Local PTA Board

The board’s role is to ensure the continuity of the association by planning for its future: establishing and reviewing the major policies and programs that support its goals and objectives and verifying that the organization is fiscally sound. In many ways, your function is critical to the life of the association. To accomplish these legal responsibilities, it is essential that your PTA budget has sufficient funds for you to attend training.

Most business of the PTA can and should be conducted by the board of directors. Consensus building is the most positive form of decision-making. Parliamentary procedure should be used as a tool to facilitate, not hinder, thoughtful discussion of your PTA’s business decisions by the board of directors. Once the board has made a decision, all members of the board of directors should support the decision.

The executive committee of a PTA consists only of its elected officers and the procedure and bylaws chairman. The executive committee studies and makes recommendations to the PTA’s board of directors. The only authority actually given to the executive committee is to approve appointments by the president.

Three very important traits of a good leader are the ability and willingness to:

• Communicate: Speaking effectively is only one part of communicating. Effective leaders are also good listeners.
• Delegate: Empowering others to participate in the work and the decision-making means giving up some direct involvement. Good leaders know that meaningful, manageable responsibilities keep people actively involved in the organization.
• Educate: A leader seeks out educational opportunities within the organization. A good leader also educates by using that knowledge and those skills to train and develop others.