Procedure Book

If each council and local officer and chairman would compile a Procedure Book, the work of our associations would continue in a more efficient manner than ever before. One valid criticism that has been made of PTAs is that they close up shop every spring and the new owners come in the fall to open shop and know nothing of the stock on the shelves and very little about how to manage the store. Procedure Books help keep the store open from year to year.

What is one?

A loose-leaf notebook makes a serviceable and convenient cover to which pages can be easily added. Since some of your most valuable materials don't fit in a notebook, an expandable cardboard file the size of the binder may be attached to the back of the book with staples and rubber cement. Add a healthy rubber band to hold them securely together when not in use. Remember that a Procedure Book is the property of the association, and not the person who is using it this year.

What do you put in it?

Name, address, telephone number and period covered, Your Plan of Work and calendar, All information from State and National PTA, Directory of board members, faculty, committee and other contacts, Association bylaws, standing rules, current budget, newsletters and bulletins, All correspondence pertaining to your office or chairmanship, Copy of any reports sent to council, State Office or National PTA, Notes from workshops, conferences, and conventions you have attended, Any guidelines pertaining to your office or chairmanship, If you subscribe to Our Children, keep all issues for one year together,  Any other resource material you have found to be helpful, Evaluation of the year's work with specific suggestions for improvements, National PTA Handbook, National publications pertaining to your job and other valuable documents you've acquired.

A Procedure Book, one of the most important basic tools in PTA work, is often the least used. Since the majority of the new recruits have little or no experience in the job, they need a Procedure Book in identifying the work and continuity of an office or chairmanship and to chart a course of action to be followed. Association background, contributions from others, successes and failures -- such a record gives a foundation on which to build.

IF YOU DIDN'T RECEIVE ONE, NOW IS THE TIME TO START ONE!!!!

Is he dependable - and available?

Does he have special talents or skills (such as typing, or bookkeeping or a thorough knowledge of parliamentary procedures), which would especially qualify him for a certain office?

Does he have the personal qualities, which will present and represent the association well in the community?

8. When to call a candidate: A prospective candidate should be contacted only after the committee has approved doing so. Generally the chairman asks the member if the committee may place his name in nomination. Another committee member may do so if agreed upon in committee.

9. Office to be discussed first: Practically speaking, the nominee for the office of president should be agreed upon first, with vice president(s), secretary (or secretaries), and treasurer secured in that order.

10. Agreeing on a candidate: Selection of a candidate should be by a majority vote. Each committee member should be urged to express his views before a vote is taken. No deliberations of the committee should be discussed outside the committee meeting. When agreement is reached the prospective candidates should be contacted by telephone if this can be done, preferably while the committee is together.

11. Discussion with a prospective candidate: The prospect should be informed about the duties, obligations and responsibilities of the office, and be approached in such a way that he will regard being asked an honor. He should be given time to consider and should agree to serve if elected. He should be asked not to divulge the information that he has been contacted.

12. Number of nominees: The number of nominees for each office depends upon provisions in the bylaws. If the provision calls for "at least" one name for each office, the committee may list more if it so decides. Association members will have an opportunity to nominate from the floor at the proper time.

13. Selection of committee members as nominees: The question is frequently asked about the propriety of having members of the Nominating Committee named by that committee for office. Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, page 364, states: "Members of the Nominating Committee are not barred from becoming nominees for office. To make such a requirement would mean, first, that service on the Nominating Committee carried a penalty by depriving its members of one of their privileges, and second, that appointment to the Nominating Committee could be used to prevent a member from becoming a nominee."

14. Report of the committee: The committee report is signed by all members who concur with it. The report of the Nominating Committee is made at a meeting as stipulated in your unit/council bylaws. Nominations from the floor are in order as provided for in the bylaws. If the Nominating Committee is unable to fill position, it reports this fact and then nominations from the floor take effect.

15. Withdrawal of a nominee: If a nominee withdraws before the election is held, the committee is revived unless the bylaws or standing rules provide other wise.

16. Completion of obligations: The committee's work is completed when its report has been presented to the association's membership and the election has been held. If an officer is not elected at the election meeting or a vacancy occurs after election, check your bylaws. Most will say it is the responsibility of the Executive Committee to fill the vacancy.