Planning Ahead
The executive board should plan the association meeting ahead of time. Don’t forget that your principal is a member of the executive board – and be prepared to present the reports and proposed plans. Yes, that means that a board needs to meet before school starts.
Make sure your board attends association meetings so they can be introduced. Keep meetings moving along by providing copies of the necessary reports that members are being asked to approve or adopt. Make sure the meetings are informative and inspirational. Brag about what your PTA has done and be sure to mention that members belong to the largest volunteer and advocacy organization in the country. Talk about plans for the year and ask for audience members to volunteer to be involved. Be sure the attendees understand that PTA’s role is to make the school a better place for all students.
Written notice of any association meeting must be given not less than 10 days before the date of the meeting to all those who are entitled to vote at such meetings. The notice should include the date, time, location and any proposed business to be considered at the meeting. Meetings at which bylaw amendments and elections will take place need 30 days notice.
First Association Meeting of the Year
What should take place at the first association meeting of the year?
- Introduce the PTA board
- Present minutes of the last association meeting, which may have been the election meeting or might
have been the meeting when proposed programs and a proposed budget were preliminarily approved - Present the Year-End Financial Report
- Adopt the goals for the year and approve all upcoming programs, events and projects
- Adopt the budget for the year
- Approve/ratify all expenditures since the last association meeting
- Adopt the year-end financial review that was done over the summer after the close of the previous year’s books
- Appoint Financial Reviewer/Financial Review Committee members if necessary.
- Thank members who have joined and ask those who have not joined to consider joining.
- Have a display (photos from last year’s events, spirit wear, or PTA materials) to entice interest in visiting the “join PTA table”.
Association Meetings are Required
Can we just skip association meetings and let the board make decisions/do the work? No, association meetings are a requirement in your PTA bylaws because California corporate law for all non-profits requires them. Your bylaws state the quorum needed to vote on business items – even if the board has already voted YES on them. Your nominating committee must be elected by the membership. PTA events are only insured if the association adopted the events and the action is recorded in the minutes of the association meeting. However, you do not need to have a monthly association meeting and your bylaws can be amended to change the number of association meetings you must hold. Check with your council PTA (if you have one) or your district to find out the process for doing so.