As far as whether or not to do this, be careful. Many times it can work great but it's very dependent on the role being performed and the personalities of the people involved.
In our elementary PTO, the President is really the key decision-maker. Although, of course the Board votes on key items, the president makes dozens of decisions every week on everything from what color paper to use for a flyer to what items to present for a vote.
I started out with a co-president with a friend. It was horribly inefficient and almost cost us the friendship. To keep each other synchronized and in the loop on decisions was difficult. Trying to work efficiently without duplicating effort was very hard. And we are both strong, assertive people used to making decisions quickly. Deciding what one of us could act on alone and what to wait and talk over was problematic.
It wasn't the big stuff that ruined it for us; it was the million little details. Finally, we both got to the point of agreeing one of us (EITHER one of us)should stay as Pres, but not both.
I would never do it again unless it was a role that could be carefully subdivided, or at least one that didn't involve so many on-going details. For instance, I've co-chaired committees where we've quite easily divided up the work and defined who does what.
Others have done this quite successfully, even as presidents.
We currenly have co-presidents for our middle school PTO. The amount of involvement and number of activities is so much less (than elementary school) that I can see that situation working well. The current officers are doing a good job working together.
So get feedback from both sides. But remember, even with really great people - personalities will play a big role.
I've read several times that many of you have co-presidents. I can see why this would be a good idea...do you have it written into your bylaws that two people can run together for that office, or is your organization set up to always have co-presidents? Do any of you have other co-officers, such as co-treasurers? Does it seem to work, having two people share a position?
