Question: scheduling board and pta meetings - same day or different days?

Hello, I am trying to get an idea of when PTA's it's best to have board meetings and general meetings. Do you meet on the same day or separate days? how often do the two groups meet? Is dinner included at the board meetings? Last year, the officers at RT decided to have the board meeting right before the general meeting. It's very tight so I usually rush through the meeting and then try to catch up with details in between meetings. I understand that the officers decided to reduce the number of evening meetings; however, it's challenging to have in depth discussions when we meet 6pm -7pm for the board meeting and then 7pm-8:30pm for the general PTA meeting. Also, the board meeting doesn't start on time b/c dinner is included so I wonder if it would be better not to include dinner so we can start on time! Thanks in advance for your thoughts and suggestions.

Asked by Anonymous

Answers:

Advice from PTO Today

Craig writes:
I'd say it's more common for the board to meet on a different day than the meeting, say the week before. For one thing, the board should be setting the agenda for the meeting, and that should be done in advance. However, you can do that by email and we certainly have heard from plenty of groups that meet just before the general meeting. If you're going to keep this schedule, you should think about making the board meeting 90 minutes and the general meeting an hour. Best practice is to keep general meetings to one hour maximum. Have committees do the detail work and report back at the meetings rather than engaging in long debates. If meetings run crisply and appear organized, you'll get more people to attend. Regarding dinner, I think it's a nice touch that you have dinner together. Can you do business, at least informally, while you're eating? Either way, if people are going to be tied up from 6-8:30, I don't see how you can cut that out. Maybe the key is to cut the dinner portion short at some point, even if some are still eating, so you can get down to business.