childrenfirst;133230 wrote: New to this thing but...
Just by reading many of these messages I see that there is a lot of egos at work. The purpose of the PTO at our HS has always been to put the children first and we have found that the Principal of our school is at the pulse of the needs of our school. When there is a need from a teacher, staff, or parent they will always contact the Principal. Then it is passed on to our PTO. To think that you know the needs of the school more than someone that is there everyday including many weekends is quite presumptuous. Once again putting egos aside who is really benefiting from having an independent organization. If there is a harmonious setting then there is no need for it. I have seen the PTO work both ways and if the school has a solid volunteer basis then it will work either way with a president or committees. Just remember why we are there. It is to support not to divide. Good luck

Children First

IMO, an independent group is the only way to truly give parents a voice.

A parent group typically funds things that are a)over and above the school budget, such as playgrounds, additional computers, additional classroom resources, supplemental landscaping, supplemental field trip funds; b) small details that fall by the wayside when staff gets ' too busy', such as prizes for academic incentives; and c) social, community-building events that the school often can't use its funds for.

A principal should have enough going on where also being in charge of these types of things could be excessive.

I don't know if I was included in the 'lot of egos,' but in my case, the exact opposite is true. We are striving to clearly define roles and set up systems so that the group will continue to work as long as willing and competent leaders step up and replace those who must leave. The new leaders should have a really good idea of what they need to do, without shaking everything up and starting from scratch.

Our group has a system where any member -- parents, faculty, and support staff, can request the PTO make any kind of purchase. The requests are first run by the principal who may deem it inappropriate, then by the executive board who decides to either bring it to the next meeting or hold it. They may need more research before bringing it to the meeting. The request becomes part of the permanent record of the group, and will never leave the system unless withdrawn by the original member. Once the idea is brought to a meeting, the idea is assigned a priority, and when its turn comes up and the funds are available, it is purchased.

I do not agree with the idea that the principal inherently knows what will be best for the school. No single person should define what is best, which is why there should be discussion.

People (parents and teachers) are often intimidated by the thought of bringing new ideas to a principal. Using the PTO channel is less intimidating, we hope.

Before our PTO was established, we would have votes at meeting regarding where dollars should go. The principal would usually hold to those, but she strayed from them often enough where I started to feel like the group's opinion was not really taken seriously.

Thanks mymichele, I did misunderstand that.

PresidentJim

We just did directors this year. Wow it worked out wonderful(and I was the one who was like no way will this work!)! Now we are giving each director an area over..like over the auction fundraiser or parent/teacher relations. We have 10 directors and each one is doing an area they truly love...this works for our shcool..however it might not work for others...it all depends on the board's dynamics and the school. However the returning directors have final say on issues that cannot be resolved and each officer does only two years.

Hope this helps.

Pres. Jim,
I think Children first said "had the right use of the hard earned money" not "had the right to use the hard earned money." Just to point out the difference. Interesting discussion.

childrenfirst,

I hope you do come back to read this. My point of view, which again does not make it ultimately correct, is that there are certain things that a town should be responsible for while other things a PTO group should/can get involved in. A new school roof would definitely be in the first category, IMO.

Also when you state that "The principal would definitely have the right to use the hard earned money", well that is the point of this discussion. With a dependant group you are correct, he can do whatever he wants. With most independant groups, depending on their Bylaws, that is not the case. The Principal would not have control of the funds, the board would. If the Principal wanted something he would have to come to us to request it, and if the majority of the board felt that the request was important enough it would be voted upon and agreed to. But in this way all other issues are taken into account, such as events that are coming up, like parties, the 4th grade breakfast, BINGO nights, Field Day, etc.

Let me ask a question to help us understand your group's set up. What kind of events and enrichment programs does your PTO run throughout the year?

In closing I do want to reinterate that no one here believes that there is only one way to do things. And what works at one school may not be the best for another. What I feel is the best way of doing things may not be the best for your group or for your school, it's just how I feel for the reasons that I have explained. I believe that I did a pretty good job of clarifying all of my points with IMO, which a hoped would not come across as disagreeable.

As CrewChief said, I too hope that you continue to visit the boards and bring your unique perspective to the conversations.

CrewChief, elliquint as always!

PresidentJim

childrenfirst - the majority of posters on these message boards are open minded and are glad to hear and discuss differing opinions. It's how we grow and learn.

Of course, the number one rule is to 'play nice'. So while we may disagree, we don't have to be disagreeable.

I hope you continue to visit the boards and bring your unique perspective to the conversations.

It seems from your posts that you feel the principal should have ultimate authority over the parent group. That's fine. It's a successful setup for many parent groups.

I guess for me it boils down to any group asking themselves a few questions:

Does this system work for us?

Is it the best way to enhance the learning environtment?

Is our purpose what we currently choose for it to be or is it because "it's always been that way"?

If someone comes in here and finds their horizons expanded and can go back and do more and be better then that's fantastic. If, instead, they come in here and find the grass really isn't greener on the other side and reinforces that they have an ideal system, that's terrific too.