flagirl7 - I understand your apprehension. The few rotten administrators we hear about here sadly seem to be betting that parents won't stand up to them for the very same reasons you mention.

It absolutely would be a battle but it's one you shouldn't have to fight alone. It should be a united front. The president is just one member of this group and should not be acting alone. The rest of the elected officers, along with the general membership, should demand that she behave in accordance with the bylaws. If she can't do that then she should be removed from the position.

I think your Board of Education would be curious to hear what's going on at your school. I'm willing to bet that a principal this unscrupulous with the parent group is not above board on many other things either.....

Thanks crew chief for the affirmation....I am not sure this is worth the battle. I dont want to affect my children...but there is something completely wrong here. I have to say that the majority of the members are with me on this. If not all of them.

I just hate to go into battle with these unscupulous people.

My youngest has three more years to go..............

So, as I read this new info, I have to say that this is really nothing to do with the open meeting laws but a complete and total disregard for the bylaws and the other members of the group.

My opinion is that none of the items that the principal and president have met and voted on are valid. It sounds like they've got quite a cozy little arrangement going on. The group does all of the work and they meet privately to make all of the decisions. I can only say that I hope your treasurer has a strong mind and does not release any funds for these invalid allocations.

As for the principal controlling personal communications between members - no, of course not. He has no right to do such a thing. Does he control phone calls? Face to face conversations? No. It seems he just doesn't want anything in writing.

If I were on this team, I would gather the members and with bylaws in hand demand a meeting with the principal and the president. If the president is unable to attend then the VP presides in her absence. I'll bet if she knows that the meeting will go on with our without her she'll find a way to rearrange her schedule.

Well my point of view has been that if we are regulated or not we should operate openly as every one else seems to agree with. The problem is that our principal and president have held closed meetings since the beginning of the school year. Nothing has been voted on. Now we are finding out that funds of close to $20,000.00 were appropriated with their consent alone. All of the other officers and members are outraged as we have been trying to get the president to agree on a meeting since school began. Each time we try to meet, the principal steps in and asks us to change it.

We are also being told that we can not communicate with other members by email unless he approves the email?

CRAZY HUH?

Wow, what a hot topic this issue is lately! Thank you, JHB, for your insight. Even though, as you say, you 'are not an expert' your contributions to the discussion are greatly appreciated.

I agree that open, honest communication is the best practice for parent groups. Like beignets says, it's not about what the law is but what impression you want to leave with your community.

There is also the (federal)RIGHT TO KNOW LAW (google those words for the details), under which public schools fall. I BELIVE these laws are different from the (state) sunshine laws but not 100% sure on that, IANAL.

In any event , regardless of what the books say, if a member wants some info of its parent org, and the org says NO, youve gotta wonder why.

Its just good PR and community to be open. After all, the parents raise or donate the $$$$$, dont you want to work WITH them and not hold secrets becuase 'we dont HAVE to tell you, its not the law'??

Its up to the group to decide what their relationship is with the parent body. And the more infos you give out about your group, the more involved and informed people feel, and chances are you will GET more help and maybe more $$$, you just never know.

Not disclosing stuff beucae you have the 'law' behind you, just raises more questions. It boils down to psychology.