Anyone work full time and on PTA

[niccig]

I knew to avoid a friend. She’s PTA president and asked me to be on the board. I help out at events and have always said to call me if short handed. I’m worried about adding another ball to juggle. I’ve just started to put time into me by eating better and exercising as this is Spring Break, but I may not be able to keep it up next week. I’m always tired, and hoping exercising will help that. I work out of the home 40 hours/week, plus commute, plus work 1-2 Saturdays/month. I usually bring work home. Some weeks I have 10 meetings and 3 reports due so I’ll be doing more work at home. Other weeks, I don’t have meetings, but there’s always prepping for therapy sessions. I don’t control my schedule so I can’t make work lighter one week if I’m busier at home.

I’m worried I will be more stressed if I had more to do. But understand that it’s always the same people running the PTA. That’s not fair either. Friend mentioned a VP position where you don’t coordinate an event but oversee events and step in if they need help. That’s my concern, they’ll need help and it’ll be a week I’m slammed already. Meetings are evening 2x month.


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[baymom]

Ha! I don't know and I'm about to find out! :ROTFLMAO: I was on the PTA board at our elementary school for a few years, then stepped off when I went back to work. I still volunteered at evening and weekend events, but as a helper, not an organizer. I've been working full time for a few years now and have been roped into serving on our middle school PTA board next year. Part of the reason I agreed is that I already know and love the other parents on the board and think it'll be a productive, fun experience. AND, it's as 'historian' so the most light-weight role on the board. I feel like I *do* want to step up my PTA activity and it's a good way to transition. We have 8:30am meetings, unfortunately, so that's hard for me. I guess I'll either call in or just go to work late those days. Are there any less rigorous roles open on the board at your school? It might be a nice way to get your feet wet.

I hear you about being slammed at work and PTA at the same time. I chaired a major festival at school in the fall that we had on a Saturday. It just so happened that DH was traveling that week, I had a huge project due at work on Friday and it was just an unusually hectic week in general. When it rains, it pours, right? But, you just get through it. You just take the next thing that has to be done and do it and then the next and then the next. Like many of us, I feel like there is so much I have to get done every single day that if I don't just throw caution to the wind and commit to things I think I'll enjoy, then the time will be gone. Things have a way of working out--you'll manage and it might be hard but you'll be happy you did it. So no real BTDT insight, but just encouragement to go for it, if you think that you'll enjoy the experience.

[JBaxter]

The ones who run the PTA seem to be at our school all the time. It seems if they don't get volunteers they are there handling things. Even when I was home full time I wouldn't get into that deal. Good luck.

[robinsmommy]

I would try to provide what support you can in other ways, as you have done. PTA positions are, as other PP's have said in other words, often jobs that end up with an increasing load of duties that weren't on the original job description. A good, dependable volunteer is better to me than someone who gets burned out and frustrated being overloaded. And yes, you will end up helping out with events, because they will be short handed at some point.

I think baymom had some good points about working with people you trust and enjoy working with - do you really think you would enjoy working with the the people on board, or just do it out of duty or obligation?

[jgenie]

The ones who run the PTA seem to be at our school all the time. It seems if they don't get volunteers they are there handling things. Even when I was home full time I wouldn't get into that deal. Good luck.

This! I’m a SAHM and am happy to volunteer across the board with various activities. I have absolutely no desire to run anything. The idea of managing all the people and attitudes that come with the jobs are a total no go for me.


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[PZMommy]

I think it depends. I was on the board twice. Once as a Vice President when my DS attended the school I worked at, and then another time I was the teacher rep. Both times it was at the school I currently worked at. I clearly could not volunteer to do anything during school hours as I was teaching. The after school time was not too bad.

I would love to be on the PTA at my kids’ current school. However they only hold meeting at 8:30 in the morning, so working parents are unable to participate. I complain about this every year, and they would have much better parent involvement if they held at least some of the meetings in early evening.

