Our by-laws and pto have little principal input--- the principal is on the board, but so are 9 other parents and we are majority rules-- when we review the bylaws and want to make changes-- we form a by-law committee-- write the changes that we want to make, put them out to review with the pto as a whole for a month and then come back the following month and vote them in or out as a whole.-- any questions, should come out in the first month when you pass them out for review. We are run as an individual group--- so the school and principal have only so much input into what we are doing--
The one thing we try and do, is not have a fundraiser when the school is having one as much as possible-- and try not to do the same things....
Perhaps you just need new ideas. Have you thought of a carnival or a basket raffle? Perhaps we can help you come up with something brand new. You may feel like you will overwelm the school this year, but could you set your fundraisers for next year now so you won't have this problem in the furture? It may take a few years, but usually all the clubs will just stick to one or two ideas year after year.
How much control the principal has changes from group to group. Whenever my last group's bylaws were amended, we had to submit the draft to the principal, superintendent and school board members for review. Each of them had the right to weigh in on any proposed changes and alter them as they saw fit. However, once the were fully amended and voted on, they were followed.
Regarding the fundraisers, I think that's a common problem. I once had a fellow board member who was also a boy scout leader. Every time I proposed a new fundraiser or project she'd say, "Mmm, no, I'm going to do that with my scouts..." No, she wasn't. She was just stealing everyone else's ideas. I finally said, with eyes rolling and sarcasm dripping, "I guess the trick is to find out everything the boy scouts have planned for the year and do something different." She got the message...
But really, whatever size school or town you're in, you're going to be competing with other fundraising groups. Since you're the new kids on the block, it's going to be tricky finding something unique. There are lots of great fundraising ideas here on the boards.
One school specific fundraiser is Boxtops for Education. And it isn't too late to meet their February submission date. But you'll need to jump on it pretty quick!
Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same."
"The ultimate aim of karate lies not in victory or defeat but in the true perfection of one's character."
I am a newly elected PTO board member of my childrens charter school and am running into problems already. What I need to know is how much involvement should the principal have in the PTO and the changing of the ways the by-laws have been written and worded? I have also noticed that at our informational meeting for the PTO, several ideas were mentioned as fundraisers, since the PTO wasn't fully formed yet....other clubs in the school have "ran" with the ideas. As doing that, we are limited on our fundraisers now so as not to overwhelm the school with so many fundraisers in the next few months.
Am I being overly sensitive to the issues described?:confused:
