we are really struggleing with this too. the elections are coming up and no one is signing on. the pres. isnt doing so good so we are in hopes of getting someone else to fill that spot next year, but the question is who? then our secretary has only been to 2 meetings the entire year. the tresurer jsut went back to school so she cant handle all the work of the tresurer for next year, and no one wnats that spot either... I am doing fundraising this year and am the only one that wants the same postion next year. (you can hold one office for 2 years) I had no idea that there was some kind of installation cememony though. the way I got on the board for this year is that in nov. somone called and said hey you wanna do fundraiseing? I said what? you dotn have someone already? sure i will. then I found out that our board was not voted in yet, so I got voted in, in Nov.! our board is a bit of a mess.
We just revised our by-laws to state that if no one wants to take over a certain position, than that current officer can keep the position if they are willing & the group is willing for that person to continue.
Do same people hold office next year if no one wants the positions? We do this at our school just so that there will be someone getting the ball rolling until someone takes office. I was wondering if anyone else does this.
We have a Board with 10 positions. Of the years I've been here (3), we've never had any parents fighting over taking a position, but we also haven't had any positions remain vacant. This year, as President, I've spent a good amount of time just talking to people. We've increased the number of meeting attendees this year in part because we are a fun group and I've spent a lot of time just asking people to come. Many people just need to feel wanted and welcomed. Our meetings are open and we allow comments from anyone. It's semi-tightly run along Roberts Rules of Order but it's really open to ideas and comments - good and bad. So when elections roll around, people usually realize they are needed and they can have a say in what goes on. So they volunteer. We also do a lot of social activities (we're in a very small town) so a lot of the newer people gradually get more familiar with the more established group. It was cliquish when I arrived but it doesn't seem that way now. We do a lot for the school and our parents support the PTO heavily at functions where we need volunteers, even if they don't regularly attend meetings.
Elections is a difficult time for our group. We don't exactly have parents jumping for seats on the board. We send out a flyer letting people know seats on the board are open and leave an area people can fill out if they are interested. We recieved 0 (zero) last year. Our school has a volunteer luncheon and we recruited members during the luncheon (I know how that sounds, but oh well!) Anyway, Election time is right around the corner--we'll be announcing the upcoming elections next month! Good luck to you all, and if you happen to discover the secret to filling board positions, please share!!!!
Funny you should mention that. Right now we are looking for 3 people to fill positions for next year, including President. My current position puts me in charge of the installation ceremony. I'm being optimistic that the postions will be filled.
