Since your principal appears to like written communication, it might be helpful to draft a letter to her explaining that you are under no legal obligation to provide her the information that she has requested and that you won't be doing so without a concrete explanation as to why she needs it. Point out that until this situation is resolved there will be no further funding forthcoming from your group to the school. Be certain to mention the appointment that she refused to keep with you. Point out that all of the board need not be present for her to give you an explanation. Then give her a deadline that is about a week out to re-schedule the meeting and provide you with the requested explanation. Tell her that if she doesn't do so you will assume that she has no interest in resolving the matter and that at that time your board will re-convene to discuss your next move. Do NOT tell her that at the end of that time you will be going to her superiors, since that just gives her time to go over your head and try to sway her boss to her side of things before you've even presented yours. However, if she still fails to respond I would indeed hand deliver a letter explaining the situation to her boss and ask to set up an appointment with him/her at that time.
As for the rest of your group, if the principal is trying to force your hand you may have no choice but to lay it all on the table for your parents. Try to be balanced in your approach and explain that you have not refused to provide the requested records but have simply asked for more information. Have a copy of the aforementioned letters available on request. If it's been more than a few months since your books were last audited I would go ahead and get an audit done to pre-empt any accusations of impropriety on the part of your treasurer or other board members.
And keep an ear on the rumor mill. If you can prove that your principal has been slandering you or your group to other parents that could be a pretty powerful thing to take to her boss.
When is the next time that the PTO typically funds something for the school? I would imagine that, the closer this deadline, the more willing the principal might be to have a civilized communication with you.
Also, have you considered contacting the principal's boss (I would assume that it is the superintendent of schools or someone on his/her staff). I wouldn't exhibit a defensive or angry posture, but position your approach as needing help to end a stalemate that has developed at your school. Ask if there would be someone in authority who could help arbitrate the situation.
Thanks for your replies. We, the Board, scheduled a meeting with the principal the next morning. 5 (quorum) of 7 members were present to discuss the letter, go over the budget and find out exactly what was the reason behind the letter etc.. She blew us off, said she would only meet with the total board and that we had to have everything she requested. I am really feeling disappointed at this turn of events. This is my 2nd year as President and I have been on the board as officer before that. Never has this happened is the 6 years I have been in the school or before that I know of. I think there is an ulterior motive to the problem, and I agree that a mediator should be involved a.s.a.p. I want to inform the membership of the situation with all documentation because rumors are already flying around the school that are being detrimental to the PTO as well as myself. As I said before our records are clean and crystal clear, and the activities that we fund and provide at the school are great. I don't want to create animosity between the membership and administration, but I think that they are already trying to create between the Board and the membership. Any more suggestions?
Here's the problem. While you're not legally required to show the principal this information, and while she is being horribly tacky about the whole thing, you are unable to perform the business of the group without her cooperation.
Has she given you any reason at all for her request for the records? I know that I would be extremely reluctant to turn over that kind of information without a good reason. Not to mention that there may be other records that would be more appropriate to answer whatever questions she has. The only reason that I can think of for requesting those particular documents would be if a parent has leveled some sort of accusation of financial mismanagement against the board.
I agree with Jewel that you need to sit down and have a very honest conversation about the matter with your principal before taking any other action. I would simply explain to her that you would feel much more comfortable providing the information requested if you knew what her purpose was in requesting it. If your only objection is to providing copies, then maybe she would be content with examining the records in the presence of your board, which would be a reasonable compromise, thus making her appear to be unreasonable if she refuses.
As far as the district goes, most anything that you find out from a district level only counts if it's on paper. If you are unable to resolve things with the principal, then I would write a formal letter of complaint to her boss requesting that he/she either resolve the situation or provide a mediator to assist in doing so. If that produces no results then you could either take it up the chain or go a different route and contact your mayor, city council, state dept of ed, or a reporter at the local paper. If your group has the funds to do so, you could also consult an attorney.
If you decide to reschedule events off of school property, use your email list and a phone tree to get the word out and see how it goes. If the principal sees that she isn't going to stop the activities of the PTO by canceling school activities, maybe she would be willing to become a bit more reasonable as well.
In the meantime, making all of your school's parents aware of the reason for the cancellation of activities could make you look as though the group has something to hide, so be careful. I wouldn't lie to anyone, but I also wouldn't attempt to turn your families against the principal as a way to try and force her hand.
And let us know what you find out and how things go. Once you have some more information about the why's, there may be someone who's been through something similar who can offer some better advice.
We have a situation whereas the principal has requested copies of our bank statements and cancelled checks. We feel that this is not appropriate as we are an incorporated PTO. We have never had a principal or administration request such records before. We've always provided yearly budgets, updates and end of year factuals. The biggest problem is that she has cancelled our activities until we provide these records. We've contacted the district office of the school board (there are no written rules or laws that support her actions) and they basically stated that since she's the principal she has the right to inspect our financials and of course cancel our activities in school. I requested documentation to the effect, and they stated it was their opinion. We've nothing to hide, we maintain computerized records and our taxes are filed by a CPA each year, but we feel that providing this information to the administration violates our bylaws and the rights of the membership. The records are available for inspection to our membership, but giving out copies is not the same. In addition, I feel that this will not guarantee that she will reinstate our privileges in the school. I think there is more here that is visible. I've been unable to find information that will help us resolve this situation. Any insight and recommendations will be greatly appreciated.