[Snow mom]

I SAH and am the co-treasurer of the PTO but many members of our board WOH FT. Both our presidents do (one as a teacher so she can never do or attend anything during school hours), one VP owns her own business, the other works PT, and my co is a real estate agent. No matter what you do there are really never enough hours in the day. My PTO gig is pretty time consuming, although it fluctuates depending on what events are going on. I don't serve on any committees although I do pitch in a hand on some things that are outside my scope as treasurer. My experience is that while many hands make light work, there is a hesitation to get involved in the PTO because people fear they will be called on to do more than they feel they can. We are _always_ short volunteers and it's the same cast of characters that do/participate in most things. If more people would participate at the level they are able to it would be awesome and I think it would provide a positive feedback loop of not needing to call on people to do more than they really feel comfortable with and more people stepping forward knowing that it wasn't a never ending volunteer contract. It is absolutely possible to be on the board and say no when you need to. I say no to a lot but you have to be willing to let things that go unfilled go rather than feel like you need to step into every vacant role. Sometimes letting things remain vacant is the only way you get someone else to step forward and take on a role.

[gatorsmom]

This! I’m a SAHM and am happy to volunteer across the board with various activities. I have absolutely no desire to run anything. The idea of managing all the people and attitudes that come with the jobs are a total no go for me.


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This has always been my viewpoint. I’m happy to help but no way in he11 will I be in charge. For the last 4 years one lady has been in charge and she gets plenty of volunteers but still- the buck stops at her. She’s been begging for someone to take her place for the last 2 years. Well finally this year she said it’s her last. She’s quitting and if no one steps up; then there won’t be a parent-teacher group. We are 2 months away from the end of the school year and NO ONE has offered to take over. So finally one mom begged me to help her run it. I offered to co-lead the group with 2–3 other moms. There’s no way I can be at all the events and be responsible for it. We drummed up 6 other moms willing to step in and co-lead so now we have divided the job up into 4 focused jobs. I think this way it will be more manageable. I already made it clear that I am for more simplified activities and getting down to basics. Some of these ladies see Pinterest ideas and go nuts. And that’s fine for them if they have the time. Just don’t expect us all to jump on your wagon of time-consuming, fluff projects.

Nicci, if I were you, given all the responsibilities you already have, I would ask to see a list of duties they expect from you before you take the job. I’d want to know what I absolutely have to do. And then I’d decide what I can do and stick to that. Maybe if you make it clear you won’t be available for a lot of their projects they will rescind the offer! Off the hook!

[sdjeppa]

Yes, I do. I started in a very limited role, and am currently finishing up my second year as president (I did t want to, but there were extenuating circumstances as to why I filled in.) we also have the problem of the same people running everything. Most of our board works FT or at least PT. There are a lot of positions that don’t take much time, or can be done at home.

Even though stressful at times, I love being involved. However, i work less hours than you do, so that would be an issue. I would see if there’s a position that requires less time, such as historian, or parliamentarian, just so you can see how it works out.

[Kindra178]

I work full time with some flexibility to location. I prefer to run things on behalf of the pto. It’s so much easier to oversee than to actually work at something. I don’t have a position currently but have held positions in the past. I currently run one lunch every month. There are times I miss due to work, but my team can handle.



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[Dayzy]

Every single member of out HSA board (PTA for Catholic Schools) is employed full time. Events are run by a parent who volunteers to chair and other parents who pitch in. I chair an event and the Box Tops. My friend chairs Trunk or Treat. Another friend chairs the school dances. We have a volunteer sign up website.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Each school is very different. We don’t have a system where it’s expected that anyone will help during school hours. 90% of the members of our parent group work full time.
I much prefer to run things. I’ve run every event our parent group sponsors at least once. I oversee all the committees.
I’ve learned that if there isn’t enough man power then the event needs to go. And I’m good at actually figuring out if people are committed and useful or just flakes. I had a whole crew raise their hands to take over one of my big committees and through a quick survey I found that none of them had the time or interest to do what really was entailed to lead. That event isn’t happening this year.


