In my high school PTA, we had a Vice President of the Junior Wall of Fame.
Yep, that was a real officer title.
(And honestly, one of my favorites- I held the position twice!)
The Junior Wall of Fame was a recognition program for members of the junior class.
Family, community members, and students in the junior or senior class could nominate someone, and the nomination had to be for something other than academics.
That meant kids who weren’t necessarily at the top of the honor roll finally got recognized for everything else they brought to the table.
Service, sports, the arts, a part-time job, stepping up for their family… all the stuff a report card never shows.
The program mattered a lot to our PTO.
So we didn’t tuck it under “other duties as assigned” for some random board member.We gave it a dedicated officer to lead it.
And that’s exactly why I want to talk about the vice president role.
In a lot of PTOs, it’s the fuzziest, most undefined seat at the table… and it really doesn’t have to be.
What Does a PTO Vice President Do?
A PTO vice president is an executive board officer who supports the PTO president, steps in to run meetings when the president can’t, and takes ownership of specific areas of the PTO’s work.
Exactly what that area is depends on your group.
In some PTOs, the VP is the president’s right hand and future replacement.
In others, the VP runs fundraising, family events, communications, or a signature program like our Junior Wall of Fame.
The baseline duties look pretty similar no matter how the role is set up:
- Attend executive board meetings and general membership meetings.
- Contribute ideas and input when the board makes decisions.
- Handle tasks the president delegates throughout the year.
- Run PTO meetings and represent the PTO when the president is absent.
- Be a positive ambassador for the PTO and the school.
Everything beyond that is where your PTO gets to make some choices.
Why the Vice President Role Is So Often Undefined in PTOs
Unlike PTAs, PTOs aren’t part of a larger umbrella organization.
There’s no state or national office handing you bylaws that spell out what every officer does.
That independence is a huge plus.
It means your PTO gets to build a leadership structure that fits your school, your families, and your actual workload.
But it also means nobody does it for you.
A lot of PTOs end up with a vice president line in the bylaws that says something like “assist the president” and… that’s it.
Then a well-meaning volunteer gets elected, shows up to meetings, and spends the year wondering what they’re actually supposed to be doing.
(Not fun for them, and kind of a waste of a perfectly good leader.)
It usually takes one person to look around and say, “Hey, what if we gave this role some real shape?”
That person could totally be you.
And just because your PTO has always had one general VP doesn’t mean it has to stay that way.
Now is a great time to get more specific, or even split the role into several VP positions.
Common PTO Vice President Roles
If you’re rethinking the Vice President role, these are the setups I see most often.
You can pick one, combine a couple, or create several VP seats depending on what your PTO needs.
For a look at how they fit into the bigger picture, check out the must have positions every PTO needs.
The President’s Shadow
This is the classic version.
The vice president works alongside the president to learn how the PTO runs from the inside.
They sit in on planning conversations, handle tasks the president hands off throughout the year, and get a front row seat to how decisions get made.
Some PTOs make it official by writing into their bylaws that the VP moves into the president role the following year.
It’s basically an apprenticeship.
And it makes the handoff between presidents so much smoother.
Vice President of Fundraising (or Ways and Means)
Fundraising is one of the biggest jobs in any PTO, so it makes sense to give it a dedicated officer.
A VP of Fundraising, sometimes called VP of Ways and Means, oversees the fundraising calendar, supports the chairs running
individual fundraisers, and reports back to the board on how things went.
If this is your seat, the free Fundraising Quick Start Guide is a great place to start.
Vice President of Family Events
Family events are often the heart of a PTO.
They’re how families connect with each other and with the school.
A VP of Family Events keeps an eye on the whole events calendar, supports each event chair, and makes sure events aren’t stacked on top of each other or forgotten until the last minute.
There’s more on running events well in how to be the best PTO family events chair.
Vice President of Communications
Newsletters, social media, flyers, the website, emails home… communication never stops.
A VP of Communications owns how the PTO talks to families, so the message stays consistent and nothing slips through the cracks.
This is one position that we created for our lower elementary school level because the PTA President was juggling a lot and this was a task easy to delegate to another volunteer.
In fact, for many years, we had two volunteers in the VP of Communications position!
One handled school announcements newsletters, flyers and teacher communications and the other handled social media and community publicity.
This is a great role for volunteers who want to be plugged into the goings on of your PTO and school and want the flexibility to handle tasks on their own schedule.
Vice President of Your Signature Program
This is where our Junior Wall of Fame VP comes in.
If your PTO has a program that’s important to your school community, it may deserve its own officer.
Maybe it’s a recognition program, a big annual carnival, a teacher appreciation effort, or a reading program initiative.
Whatever it is, a dedicated VP tells everyone this program matters, and it gives the program a leader who’s accountable for making it happen.
How to Restructure the Vice President Role in Your PTO
Ready to give your VP role more shape?
You don’t have to turn it into a whole big production.
- List the areas where your president or board keeps getting stretched thin.
- Decide whether you need one VP with a clear focus or several VPs with separate areas.
- Write a short description for each VP role, including what they own, who they support, and which meetings they attend.
- Decide which VP steps in when the president is absent, and whether that VP moves up to president.
