A 501(c)(30 is an independent entity, so, no, technically they may not have the right to any of those things.
I believe that as a primary stakeholder in the PTO, the school/district has a right (and a responsibility) to have reasonable input in the way the PTO operates. Over time, individual officers come and go, styles of leadership change. In a weak cycle, the school may be the only link of continuity from one year to the next.
That being said, should they be able to control your PTO and dictate how it should be run? No.
My question would be what changes do they want to the bylaws abd why? If they have concerns that something won't work, then that feedback should be considered. Certainly all policies of the school and district should be followed. (If a policy is unreasonable/out of whack - then you need to work to change it.)
If they just want to change things to be petty and show control, then you have a much bigger battle ahead of you.
As far as having a school official on the account... Again, why? It's unusual for a school to make this demand, although many PTO chose to do this as they find it convenient. And other insist on strict separateness. Does the school want some level of control over your accounts? (Not good!) Or have they had a bad experience that is driving this? (I belong to one PTO that has no current officers, $4000 sitting in the bank, and no one in charge of it right now.)
I think the key is to find out what the root concerns are and discover a way to address those. It might be by granting what they want; it might be with a totally different compromise.
We are a new school K-8 with PTO bylaws adopted and filing for 501(c)3. We are trying to work closely with school board and keep them informed of activities planned, suggestions,etc. Does the school board have the right to ammend our bylaws?And do they have a right (other than normal request for audit) to request their signature on our checks? Not trying to make waves with them, just curious and trying to look out for the future. We thought our bylaws were written to be independant of the school board due to a problem in a nearby school. Thanks for any info.