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[kdeunc]

I am currently our elementary PTA Vice President. I have been President or Vice President since 2009. Currently I am working 2 part time jobs for a total of 50 hours a week but I am not tied to an office. Our board meets once a month in the evening and we are a mix of SAHM, Work Full time moms and work part time moms. Over the past several years we have cultivated a good volunteer base which helps with the load for the board members.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

I am currently our elementary PTA Vice President. I have been President or Vice President since 2009. Currently I am working 2 part time jobs for a total of 50 hours a week but I am not tied to an office. Our board meets once a month in the evening and we are a mix of SAHM, Work Full time moms and work part time moms. Over the past several years we have cultivated a good volunteer base which helps with the load for the board members.

I am jealous u have this in your school. I think the bolded is CRITICAL and why , never in a million years will join the PTA of my school. I know it is SO MUCH WORK because you have like 1% of the parents doing 99% of the work. The vast majority of people do not volunteer AT ALL, which makes things frustrating and difficult.

I know the PTA President at our school and she is a SAHM and I'm SURE that she is putting 50+ hours of week in the position (and she has 1 kiddo not in school yet that she often has to schlep around! I don't know how she does it, she is amazing). There are other people who have been President or VP or some other major role and have done it 2 years in a row bc there's just not that many people involved. 90% of our PTA are SAHMs, decently well-off, that can afford to put their own time/money into helping out (so grateful for them, bc if weren't for them, NOTHING would get done. NOTHING). I go to some PTA events but I can't make it to most bc I'm busy with work and kids activities.

Anyway, I'm sure it depends on the dynamics of kids school, but at our school, there are just not nearly enough people involved and volunteering. :( If 1/3 of people would just help for 1 hour once per month it would be a TOTALLY different story. But most people never do and it's the same people (PTA officers, ALL women, mostly SAHMs) doing 95% of the work. Dads here do not volunteer much at all, which I'm sure is big part of the problem (it's very old-school mentality here, Dads time as seen as "too valuable" to do something like clean up after an event or cook/bring food for an event).

we recently had a dinner/taco night for teachers who were staying late after school for a training. Everything (food, forks, etc) was to be donated by parents. Signup genius went around and most things weren't signed up for, and the same ~5 ppl on PTA had signed up to bring most of the critical items (tortillas, cheese, etc). this is for a dinner supposed to feed 50 adults! I felt bad, I made DH go and get a lot of the food items to donate from the grocery store. The PTA president was the one having cooking 5lbs+ of taco meat for it and she was also schlepping stuff around and getting it all set up..same thing with book fairs and other events She is literally at the school every single day and in the evenings too when we have events. I don't think I could do it even as a SAHM.

I do also think a lot of it is that we are a Title I school where 35% of kids are on free/reduced lunch, and for many of them there is language barrier or don't have money /time to give. But a good portion of folks are decently well-off and just not involved at all. Signup geniuses always are being circulated around on social media and it's always the same few folks (mostly PTA officers) signed upo bring/do everything, out of a school of 500 kids. because of that I don't think I would do the PTA bc as PP mentioned, would end up taking all the slack and that is just one other thing to juggle on top of working. so for me, I prefer to stay on the sidelines and volunteer when it is needed, donating food items and cleaning up after events as they come up. I'm very jealous of those who are have a ton of volunteers that include working parents and dads. Here, nothing is tailored for working parent volunteers but then it kinda makes sense bc the only people who actually end up helping are SAHMs.

so for me, the 2 mtgs a month would not be an issue, the issue would be having to pick up all the slack so that events don't fall apart. our school does an event nearly every week.

[vonfirmath]

I knew to avoid a friend. She’s PTA president and asked me to be on the board. I help out at events and have always said to call me if short handed. I’m worried about adding another ball to juggle. I’ve just started to put time into me by eating better and exercising as this is Spring Break, but I may not be able to keep it up next week. I’m always tired, and hoping exercising will help that. I work out of the home 40 hours/week, plus commute, plus work 1-2 Saturdays/month. I usually bring work home. Some weeks I have 10 meetings and 3 reports due so I’ll be doing more work at home. Other weeks, I don’t have meetings, but there’s always prepping for therapy sessions. I don’t control my schedule so I can’t make work lighter one week if I’m busier at home.

