A lot of your questions are choices your group gets to make.

I think fairly universally, you'll find the elected officers on the Executive Board, usually as voting members. (If you have "Past President as a position, that one may be non-voting.)

Beyond that it varies. Committee chairs may or may not be included. Same with Principal and/or other school reps. If on the board, school reps might be voting or non voting members.

The "only to break a tie" rule about presidents is a simplification of the real rule, but probably good enough. It's actually if their vote makes a difference. So, if you need a majority to pass something and the vote is 7 for/ 6 against, the president COULD vote "against" to force a tie and thus defeat the motion. Or if you need 2/3 vote to pass something and are short one vote. The Pres can vote and put you over the top. But usually it's a tie-breaker situation. (The president also votes if a printed ballot is used, like for elections.)

In my mind, the more power your Board has, the more obligation is has to be large, representative group. Our Board makes all PTO decisions, so it's large (20-30 people).

The current secretary would usually be a voting member of the board - regardless of past position held.

This should all be defined in your bylaws - which are developed by your group.

[ 12-01-2004, 04:42 PM: Message edited by: JHB ]

I could use some tips, if anyone is willing to help me out a little.

I'm new at PTL. And I'm the President.

I need to have an executive board meeting soon to go over the existing constitution. Our current one was revised in 1995 and not looked at since as far as we can tell. There is nothing in there about voting, or basic "rules and regs" for doing anything. All amendments that were added are just one-liners at the end --no specifics, no dates, no reasons. So if someone could help me and answer some of my questions, I'd really appreciate it.

Is my exec. board just the main officers -- Pres, VP, Treasurer, and Secretary?


What is the Principals' role in the PTL? (Probably varies from school to school, but the more ideas I get the better!)

If the past Pres is now the Secretary, does she vote?

How do you determine who votes? I know I don't as President -- just a tie-breaker (I have some experience in being Committee Chair for Scouts, so some of it is the same).

I know I need to go to some kind of training, but I got voted in last June and the seminar isn't until May of 2005, and at this rate, I won't be involved by then!

Thanks for any and all help. If you want to e-mail me privately -- please do. bjf7451@yahoo.com

[img]smile.gif[/img] Bonnie

The principal (and the other 3 school reps) are all voting members of our board. The only non-voting member - I think - is the past president.

No, the principal is not a member of our board although at some schools, he/she is a member (often non-voting).
Shelly

Is the Principal of the school a member of the executive board of the PTL?

We have pres., VP, sec., and tres. We also have chairs for our committees, but they are not part of "the board". I am the president, and I chair fundraising. We meet once a month, and committees meet as needed. Our meetings usually last an hour and a half, they used to last more than that but I try to stick to the agenda.