I too have a controlling principal. We have to vote at the first meeting of the year on the bylaws. I would like to make him an advisor to the board instead of on the board. To try and limit his power. Has anyone tried this?

This appears to be a problem across the US. We too have a principal that does not take action we request. Currently, our treasurer is a teacher. All other board members are parents. It seems the teasurer and principal now how much money is in the account. We have had issues with school wanting decisions about money or checks written without meeting or voting. The school will contact one member or another all day. The members will say this needs to be discussed at a formal meeting. This does not stop. The treasurer will copy the principal and give a time like by noon you must respond. Is this right? Should decisions be made by emails, phone calls or voice mails. We have new elections scheduled for May per our bylaws. Yesterday, we received email stating the principal said no elections until next school year but he wants us to leave our positions next month. Does this mean he will get all the money over the summer.

Hope you are still checking this message board. If your bylaws are set up that all expenses and budgets must be voted on by your PTO, then even if she had the Treasurer in her corner, it would have to be voted on. When we wanted to add a new expense catagory, we had to present it at our PTO meeting and hold a vote. Any expense from general funds over $75.00 must be voted on as well. So the Treasurer and Principal can be best friends, but if your bylaws are set up this way and you have enough parents attending the meeting, she will never get her special committee funding added to the budget.
In addition, you need to remind her that she is not at the XYZ school any longer, she is at the ABC school and there are traditions & a history that has been established there. Students & families alike look forward & have come to expect certain events at certain times of the year. Your awards & number of active parent volunteers attest to that!
Be sure you are aware that you walk a fine line here. The principal approves PTO events, so she can pull that card & not OK you for things. So you have to give a little to get a little. If her committee benefits all the students of your school, you may want to consider funding it, IF it does not interfere with your scheduled events. Going to the board wouldn't do anything but aggreviate the issue. However, parents voicing their opinions at meetings about the proposed changes in events, cancelling of events, etc. would show her that she has more than just the PTO Executive Board to contend with.
Our school obtained a new principal last January, but we were blessed that she respected the work we did and what we did to enhance the educational experience of the kids throughout the year. She did have ideas to offer, but nothing that detracted from our usual course of business. Good Luck

Rockne;129280 wrote: How can you get that message understood by key leaders in your district?

Tim

Tim, I've been thinking about this question ever since you posted it. It seems to be a Catch 22. As voters, the school board answers to us. As volunteers working within the school system, we answer to the school board. It's a delicate balance and takes some savvy to know which hand to play when.

I'd hate to think it's a weakness on their parts but it does seem that many BOEs and administrators side with paid staff over volunteers because it's easier that way and they feel they have less to lose. The one variable they have the most control over is the volunteer. Not the principal with a five year contract. Not the tenured teacher. The volunteer.

I'm not pessimistic or jaded. I've been blessed to work within several very positive environments in which mutual repect was the key to our success. I know that when things work right, it's great for everyone.

I congratulate parents who do stick around and work within a difficult environment so they can continue to help create a positive educational experience for the children.

It just seems that when things are at their worst for some groups, the parent volunteer seems to be the one expendable variable in the equation. I wish their BOEs would see it differently for all of the reasons you list, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

unregistered;128182 wrote: More than likely you have a losing battel in your hands. The superintendt and school board HIRED the principal. Doubtful they will not side with her.
Politics are always messy and unpleasant. Would be nice if your principal had been more communicative and conciliatory. seems way over the top and a waste ofeveryones time, to have had to go to the lengths youve gone with a mediator and all. after all, its a parent group. cant parents and principals work things out among them???? wonder how the principal and the staff relations are...............surely similar.

You guys... as voters... *hired* the school board. There is so much evidence re: the importance of active, enabled parent involvement, and empowered, independent groups create more and better and deeper involvement. How can you share that research? Your winning argument is that what you're lookig to accomplish is *great* for the schools and kids. You're not looking for control for control's sake. Rather you're looking for appropriate empowerment and collaboration, so that the school can excel. Test scores rise, dropout rates fall, absentee rates fall, discipline problems lessen -- all of these happen with more involvment.

How can you get that message understood by key leaders in your district?

Tim

smalltown -- Results did not turn out the way we had hoped. Long and short of it all is that the meeting with school district was weighted, in her favor, of course! At our subsequent meeting in early Feb. the Superintendent came and told the entire group that, yes, the Principal has control over everything ( a fact that we know is untrue)! This, unfortunately was the breaking point for many of us! We had one officer resign after that meeting. The following week at the general meeting (the best attended meeting of the year because parents had finally started paying attention to the noise being made) two more of us resigned (myself included) and by 8am the following morning our president resigned. The only officer to stay on was the treasurer because she didn't want the principal to get the money. Now with four new interim officers the treasurer and the president are the only two who agree how business should be done (according to the by-laws) the rest are just "yes-men". The principal now goes through the budget to see where we have underspent to pull money for "her activities". She demands that PTO activities that have been planned for months be cancelled to accomodate "her activities" that conflict with PTO's. So now she has the upper hand, which is what she wanted all along! She also went so far as to "invite" parents from her previous school to come to our Feb General Meeting to "support and defend" her, a fact that she denied in an email, but the women who came admitted to. In my opinion she is not a good example of a role model for children!
I love being involved and helping at my kids' school but not at the expense of my sanity in working with such a childish administrator! I feel much better since resigning. Those of us who left know we went as far as we could therefore we do not consider it "quitting".
Sorry to be so long-winded.
Best of luck with your endeavors and figuring out your PTO's difficulties.