- Check your bylaws to see what needs to change, and put the day-to-day details in your standing rules.
- Bring the proposal to your board and membership for a vote, following the amendment process in your bylaws.
Quick tip on step 5.
Keep the bylaws simple, like listing the officer titles, and put the detailed job descriptions in your standing rules.
That way you can tweak duties later without a full bylaws amendment.
If you’re fuzzy on the difference, here’s bylaws and standing rules explained.
What Makes a Good PTO Vice President
No matter which version of the role you’re in, the VPs who really shine tend to do the same handful of things well.
Show Up Consistently
A good vice president regularly attends executive board meetings and general membership meetings.
You can’t support decisions you weren’t around to hear.
Contribute to the Conversation
You were elected for a reason.
Share ideas, ask questions, and offer a different perspective when the board is working through a decision.
A quiet VP is a missed opportunity.
Follow Through on What’s Delegated
When the president hands you something, own it.
Get it done, close the loop, and let them know it’s handled so it comes off their mental to-do list.
Step Up When Needed
Sometimes the president gets sick, has a family emergency, or simply can’t make it.
A good VP is ready to run the meeting, make the call, or represent the PTO without a lot of scrambling.
Bring Positive Energy
Board work has its rough patches.
A VP who stays positive and solution-focused makes the whole board easier to be on… and that matters more than people think.
Why More VP Roles Make It Easier to Find Your Next President
Let’s be honest, PTO president is usually one of the hardest positions to fill.
Most people don’t want the spotlight.
Or they look at everything the president does and think, “There’s no way I could pull that off.”
A PTO Vice President role is a smaller, stepped-up leadership position.
It lets a volunteer stretch a little without feeling like they’ve been tossed into the deep end.
They get to lead something real, work alongside the president, and see how the board runs from the inside.
By the time elections roll around, the president seat doesn’t look nearly as scary.|
So when you create more VP positions, you’re not just spreading out the work.
You’re building a bench of future presidents.
Pair that with a solid plan for recruiting leaders for your PTO, and your succession worries get a whole lot lighter.
PTO Vice President FAQ
What are the duties of a PTO vice president?
A PTO vice president supports the president, attends executive board and general membership meetings, handles tasks the president delegates, and runs meetings when the president is absent.
Many PTOs also give the VP ownership of a specific area, like fundraising, family events, or communications.
The exact duties should be spelled out in your bylaws or standing rules.
Can a PTO have more than one vice president?
Yes, your PTO can definitely have more than one Vice President.
Because PTOs are independent and write their own bylaws, you can create as many vice president positions as your group needs.
You actually can do this for your PTA too, but you’ll need to follow your state PTA’s process.
Many PTOs have separate VPs for areas like fundraising, family events, and communications.
If you have several, name which VP leads in the president’s absence so there’s no confusion.
Does the PTO vice president automatically become president?
The PTO President becomes President only if your bylaws say so.
Some PTOs set up the vice president as a president-elect who moves into the top role the following year, while others hold an open election.
Either way, serving as VP is great preparation, and this guide on getting started as a new PTO president shows what comes next.
What’s the difference between a PTO vice president and a committee chair?
A vice president is an elected officer who sits on the executive board and helps make decisions for the whole PTO.
A committee chair leads one specific project or event, like a book fair or carnival, and usually reports to the board.
A VP may oversee several committee chairs within their area.
Resources for PTO Vice Presidents and Executive Boards
The Organized Leader Bundle: all you’re missing is the right set of tools to be an effective, confident, and knowledgeable leader!
Picture your entire board…
Knowing exactly what to do.
Having plug and play strategies and systems to get every aspect of your PTO organized.
Working as an organized team, reaching all your goals and then some!
This bundle combines essential officer success and binder kits, customized for each role:
- President’s Success Kit (Planner + Agenda Template + President’s Insider’s Guide)
- Treasurer Command System (Planner + Editable templates + Treasurer’s Insider’s Guide)
- Secretary’s Success Kit (Planner + Newsletter template, Calendar Template + more)
- Fundraising Success Kit (Planner + Strategy Guide + A-thon Kit + Fundraising Insider’s Guide)
- Parent Involvement Success Kit (Planner + Strategy Guide + Video Training + Editable Templates + Membership Insider’s Guide)
- Family Events Binder Kit (Planner)
- Historian’s Binder Kit (Planner)
- Staff Appreciation Binder Kit (Planner)
- Vice President’s Binder Kit (Planner)
Purchasing the bundle saves 20% over buying the kits separately.
Over to You
The vice president role doesn’t have to be the vague “assist the president” seat on your board.
Whether your VP is the president’s shadow, the fundraising lead, the family events go-to, or the keeper of your own signature program, a clearly defined role gives that volunteer something real to own.
And every VP you build up today is a potential president tomorrow.
So here’s your next step.
Pull out your bylaws this week, read the vice president section, and ask whether it actually reflects what your PTO needs.
If it doesn’t, sketch out the VP roles you wish you had and bring the idea to your next board meeting.
And if you’re the VP getting ready to move up, grab the free President’s Quick Start Guide so you know exactly what to expect when it’s your turn.