I’m worried I will be more stressed if I had more to do. But understand that it’s always the same people running the PTA. That’s not fair either. Friend mentioned a VP position where you don’t coordinate an event but oversee events and step in if they need help. That’s my concern, they’ll need help and it’ll be a week I’m slammed already. Meetings are evening 2x month.


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I did it one year then said I would not be back. There was one board meet a month, one PTA meeting a month, plus the expectation you are there for all the PTA events. And there were still the regular school run events I needed to go to as well. It was too much and I ended up feeling resentful that the other parents were not stepping up and participating more. Honestly--I'd have been fine with most of the stuff we did not happening. I didn't want to be there and we have not gone to most of the events after I left the board. We'd rather spend our time in other ways than being at the school MORE.

[HannaAddict]

I think it depends. I was on the board twice. Once as a Vice President when my DS attended the school I worked at, and then another time I was the teacher rep. Both times it was at the school I currently worked at. I clearly could not volunteer to do anything during school hours as I was teaching. The after school time was not too bad.

I would love to be on the PTA at my kids’ current school. However they only hold meeting at 8:30 in the morning, so working parents are unable to participate. I complain about this every year, and they would have much better parent involvement if they held at least some of the meetings in early evening.

Our parents that work want the mornings right at drop off vs evening, as in every single survey turned in for our parent association and the actual board of trustees!


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[niccig]

ms.pacman[emoji813]]

so for me, the 2 mtgs a month would not be an issue, the issue would be having to pick up all the slack so that events don't fall apart. our school does an event nearly every week.

I think this is what scares off people that could volunteer some, but can’t do all the hours needed. You’re scared no one else will help, so you’ll have to find all that extra time, and there’s only so many hours in the day.

I’m willing to help, but they want someone to run the back to school night. It’s typically held week before school starts, but my school is already in session so I’ll be at work until 4 and event starts at 5. To take a day off work, I have to reschedule 15-18 students and somehow find time in my already jam-packed schedule to see them that week. If I have an IEP meeting, I must be there under federal law, and I don’t schedule any of those meetings, I’m at mercy of my assistant principal. So I start hyperventilating at trying to figure out my work’s legal requirements and how help at an event. I can be there and man a booth, help clean up, but I can’t be there during work hours. I try to not take sick days as I don’t get a sub, I have to make-up any missed therapy sessions, but there’s no time for make ups, so I keep days off for when DS is sick and split the day with DH. PTA event is way down the list


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[SnuggleBuggles]

I think this is what scares off people that could volunteer some, but can’t do all the hours needed. You’re scared no one else will help, so you’ll have to find all that extra time, and there’s only so many hours in the day.

I’m willing to help, but they want someone to run the back to school night. It’s typically held week before school starts, but my school is already in session so I’ll be at work until 4 and event starts at 5. To take a day off work, I have to reschedule 15-18 students and somehow find time in my already jam-packed schedule to see them that week. If I have an IEP meeting, I must be there under federal law, and I don’t schedule any of those meetings, I’m at mercy of my assistant principal. So I start hyperventilating at trying to figure out my work’s legal requirements and how help at an event. I can be there and man a booth, help clean up, but I can’t be there during work hours. I try to not take sick days as I don’t get a sub, I have to make-up any missed therapy sessions, but there’s no time for make ups, so I keep days off for when DS is sick and split the day with DH. PTA event is way down the list


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You just say no and take the time now to line up a replacement. How do you recruit volunteers at school? We have a section in the school’s weekly e-blast, our own Facebook group and use our room parents. Between those- and a well written job description- I can almost always find enough people to fill my volunteer needs. You just need one go getter. Do you have someone you can directly ask? I see no reason why the person would need to be a PTO officer (and I’d make that clear to everyone- enthusiastic volunteers should always be welcome even if they don’t have a title). Maybe there’s someone who wants to be more involved but shares your reluctance. They might want to do this piece and nothing else. You have plenty of time to find solutions to things you know you won’t easily be able to help with. :)


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[AnnieW625]

I am not involved in pto at our school, but I did sit on the board of my local Junior League and was executive secretary a few years back (which I volunteered for) and it was way more work than I thought it was going to be; I actually thought the president had an easier job because she could delegate more.

