I am the recording secretary for our PTO and I do have a 3-ring binder that I keep all of the Agenda, Profit & Loss Statements and the Minutes in. I have about 2 1/2 years worth right now. But I do agree with you, the same things come up at the same time, and it is helpful to have a history with you.
One of the things i would like to do for next year is a 3-ring binder for each Exec Bd position. It should contain a copy of our Charter (with the appropriate responsbibilities highlighted) and any other material that would be helpful.
For example, the Corresponding Secetary should have the agendas and minutes from the last several years' worth of meetings. This will help set the agendas in future years because the same activities tend to occur at the same time of year.
This doesn;t qualify as "training" but I hope it will help smooth transitions in future years.
They're not specific to the Executive Board Officers, but there's some new Committee Chair Orientation tools here on the Bonus Tools page that are generally applicable to all PTO leaders. www.ptotoday.com/bonusTools.html
The specifics depend on how your particular PTO operates and what duties are assigned to each officer. Ideally, your bylaws include officer descriptions. In our PTO, for example, we have a Corresponding Secretary who does PR and a separate Recording Secretary who's responsible for minutes. Other PTO's have just one secretary.
We started our nomination process by posting the officer descriptions from our bylaws. It's not officer training per se, but at least it defines the basic expectations for each officer.
There's stuff you can find here on the boards etcetera, but to be honest, I really don't know of anything. This is what The PTA is always going on about as one of their benefits; they "strongly recommend" attending their training sessions. At first I though it was sort of hard nosed, but after seeing what can go HORRIBLY wrong when people THINK they know what they're doing I now see the wisdom in training.
I have serious issues with The PTA as a national organization, but going PTO has it's share as well. It's too bad there can't be a middle ground. If you can't find what you need I'd try talking to other PTO officers in your area. Don't pick just one--get a well-rounded idea of how to handle things by talking to as many as you can. And if you can't find any--just use your common sense and follow your bylaws.
Is anyone aware of any kind of training that would be available, either online or self administered, for potential officers? I believe that we would be able to entice a few more people to volunteer for the Officer Positions if we could provide a little bit of training or guidance.
