We have a parent in our school who has a conviction record which curtails his/her rights to be in our school. The prinicpal found out while conducting a criminal background check FOR THE SCHOOL . The PTO does not do any such checks on any member. The prinicpal has spoken with the person in private about the manner (my employment makes me aware by virtue of the type of work I do). The PTO Board is unaware of this person's background. He/she does not participate in PTO, so our principal has not felt the need to come forward and repeat any known information. As far as I am aware, no other parents were made aware of this situation. The principal has kept it very confidential.
On the other hand, we had another parent who was involved in PTO and the principal did speak with the executive board in regard to the matter. (The incidents were a few years apart.) The principal did not judge, he simply made the executive board aware of the situation. Subsequently, the Board made sure this person was not in a position with authority over any monetary amount.
You are all correct that the children are innocent and shouldn't be cast aside for the parents' wrongs, but do you truly believe these children are unaware of the legal problems? Very little escapes them.
As far as a second chance: at what risk are you willing to put your group? do you want to know nothing until it's already gone?
Our PTO is no different than a business. If you were aware of someone's conviction would you allow them to work in that area of responsibility or would you look at giving them a lesser role?
I'm amazed at how many people are up in arms reprimanding the principal without very many facts. I really think that in order to really comment to the situation we need to understand a few more facts about this case. It could still be put into general terms, but not knowing the type of offense in and of itself makes it very difficult for me to know if the principal was doing this out of genuine concern of the PTO or if they were just gossiping. I'm also curious of how the principal would have a copy of the "mug" shot or was it a copy of the probation picture. The Michigan Dept of Corrections posts online a picture, the conviction & the probation order for felony offenders. So the principal may have been providing public information.
If she's denying culpability for what is a public record conviction, I'd be concerned about where she would fit into my organization. On the other hand, if she were up front, I would be more apt to believe she won't be repeating the offense.
I feel more comfortable giving a second chance to my kiddo that confesses to the wrong here at home than my kiddo that is adamant they didn't do it even after they've been caught.
Unfortunately, I have spent too many years helping to lower recidivism rates and it's a true battle. I would like to error on the side where I know the hard earned dollars of the school, perception of our group and safety of our children stays. I wouldn't like to be one of the groups we see so often in the headlines where the rest of the Board is saying, "If we only knew. . ."
in reading some of above posts, if the bylaws included something to the effect of, 'one may not hold any PTOA office if have a XYZ conviciton',,,and 'if charged with XYZ while IN office, you must resign immediately'.
or something to that effect. then people can resign quietly w/o undue publicity in such cases where these things occur. and all rights, incl privacy, are protected. the kids at school and the parents of other children and the person charged.
for the principal to inform PTO of such crimes, IS tanatmount to gossip (gossip being talk of personal, sensational or intimate nature), becuase there is no end to where the hearsay will lead.
volunteers are NOT bound by confidence rules, and we all know human nature dont we. and all about UNcommon sense in the world. telling one parents is like telling all parents. what child desrves THAT??
eaglette is right too "The child is an innocent victim in what is happening and great care should be taken to protect how that child feels. The mom has so much against her already and this will just add to the list of people that do not want her around."
i just want to add , that many schools require background and child abuse checks of all volunteers before theyre allowed contact with kids at school, while other schools have absolutely NO such SCREENS in place.
so it seems , if that was a school where volunteer screens are part of the procedures, then all would have been taken care in best interests of all kids (and the parent alike) w/o the unnecessary publicity by the head of school.
if however, the school has NO screens in place, then yes, the head of school could have, and should have, handled it privately one on one, with the individual.
it doesnt make the atmosphere at the school any better either, when all parents learn how it was handled. so that is the sort of action that can easily backfire to the detriment of all.
so sad for all, based only on whats been reported,and there is always, much much more.
I came back to this board because I was really bothered by the lack of support shown here from the PTA/PTO board in question. The mom is on probation and the crime does need to be taken into account. I would want that for my child and for the other children at the school. Safety is the most important measure. The principle was wrong in the way he handled it. He should have privetly talked to the Board but it was not nec. to show the picture and discuss the probation. He could have simply stated it would be in the best interest of the students not to have her involved and the best interest of the board not to have her in charge of money (if money was an issue). At our school we also host dinners and other activities where someone could be involved without having to deal with the money aspect. Many people with convicitons in their background do not support their children in school activities and it is nice to see that she still wants to be involved in her childs life. The child is an innocent victim in what is happening and great care should be taken to protect how that child feels. The mom has so much against her already and this will just add to the list of people that do not want her around.
proudmomx2 could run a school, IMHO. shes got the right stuff. great post. wonderful thoughts. on the money (no pun intended). thanks for your inputs. hope youre pres of your PTO or school or district already.
Sorry, but I have much less sympathy and milk of human kindness than the rest of you.
She did the right thing by resigning from the presidency. Why would anyone on probation run for that position in the first place? Did she really think her past wouldn't become an issue?
Acting as a volunteer on any committee is perfectly fine, IMHO. Chairing a committee would be problematic. If any discrepacies were to arise, I would be suspicious, which is not the best gut reaction to have when you are trying to resolving problems.
Since we aren't paid to do this job and we can't be 'fired', on the most basic level, we must trust our volunteers and committee chairpeople. Trusting a felon doesn't make sense.
That said, I would not ostricize her or shun her but speak plainly and honestly to her about your reservations. She can either accept the criticism and move forward or not.
