mykids-I agree it is hard enough to find the people to do things let alone assembling committees. I started putting in our news letter things like-"At our last meeting a committee was formed to..." or "the ______ committee reported that .... and the membership voted to ...." so that people understood that these things are formed and implemented at our meetings and if you want to be a part of that process you pretty much have to attend. It did raise our attendance. Some fun things we sent out questionairres to the kids to decide the t-shirt, logo and color and other things like dance themes and activity choices. I know that is the easy way out but what fun to post the results for the kids to see and feel part of it all. The two meeting thing is not a bad idea at all. Much the same way city council and board of education meetings run. Make the agenda at one meeting and decide on the items the next. (They do have the advantage in our town as, they meet twice a month.)
I agree wholeheartedly with plw about using committees. As an example, with your t-shirt issue, our "Spirit" committee would research & debate colors, styles, etc... Then they would report to the general membership with their findings & recommendations. We would then have discussion & vote on it. Some of our committee items aren't even voted on by the general membership (choosing our major fundraising company, for example). We don't have tons of people at our meetings, and often people are afraid if they make a suggestion that they'll be stuck being the one to implement it. Therefore, our membership tends to go along with committee recommendations.
In fact, this year we are really trying to stress having things done by committee so people can see that the work gets spread out and one person isn't responsible for everything.
We made the "two meeting" rule because sometimes decisions were being made on an emotional basis instead of an informed decision. This is usually during requests from teachers for items that are not line items on our budget or are on the budget but the decisions have not been made as to what specifically the money will be used for.
We have commitees for the "big" items, but since it is the same group who do all the work it is hard to get them to volunteer for yet another thing!
I have seen many times that it is set that, each person will have 2 minutes to speak to the issue. Everyone gets one turn until all are heard from. At any time I believe that any one can "put the previous question" (it requires a second, and 2/3 vote)at which time it stops discussion and a vote is taken. You do want to hear everyone's voice or people will squawk. If you do set a time limit on the debate a motion if necessary with a motion and a second and 2/3 vote. It is also easier to have the executive board or committees report. Long meetings are often the result of using meetings for things that should have gone to committees who would then report back to the membership. I believe our meetings run smoothly because committees are formed for nearly everything. They are put on the agenda to report. They make the report, a motion is made, then discussion and vote. Most discussion is already been had. The only new business is usually a request for money from staff. You said that you present ideas at one meeting and more discussion if necessary at another. If there was much debate I would certainly hope someone would make a motion to "refer it to committee" (needs a second, and a majority vote) and anyone who would like should sign up to be on the committee. Then the committee should make a report on their findings at the next meeting. It is helpful if your board members know a few of these things so that they can help by making some of these motions. I know it is confusing, hope this is helpful.
I am a new co-vp for our PTC. Last year we made great changes to try to limit the amount of time that meetings take. Most of us just don't have time for a three hour meeting!
We began having new business discussions where a request for money or a new idea was set forth. This would be the initial presentation and the general membership and board could ask questions.
At the next meeting we would present the idea again. If there were any unaswered questions this would be the time for those. Then any other discussion and a motion would be made (or if there were still too many unanswered questions the item would again be tabled).
My question is this - In order to keep the meetings moving how long should "new business" have to present their idea and have the membership discuss it? We have had some heated discussions about some items (for example the color of our school t-shirts - traditional kelly green or a more attractive forest green - this discussion went on FAR too long!).
My idea is to set a time for presentation and follow up questions/discussion. What is reasonable? 5 min? 10? 15?
Then what would be reasonable for the second presentation?
We are really trying to keep "on track" and not go off on tangents at meetings. A good itinerary and the new business/old business policies have helped, but we want to continue to improve.
