According to our by-laws a person would have to attend at least half of our general membership meetings and be a member in good standing (ie: paid dues and helped out at least one event). From our sign in sheets we gather the names of eligible members and send them a letter to let them know they are eligible. We take nominations at our April meeting and voting is done in May. Normally there is no need for a vote because only one person wants a position...but as a formality we have to leave a place for a write-in on the voting ballot. A few years back we had a nasty election with our former President recruiting everybody and their Uncle (no pun intended) to join at the last minute and vote for her...she even allowed "absentee ballots" and allowed husbands and wives to have two votes (we had never seen those husbands before that night or after). After that election the membership was outraged by what had taken place and prompt by-law changes were made to avoid this type of situation again...funny thing about it though is at every meeting after the former Prez being elected, she would announce ...well you know this is my third year being President and I'm not going to do it again so if your interested let me know!!!
This is my first year as President, and I MADE our group have a nominating committee. We had 3 people (one board member and 2 general members)in the committee. We divided our list of PTO members up into 3 and each Nom. committee member called the members on their list, informed them what offices needed filled and gave a job description of each position.
We don't vote until April, but I am happy to report that we have at least one volunteer/nominee for each of our 6 positions, and actually have to VOTE on 2 positions. I was told that this is the first time this has ever happened, which makes me very happy! LOL
I have to put together our nominating form this year for the PTO. Can anyone send me a copy of the form they use so I don't have to reinvent the wheel? This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
We have nominations prior to the meeting, anyone can approach the nominating committee. Also, the day of elections, anyone can nominate themself to run during open nominations.
I have been a President for 3 years now (at two different schools) and have found our very best resources for finding good officers is the teaching staff. Ask teachers for the names of parents that have been involved in their child's classroom activities and has shown genuine interest in the school. Approach these parent's with the teacher's recommendation to back you up...they will be flattered. You have an excellent chance they will be good choices because they have already proven they are responsible and caring in the eyes of the teacher. Even if they do not accept because of prior commitments, etc., go ahead and ask them to consider volunteering for other committees. This is a perfect chance to let them know that involved parent's like them are what your school needs!
