Karlyn, As a VP soon to be P, I think it is the responsibility of the VP first and the other officers second to try to find out what the President thinks his/her job is. Besides the bylaws, what else are they supposed to do and are they doing it?
I've been extremely fortunate to have a President who is very motivated, smart and full of terrific ideas (shame she has to move away ).
A private one on one may be all that is necessary to put things on the right track.

Hi,
I am sorry to hear about the VP, however with our PTO we are in a similar situation only its the Pres. Any suggestions on how to get the President involved.
Our Pres. doesn't come to any of the funtions that are fund raisers until the last minute, as though to say I made an appearance, will have the school principles approve things with out bringing it to the board first, or without getting any other approval(not following the guidelines), as well as likes to delgate duties to the secretary. Why the secretary you ask, my guess is due to the fact that the secretary is an individual who will not say "no" for fear the children will miss out on something. We need help with getting this president to follow proticol. What is really bothersome is the fact that this individual has been involved with the PTO for several years and she did agree to be the PResident and knew the duties of the president. Help does anyone have Any suggestions??

Thanks for the advice and support from PTO Mom & Dad and PTOPres03! The assignment I gave our VP was pretty important, something that could make a significant difference in effective communicating with parents. It was critical to the organizations reputation. The vp's lack of ocmmitment and follow thru did not go unnoticed by the staff. I've since completed the project myself. I like the idea of giving out minor assignments. If they're comleted, that person can have a sense of accomplishment, if not, they'll have to explain themselves at meetings. I had just hoped my vp would function truly as my right hand person -- supportive, assertive, capable of taking on projects willingly and seeing them through. Oh well. Fortunately I have a great secretary who takes initiative, contributes ideas and follows through on them and is a true support system. I'm hoping that the vp will find her niche SOON and I can lighten my load a bit and stop driving my husband crazy with all my whining!!! This forum is a nice, cheap alternative to therapy!!!! Thanks again Ladies for your advice!

I certainly sympathize with the experiences you are talking about. I witnessed a similar situation last year (not with the vp but another officer). Last year's president finally quit covering up for the non-performer. In meetings, the president would make assignments and get agreement from each person that they would take on the assignment, then expect them to follow through. When the president asked for updates at following meetings, she just let the person who "couldn't get around to it", was "just too busy", etc. give her excuses in front of everyone. When the assignment didn't get done, the officer gave more excuses, but no one was buying it. Luckily, the president had the foresight not to give that officer an assignment that messed everything else up -- but the assignment never did get done, and no one asked that person to carry over to this year (thank goodness). Sometimes you just have to let people be responsible for themselves and take the heat when they aren't, I guess.

Dear LAH,

I'm curious. What is the assignment that your VP has not followed through with? Is it critical to your organization?

I can sympathize somewhat. I'm the president and we have 2 vice-presidents. One is primarily responsible for publicity and the other for programs and committee work. I've been getting the "I'm overwhelmed" thing from them too. It's not with PTO they are overwhelmed. It's work and stressful marriages and moving and etc., etc., etc. Anyway, guess who has been handling their jobs! So far it's been manageable but I feel so guilty everytime I ask them to do something. I'm tired of the "poor me pity parties". They usually will do something but I feel like I'm doing a lot of hand-holding and guiding to make it happen. Who knows? Maybe that's part of our role as leaders, to empower these adults. Thanks for letting me share some frustration!

Crazyldy, I'm curious, whatever happened with your V.P.? I am having a similar problem. We're just a little over two months into the school year, and my V.P. has yet to complete the one project I asked her to do, which should have been completed in two weeks. This is my first year as president and so far, I've been handling all the responsibilities I had as v.p. for the past two years and the pres. responsibilities. The V.P. showed up at our most recent meeting, dejected, near tears, claiming she's overwhelmed (by what? she hasn't done anything in two months!), but even worse, she questioned the validity of this project which was my suggestion and could make a significant difference in effectively communicating with parents. She showed zero support and respect for me. Yes, mission control we have a problem! Thanks goodness only three non board member parents were at the meeting. Her performance as victim, however, did not go unnoticed by the board or the three additional parents. Since the meeting, I've had a meeting with the principal, who sits on the board. She was very concerned about what she witnessed, but has been my greatest support through this bizaare soap opera. She meets with the v.p. next week, and we'll see what comes of it. So Crazyldy, if you're still out there somewhere, tell me, do you still have your v.p. problem and if not, how did you resolve it? Thanks.