I am not sure I agree with the logic about control over something just because a meeting/activity is held at a school.
Our school opens their doors to local scouts, sports clubs and other activities(including our PTA meetings). This does not mean the principal has control over what goes on at that those meetings/activities. Yes, these groups need to follow the school rules (laws about a school zone/school policies). But if parents are not getting along, that is for the parents to resolve, not the principal or any other school member. Unless parents are disrubting the learning process at the school, that should never be tolerated.
To me all it means is that the principal knows these groups meet at the school, there is probably even a book in the school office that tracks who is in the school and when. This does not make the principal the "police" so to speak of these groups. The groups that meet at the school have their own rules they follow.
pto4kids,,,,i suggest you find out from your principal WHERE the school board policy manual is stored and when may you see it? it is PUBLIC INFORMATION AND THEY MUST ALLOW YOU TO SEE IT, EVEN MAKE PHOTOCOPIES OF WHATEVER YOU WANT. ours is with our principal , super, and in our kids school library, so basically , we can access it anytime without an appointment. in it, you will find policies on something like VOLUNTEER GROUPS and VISITOR TO BUILDING, and USE OF BUILDING...therein you will see if your district must approve bldg use (of COURSE they must, they cant be host to casino/fundraiser nights at school !! come on, they MUST approve all usage of bldg, incl the PTO)so you can stick the policy under their nose when you go to next bd mtg, and say, of COURSE you are in charge. or at least, in a position to impose sanctions (no more use of school grounds for PTO meetings) if the PTO wont play by the rules...GOOD LUCK and NEVER let em knock you down, the PTO or the admin. get other parents to support you and youre on your way to a better school life!
whoever said : 'as in our case, the "Queen Bee" situation where bullying and peer pressure rule. ' sounds like MY SCHOOL. the scariest of this scene is, what does this make parents think of their school leaders? does this give confidence to us parents, when they turn a blind eye to adult on adult bullying???? says volumes. how then, are they managing our kids???
i too think grass roots, getting support of other parents, is the ONLY way to go.And, if the parent body will sit back and TOLERATE the buzzing queen bees,then so be it, there is nothing you can do. just stay far away from the hornets nest and just concentrate on helping your childrens teachers, and forget the juvenile adults on a power trip. it is they that need an education more than their kids.
If your group has bylaws, they are the absolute authority on the nomination/election process. If they are silent on elections or if you don't have bylaws, you should refer to Roberts Rules of Order. I'd suggest you get not only your bylaws, but also at least one of the many summary books about RRO available in any large bookstore. My personal favorites are by D. Patnode and D. Zimmerman (2 different versions so you can read and compare the editors' interpretations of Major Robert's original and very complex rules). The beauty of bylaws is that YOU are not the "bad guy". You are simply enforcing the rules of your group. Maybe not a single person in the membership has read the bylaws, and maybe they're so old they're actually typed (not electronic), but they are the rules. You shouldn't feel hesitant to spread them around - your members need to know the rules, too.
Regarding your principal....If your PTO is a separate entity, with its own tax id #, whether or not it's a 501c3....I don't think it's your principal's job to step in. Granted, any principal should want to have a smooth-functioning PTO, but it's really not his place to take over the issues. If you depend on the BOE or principal to mediate, to me, it's opening the door for the BOE or Principal to RUN your PTO. And there are loads of (negative?) implications there.
In my opinion, you're on the right track. Use the bylaws/RRO and stay away from personalities. Good luck.
kmamom, thank you VERY much for that reply. It has helped to boost my confidence in trying to do the right thing.
After stewing about the situation most of the day yesterday, I came to that exact conclusion - that if I want to see things done the right way, I will need the support of the other parents in our school. If this situation comes to surface and the current board does make this election out to be "run incorrectly", I fully intend to grab the bylaws and step in with the forces behind me. This corruption can't keep moving forward. They need to be called on their wrong actions.
I do also agree with both you and Serendipity that our principal has taken a very weak position in the entire situation. A good principal would make sure that the organization is run properly and that the best interests of the children were being accomodated.
The situation, at this point, has all been kept pretty much behind the scenes. If I didn't have good relations with some of the better members of the current board, from all outward appearances, this would look like a smoothly run nomination and election process. It's a shame that the clique within the board feel that their bullying tactics are the way to come out on top. I thought I left most of that behavior behind in high school.
OUCH! You're not kidding when you say, "Nightmare!" I haven't been to the boards in a while, and this seems to be a hot topic all around.
As I've come to find in my situation-NO, there is no "authoratative figure" other than your executive board. Which really doesn't help things if the whole system is based on corruption, or as in our case, the "Queen Bee" situation where bullying and peer pressure rule. I called different divisions in my state's government to see if there was someone who could help but to no avail.
The PTA is SUPPOSED to offer support to it's units in cases like this. As I said in another thread, while PTA has its issues, this is one problem I'm finding with PTOs: if you get into a situation where there's an abuse of power it's difficult to right the situation without the support of the other parents in the school.
YOU and the parents have to step in with bylaws in hand. As uncomfortable as it is to point out someone is not playing by the rules, it has to be done. Sure they could make trouble, but so could you! And you have a lot more to base your arguments on. I would say the clique in your case has very little defend themselves with if they aren't following the bylaws.
This seems to be a PTO related problem--there is no governing body of PTOs you can go to to seek redress. We've had similar problems, but more with things like fundraisers, the number of them, programs (rather--the LACK of programs) and how our money is spent (we're handing money over to the school to be spent on things the school--meaning our tax-dollars--should be paying for).
As Serendipity said the principal really SHOULD be offering "guidance." He's taking the easy way out by saying, "I was told I can't get involved." I disagree with that. He can get involved. He can't govern your group, but he can strongly recommend rules be followed or he'll deny them the right to work within the buidling or to do business there. Just as overly zealous control freaks can create problems, so can the overly cautious who are afraid to act.
GOOD LUCK--and stick to your guns! You're in the right! Get parents to support you and you should be OK.
