The first months as a new PTA leader may seem overwhelming, but California State PTA is here to help! A lot needs to be done to get things up and running. This list will help you figure out when and how to schedule meetings, create calendars, and perform other tasks that will ensure that your PTA gets off to a good start!
- The president should set up a meeting with the school principal and call meetings of the board as soon as possible.
- At the first board meeting, ratify appointed officers, fill any vacant positions, ratify committees and chairs, and make plans for the coming year.
- Look for opportunities to bring new activities in while keeping tried-and-true popular programs. It is not too late to conduct a survey of needs for the entire school community. Use input from the survey for brainstorming session(s) with the board to establish your goals. Set realistic goals and prioritize programs over being a fundraising machine.
- Set a calendar for the upcoming year, making sure it works with the school calendar, and provide materials to the school office to be included with any start of school mailings.
- Meet with outgoing officers to understand your job and to collect materials belonging to your PTA.
- Become familiar with the duties of each chair by reviewing the California State PTA Toolkit. Share job descriptions and materials as noted with the chairpersons.
- Consider reviewing your PTA bylaws with the entire board, even if the bylaws are not due for renewal. The bylaws contain many job responsibilities and timelines/due dates. Reviewing them together gets everyone on the same page with the same expectations.
- Encourage every board member to attend training. The Training Center on the CA State PTA Leaders Website is a great resource for this.
- Prepare a preliminary budget and present it for adoption at your next association meeting.
- Verify with the outgoing financial officers that the books have been closed and that the following documents were prepared: Annual Financial Report, Year-end Financial Review, documents organized for preparing tax filings.
- Update signature cards for bank accounts, including changing the bank owner in TOTEM.
- Make sure that your board roster is uploaded into MyPTEZ. Provide names and contact information for board members. Starting in 2024, you must provide at least an email and mailing address for your treasurer and secretary in addition to the full contact info for the president. If you do not have access to the roster system, contact your council or district to assist you.
- Make sure each of your board members knows how to contact their counterpart at district (or council) to get questions answered.
- Don’t forget to breathe! There is no such thing as a PTA emergency.