AT OUR MEETINGS, I ALWAYS HAVE A FEW COPIES OF OUR BYLAWS TO HAND OUT IF I AM ASKED (I AM THE PRES. THIS YEAR). I DO KNOW, THOUGH, SOME YEARS BEFORE, THE PTO FORMED A BY-LAWS COMMITTEE TO WRITE THEM. THE ENTIRE PTO THEN VOTED ON THEM AND THEN THEY HAD BY-LAWS. THEY HAVE WORKED OVER THE YEARS AND HAVE ONLY BEEN AMMENDED ONCE (BY VOTE OF COURSE). IT WOULD BE CLOSE TO IMPOSSIBLE, I'D BELIEVE TO RUN WITHOUT BY-LAWS. YOU SHOULD INQUIRE ABOUT A BY-LAW COMMITTE OR OFFER TO START ONE!!
There's got to be some sort of bylaws! Especially if the prez refers to them. Your PTO board can stand to be more open about its business and its bylaws. You should talk to one of the great board members you mentioned in your last post. Maybe she can answer some of your questions.
Thank you for all your information. One member on the PTO informed us that there are no bylaws (though funny how in the last meeting & in their minutes, the Pres. made a statement..." as we have in our bylaws..." then a few weeks later states that there is no bylaws) They did say that their process of how "They" run things is that the Pres. has the control & makes all the decisions. Am I wrong here, or does this sound like a dictatorship? They truly don't have any sense that this non-profit charitable organization needs to answer to anyone. There were quite a few level headed concerned individuals that offered to help with a by-law committee, but the reply was that they didn't need such a committee, and they don't need to be watched... It raised my eyebrows. We do have a few great women on the Board that do what is in the best interest of the children, but the others I don't know about. :confused:
(California Corporations Codes for Non-Profit, Public Benefit Corporations):
"5160. Every corporation shall keep at its principal office in this
state the original or a copy of its articles and bylaws as amended to
date, which shall be open to inspection by the members at all
reasonable times during office hours. If the corporation has no
office in this state, it shall upon the written request of any member
furnish to such member a copy of the articles or bylaws as amended
to date."
If your group applied for 501(c)(3) status as a non-profit, tax exempt corporation, it is subject to its state corporations codes. You should be able to find your state's corporations codes online. Just go to Google, type in your state's name coporporations codes. You'll want to look under the code for Non-Profit, Public Benefit Corporations.
When a PTO writes its bylaws, it's a good idea to have a copy of state corporations codes on hand. Your bylaws cannot conflict with the codes. I hope this helps.
