LansingNYmom has the right idea - what do your articles of organization say about who can vote.
We allow teachers to vote if they attend the meeting. However, teachers are not allowed to be on the board to technically the board can immediately vote to overturn a vote that was "hijacked" by a self-interested subgroup.
I supposed technically, the teachers should have noted there was a conflict of interest (they directly benefit by the vote) and should have abstained. Maybe that is the hook you can use to overturn the decision via a vote at the next PTO meeting.
Why wasn't the Principal more involved in this? Smartboards are a wonderful and useful tool, but if there so many open questions about them why didn't the Principal recommend more study?
Check your organization's Constitution or bylaws. Technically, our PTSO Constitution state that only "PTSO Board members" (those in designated positions like Pres, Tres., VPs, grade level reps.) can vote. Although I allow everyone in the room to vote on an issue, without making it clear that some votes aren't "real" (since it's moot when everyone agrees on the vote), if there were a situation where people showed up and wanted a voting say on something which was not in agreement with what the PTSO Board wanted to do, I would pull out the Constitution/bylaws and review exactly who is eligible to vote before taking the final vote. So, check out your formal organizational rules.
We never vote on a major unbudgeted expenditure the same night it is proposed. We're dealing with a similar issue right now. One parent is passionate about the need for the PTO to buy carpet sweepers for each of our 30 classrooms. Different issue, but some of the same basic questions: cost, best vendor, is this PTO's job, can we get them donated or a price break, justification, rationale, is this the best use of our fundraising surplus, etc.
The board let the mom present the issue at our last general meeting, we discussed it for a few minutes, and then moved to table it until our next meeting which is Tuesday. In the meantime, she is supposed to do more research and prepare a specific motion which addresses all the questions. We also made sure our meeting announcement this month indicates that this motion will be presented/voted. It's too big a chunk of money ($900-$1200+), with too many open questions to be approved in one meeting. By the way, we budget every penny of our planned income. The only time we have an issue like this is when we have an unexpected fundraising surplus. It doesn't seem right to allocate all our fundraising surplus based on one mom's personal agenda, without ensuring it's the will of the broader membership.
In your specific case, you're better off--if your members vote yes-- to donate the money to the school with the understanding that it will be used to purchase the boards. The HSA does not want to be the owner of the equipment for all the reasons you mention. If your school isn't in a position to carry the ongoing costs, then why should the HSA? Also, why should the HSA, a group of parents, decide that smart boards are the best teaching tool? I wouldn't want to be on that committee. How does your principal feel about this technology?
I may have put this in the wrong topic so, here it is again:
We have a HSA at my school, and last night we were "slammed" a disproportionate number of teachers-none with children in the school-attended a meeting and made a motion to vote X thousands of dollars on classroom SMartboards. I feel if these teachers do not support the HSA/they do not fundraise for the monies,and have not attended meetings in the past, but appear to only skew a vote- they should not be considered part of the voting body. Has anyone encountered this before? Is there precedent to set aside a vote-parents at the meeting wanted to check into leasing as we do for the computers, the burden for the cost of maintenance of the purchase was left open,(bulbs in the projectors run $300-$500 with a 5 year life, then there is the cost of the programs to put on them) the effectiveness of improvement/enhancement to teaching vs. using the whiteboards and an overhead etc.., many good points came up but where left unanswered as the vote was taken and passed. I would like to hear what others have encountered. Thank you.
