Hi Moved and Shaken,
Take heart - you are certainly not the first to feel this way. Noticed you said people can't really volunteer unless they "kiss up.'' Maybe a different tactic would be to find a particular volunteer job that you know needs to be filled and offer to do it, in other words, offer to help in a specific, concrete way. Also, is there a project you want to do? Can you get a few friends together and present it to the board as something you would like to do on behalf of the PTO? If you don't need money and it doesn't interfere with stuff they already have on the schedule, it would be hard for them to say no. How about a community service project, something simple like collecting items for a local food pantry?
There are times -- and we aren't saying it is the case here -- when the board appears to be a clique when they really aren't. Instead, they are just used to doing things a certain way and have done it that way for a while. No question, it is hard to break in and we feel for you. But, if you try different tactics you might find they will accept and then welcome your help.
Having said this, it's important to remember that this is as much your PTO as it is theirs. If these efforts don't work, how willing are you to up the ante? You can bring your complaints to the principal, or publicly address them at a meeting to get the board to hear what you are saying. They have a big responsibility here to change the clique perception.
Here are a few articles that could be helpful:
How To Deal with Difficult People:
www.ptotoday.com/pto-today-articles/arti...ith-difficult-people
Is Your PTO a Clique?
www.ptotoday.com/pto-today-articles/arti...is-your-pto-a-clique
The Truth About Cliques:http://www.ptotoday.com/pto-today-articles/article/380-the-truth-about-cliques
Good luck,
Rose C.