one. Laws are formed to protect us, so are by-laws met to protect your PTO and officer team.
Yes, you are doing the right thing. Next to the birth of a child, this will be the most intense and time consuming project you will look back on and (I hope anyway) say "WOW!! I was really apart of a great plan."
You could almost say that this is the toughest job you will love!
If someone has forgotten to tell you THANK YOU!!!!!
Thanks so much for the replies. I will be taking these to the next board meeting. Our principal is pushing us to wait until the fall. He is the one who initially brought up the pto coming back. We were elected in Oct. by about 10 people. This after having about 30 people at the informational meeting at which we could sign up for an office that we were interested in. What we didn't know is {this he admitted to at our last meeting} that he told other parents that he had all the officers he needed and thus not allowing them to sign up for election. He flat out told us he picked us. Why he picked me I don't know I told him I was a rebell and have been a thorn in his side. I had been told by our parent liason that those parents who wanted to be involved did not see us as a legitimate board and I wasn't sure why. Now I know. Our first meeting with them is scheduled for a the middle of next month. I stuck my head out with an email to the officers ,before this revelation, about our bylaws and how we needed to find ways to include our membership in major decisions and what rights are members should have. Maybe I worded wrong but what I got back was that our membership in the organization should not convey any rights and so far they had not seen anyone who wanted to be involved. I'll be honest all I know about ptos is what I have seen on this site and to have them say these replies really upset me. Resigning came into mind, but then I decided that my best weapon is information. So not only will I be taking these but I'm also going to take copies of bylaws off the web that state their election times. How do you counter someone who says noone really pays attention to bylaws? Am I doing the right thing or not? Resigning would be less stressful, but I'm just a believer in getting the parents involved no matter what we have to give up. Sorry this is so long but since we are supposed to put a "united front" I needed a sounding board.
Thanks for being it.
It depends on whether your school is traditional or year round. Our year round schools have their elections in March or April, and my traditional schools have them in April or May.
Whatever you decide, make sure you amend your bylaws to cover elections so that it won't be an issue next time.
