Nominating Forms
Letter from the PTO President
April 25, 2009
Dear Mark Twain Families,
The ballots are in and we have a new Executive Committee for the PTO board! We are pleased to report that we had unprecedented turn out — over 14 times the turn out as compared to previous years. Of the ballots received, 88% approved the slate, with 12% registering their disapproval. We would like to thank all who participated in the nomination process as well as in the voting.
As outlined in our current by-laws, this year’s nominating committee brought together a slate of nominees, proposed the slate for approval at the PTO Board meeting on April 7th, then presented the slate for voting by the PTO membership at large. The last step in constituting a full PTO board for the next school year will take place at the next PTO meeting on Tuesday, May 5th, when the slate for Directors will be presented for approval by the Board. Please join us at this meeting.
In response to the challenges faced by our school community this past year, the nominating committee strived to serve with great transparency and openness. For four weeks leading up to the nominating period and the election, we posted on the website and sent in red folders information detailing the process, introducing the nominating committee and informing the school community of the job descriptions and responsibilities of each of the PTO positions, both for the Executive Committee as well as the Director positions. The nominating committee’s goals were to increase participation and build consensus, while balancing the need for greater diversity with the need for experience and continuity on the Board.
Though the slate was approved by a clear majority, those who did not approve the slate expressed dissatisfaction with the nominating and election process. These respondents reflected a desire for an open election system that bypasses a nominating committee, suggesting that such a process would lead to greater diversity in representation.
The election process for the PTO board is established in the PTO by-laws. To affect a change in the nominating and election process, the by-laws must be amended. The process for amending the by-laws includes researching best practices followed by other organizations, making a proposal and presenting the proposal to the board for approval. We invite all who are interested in affecting this process to send your suggestions on the attached form to the by-laws re-writing committee. You can send them to or make contact with Alison Bell aabell1@aol.com (713-839-7818) or Wendy Burks wendy.burkes@sbcglobal.net (713-661-9125) so that you may participate in this collaborative process.
Sincerely,
Susana Monteverde Jill Herrera
Chair, Nominating Committee President, PTO
