We are a non-profit esclusively for safe and sober grad night for our high school

[Guest Lorrie]

We are a non-profit exclusively for our safe and sober grad nights for our local high school. We are dying on the vine and our attendance is dropping  by at least a hundred per year. We have no support from parents and the 6 of us on the board basically do all the work and plan 10 months put of the year. We have always put the best interest of the students first. But we want to change and we have the opportunity to do this now. But we have one board member who has a student graduating next year and she want the old way grad night. We have struggled to raise donations and funds for the last 4 years and we are not able to make our budget by at least $10.000 each year so we cut more and more. This year 130 paid 20 did not show and 14 left early as they felt it was lame. We have the opportunity to send the students to Disneyland for the same amount they pay for the old style grad night. We had a meeting last night and with 1600 parents at school 11 showed up. 9 voted Disney. 2 abstained as they did not know enough about old way. So we are having another meeting next week. TWO Board members say they will leave if they do not get the vote they want. WE have parents who want to weigh in on this and change. At what point do the parents have a right to vote? The  STUDENTS WANT Disney So do three of our board members. HELP???

[jstackpo]

An (outsider) parliamentarian would probably first have to read your bylaws to see what sort of rights the general members have (as distinct from how much the Board runs things) in terms of voting, &c.  Also to see how those (threatened) vacancies on your board are filled, if they actually happen.  I'm afraid that "parliamentary procedure" won't do much to help your other problems, unless your meetings have been chaotic and are driving people away.

 

We can't read your bylaws or calm your meetings here but you could ...

Contact either (or both) the ...

National Association of Parliamentarians
213 South Main St.
Independence, MO  64050-3850

Phone: 888-627-2929
Fax: 816-833-3893;  
e-mail: hq@NAP2.org  
<<www.parliamentarians.org>>

or

American Institute of Parliamentarians
618 Church Street, Ste 220
Nashville, TN 37219

phone: 888-664-0428
e-mail: aip@aipparl.org
<< www.aipparl.org >>


for a reference or information.  Both organizations offer training and contacts with local parliamentarians.

[Transpower]

Or you could contact a member of this forum for onsite support.

[Josh Martin]

TWO Board members say they will leave if they do not get the vote they want.

Then if the vote doesn't go the way they want, get the door for them and bid them good riddance. Board members who are going to resign if they don't get their way probably aren't board members you want to have.

At what point do the parents have a right to vote?

I don't know. Are the parents members of the society? Are there ever meetings of the membership of the society?

So do three of our board members. HELP???

If I understand the facts, you have six board members. Three of them are in favor of the motion and two of them are adamantly against it. That leaves one board member unaccounted for. That means he's the deciding vote, so he's the person you need to convince. At this point, this looks like a political problem to me, not a parliamentary one.

If you're unable to convince the last board member, then I suppose we get into more interesting questions of who the general membership consists of, when it meets, if it can get a quorum, the extent of authority the board has, etc.

[Edgar Guest]

Are the parents members of the society? Are there ever meetings of the membership of the society?

 

Apparently there are . . .

 

 We had a meeting last night and with 1600 parents at school 11 showed up. 9 voted Disney. 2 abstained . . . 

[Edgar Guest]

WE have parents who want to weigh in on this  . . .

 

We had a meeting last night and with 1600 parents at school 11 showed up.  9 voted Disney. 2 abstained . . . 

 

So YOU had nine parents who wanted to weigh in on this.

[Josh Martin]

Apparently there are . . .

I don't know that what the OP described was a formal meeting of the members of the society or if it was an informal gathering to hear the opinions of the parents. If it was a formal meeting, and if all of the parents are members of the society, there seems to be serious doubt as to whether a quorum was present.