If it were me I would take the position if it were a position that I knew all those volunteer positions were going to be always filled and all you needed to do was over see it. I would ask for schedule of school events first. I would probably tip toe into this and see how much you can do and then think about a board of some sort when your DS is in high school in two years. At least in high school you volunteer where your kids larger interest area lays.

Imho if you are sitting on a board you have to have a passion for what you are volunteering for.

Good luck!


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[doberbrat]

I think this is what scares off people that could volunteer some, but can’t do all the hours needed. You’re scared no one else will help, so you’ll have to find all that extra time, and there’s only so many hours in the day.

I’m willing to help, but they want someone to run the back to school night. It’s typically held week before school starts, but my school is already in session so I’ll be at work until 4 and event starts at 5. To take a day off work, I have to reschedule 15-18 students and somehow find time in my already jam-packed schedule to see them that week. If I have an IEP meeting, I must be there under federal law, and I don’t schedule any of those meetings, I’m at mercy of my assistant principal. So I start hyperventilating at trying to figure out my work’s legal requirements and how help at an event. I can be there and man a booth, help clean up, but I can’t be there during work hours. I try to not take sick days as I don’t get a sub, I have to make-up any missed therapy sessions, but there’s no time for make ups, so I keep days off for when DS is sick and split the day with DH. PTA event is way down the list


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I think yuo just have to say, Oh, I wish I could but my schedule doesnt work with it right now. Let me help you with X event instead.

I wouldnt take a volunteer position knowing you have to take time off from work unless its a huge passion or you have very flexible hours.

[mikala]

I think yuo just have to say, Oh, I wish I could but my schedule doesnt work with it right now. Let me help you with X event instead.

I wouldnt take a volunteer position knowing you have to take time off from work unless its a huge passion or you have very flexible hours.This. The back to school event just doesn't sound like a good fit for your schedule at all. You know it's a busy time of year for you and frankly I feel like your job working in the public schools helps way more children and teachers than your volunteer pta role would and you have less flexibility than many working in the private sector. I'd focus your attention on rocking your (still relatively new to you, if IIRC) job.

I'd turn it down, suggest someone else if you know of anyone, and offer to help in another role or event in a way that better fits your schedule.

[janeybwild]

Unless this is something you really want to do, and are willing to make changes in your schedule to let it happen, it just doesn’t sound like a good fit. I understand wanting to pull your weight and do your part but there are plenty of ways to contribute that do not include a board position. If you’re pushed you could offer to chair a specific event that would have a better time frame and a defined role and timeframe. I wouldn’t phrase this that you wish you could do if you had the time, that’s a good way to get talked into it. I would say thanks for thinking of me, it’s flattering, but I’m not able to take that role. How can I help in another way. Good luck!

[citymama]

I work full-time and am on the PTA Board. I also travel a ton for work. It ain't easy! Most of the other Board members also work full-time. What's more, DH is on the elementary school PTA Board and also works FT so between us one of us is going to a PTA Board or general meeting almost every week. Middle and high school PTA is a much lighter load than elementary IME - it might be different in your school district but we have a lot less parent-led activities at the middle school stage and parents are more tuned in to just writing that check or bringing the dish in for the potluck than in elementary when it's a heavy lift.

[KpbS]

Just say no, but very politely. ;)

Thank you so much for thinking of me for this position! Unfortunately, I will not be able to assume this role for the 2018/19 school year. I do look forward to helping in other capacities as my schedule permits.
Thank you,
Nicci