We have 1 president and 5 vice presidents, 1 secretary & 1 treasurer. We also have our Principal, vice principal and teacher rep. on our board. So far it's worked well. The 5 vice presidents choose different committees/activities to chair/participate directly on. We are a PTA and are the oldest (51 years) elementary school in our city.
I know there are other elem. schools in our area that have 9+ vice presidents and only 1 president and it works for them.
Beyond legal issues...I love it! I have been the Secretary of our group for about five years (off and on) and feel more like the personnal asst. than the PTO Secretary.
I'm going to add JHB, Roberts Rules of Order gives a basic veiw of what the make-up of a board needs to be, beyond that (as seen with JHB) is totally up to the PTO. My main concern is drawing the line between Sectretary and Assistant. I have done so much this week that my President and Vice President are unable to handle (both have demanding jobs and one travels) that an assistant would have been nice BUT the school has my number "on speed dial ".
I'm just saying, I would make sure the job desrciption is very clear, but I saw you are in Iowa and feel confident a good old fashion kitchen table discussion with think this through . You need to do what is best and you and your group will know it when you talk it over.
...I was born and raised in Carroll before moving to Colorado
One small procedural matter to consider is that a VP would be an elected position and might require a change to your bylaws, depending on how they are written.
Committee Chairs and special positions are typically appointed. Probably your bylaws allow for the creation of new ones as needed. But if the Committee Chairs aren't Board members, or if your bylaws don't allow for the creation of new Board positions, you'll have to amend your bylaws if you want her to be a voting member of the Board - if that matters.
Note - if you do amend your bylaws, keep it general, like adding a clause allowing for the creation of new Board positions.
Our bylaws specify that we can have "one and only one" president, but any number of vice presidents. That's the way I would go, add another vp. As suggested, you could easily define different job descriptions for each vp, and give them each their own name. One could be Vice President - Administration, the other Vice President - Programming (or whatever makes sense). People intuitively understand the concept of a Vice President as an elected assistant to the president. I would keep that name rather than making a completely new office.
Like AnnieGirl, to me what you are describing would be the position of Vice President. But it sounds like you already have a VP who does something else.
Backgound Info....My group wants to have a large board, so includes all elected officers, 4 school reps, a parent rep from each grade, and all the committee chairs. Additionally, we have a clause in the bylaws that allows the Board to add additional members as needed. So those are things you want to consider in your bylaws.
Are commitee chairs on YOUR board?
Options might include:
1) Some organization have multiple VPs with different functions. (Not co-chairs). You could add a "2nd Vice President" with the specific duties you have in mind.
2) If Committee Chairs and/or special positions can be added as voting members of your Board, create one. I don't know that I'd call it "President's Assistant". That's confusing. Maybe "Logistics" or "Special Projects". Something else.
".
. You need to do what is best and you and your group will know it when you talk it over.
