I think you handled it very well. She did speak up, sort of, at the meeting, with her "that's a lot of cookie dough" comment, and you did address all the benefits of going to training. You didn't take any action to prevent her from discussing it further; she just chose not to. Then there was a vote, and, after hearing what both of you said, the members agreed with you. Nothing wrong with that process.

If you all think the training is worthwhile, then going forward I would add a "training" line to your budget.

I am the current Treasurer and in-coming president at our PTO. At our meeting tonight we discussed how our PTO would like to send our board members to the State PTA conference in a few weeks. The total cost to send 5 people would be approx. $850.00 for 3 days two nights and alot of really good workshops. Lodging included.

I was really excited about going and have been planning which sessions I wanted to attend. When it was brought up tonight one member made a single comment of "That's a lot of cookie dough!". (that's our major fund-raiser) I said "yes it sure is" and then went on to 'defend' the reasons for going (our group has never had any training, we want to become a better organization, it is important to stay up on the lastest laws, fundraisers, tax info. etc.)

Then there was some further discusson and we asked the membership if they supported sending us. She didn't vote either way but I could tell she was upset. Our meeting ran longer than normal and people were just "wanting to get out of there". Eventually the vote was passed to send us.

Here's my dilema, she called the president and blew off steam how it was ridiculous to spend that money on training and she could "guarantee" that we wouldn't be getting as much out of it as we said etc. She threatened that she won't be selling any more cookie dough or attending meetings if that's where the money was going.

We currently have a surplus of $18,000 that has to be spent or earmarked before May 31.

I understand her opinion but asked why she didn't speak up. She said it was because the meeting went long and she didn't think anyone else would have "heard" what she said.

Frankly I'm a bit ticked off. I feel it is the responsibility of the adult to speak up if they have a problem. I'm not happy with her threats and feel jipped not being able to address her concerns.

I feel in my heart that the board should attend the conference. We didn't have any training last year and it really showed. Our president quit and our Vice has a driking problem. We have made great improvements but only because myself and the President have worked countless hours (without help from others after asking several times) to make the organization great.

I understand that's how these things work and I'm not complaining about taking on what I do because I CHOOSE to, but it irks me when a parent shows up and acts upset then doesn't have the guts to talk to the group about their gripe.

I told the president we should have just created a budget item called "training" and NOT brought it to the floor.

Is there a better way that could have been handled?