kmamom wrote: While I understand how people can be threatened by the idea of executive board meetings and feel they're exclusionary, I also feel they are REALLY important.

I have to agree with kmamom, Two Kids and dlf. I think they are extremely important!!!
(if they are utilized properly-harder that it sounds )

Unless you have a small group, an Exec. Board is vital! Our Board is large (about 25 members) and before holding EB meetings our meetings were lasting 2-3 hours each month. (We had lot of committee work being done and too many people trying to make the decisions. We needed change.)

This is our first year to hold EB meetings. We meet an hour prior to our regular monthly Board meeting. We have five different VP's assigned to oversee each work area and committee and within our PTO. The VP's, along with the Treas., Sec., Faculty Rep. and Pres. and Principal, make up our EB. We don't give "reports" - those are for the Board meeting. The purpose is to use that time as more of a planning/work session. We are supposed to do calendar work, goal setting, planning, address problems, issues, obstacles, etc. Because each VP oversees a certain area, we should have a good idea of what is going on overall. For example, our VP over Communications & Publications keeps in contact with all of the groups that fall within that area. She is to communicate with them and relate info to the EB. It sounds good on paper, but it hasn't quite worked as well as we had hoped. If a VP drops the ball, you lose contact with a whole group. So it needs a little tweaking. :confused:

While everyone might not be thrilled about it, our Principal loves it! It has cut our meeting time in half. [img]smile.gif[/img] But, the "rumblings" are that people feel uninformed, left out and that we are rushing through our regular Board meetings. It is just different and change is always hard! All votes still go before our Board. We just try to handle issues and problems within our EB. We want the committees to do their work outside of the meetings and stick to "reports" only during meetings.

We also hold a monthly general membership meeting (before a program - so big attendance) mostly short and informational - until election time and budget/spending approval. Our regular Board meeting is open - anyone can attend. Committee chairs are expected to attend if they are actively working on something.

I think they are very very important and that is where we do the majority of our business...

Am I missing something here? Am I the only one who thinks that the exec board meetings are a nessary part of a PTO?

Board meetings are not just for voting, there are so many other things that need to be taken care of. At our board meetings we go over everything from what is going on this week to what we are doing next, how much money we have AND voting.

We have general meetings every other month that is just a recap of everything we have done, what we are going to do and how much money we have...

According to our bylaws we should be having monthly executive board meetings and at least four "general members" meetings a year. Personally I feel it should be the reverse. No one should need that many executive board meetings.

I never really understood the importance of executive board meetings until the officers of our group starting spending money on a budget (that they came up with) that defies all reason.

I also agree that the executive board meeting thing can lead to "the inner sanctum" ideology, but I also feel the rules are not there arbitrarily. There's nothing to be hidden or concealed--I feel that the officers and board members need to be on the same page, and that it helps streamline processes. Leaving everything to general membership meetings can be extremely chaotic and lead to a lot of wheel spinning. And where does the process of everyone having a say in every little thing stop? It, in our case, has also led to things like officers not putting things to vote since everyone seems to be in agreement. And woe to the person who even questions what's going on.

On the whole I'd have no problems with doing away with executive board meetings IF every other rule was being followed, and every member was given the same voting right as an executive board member. That would mean we'd all have to vote on everything that's supposed to be voted on by the executive committee. Things like every line item on a budget, every single action a committee is going to take and every single vendor we're going to use.

I've found that in my group's case not following the rules has gone from bending things here and there to the officers basically doing whatever they wanted, and picking and choosing what rules will be followed and when.

Pottsville, let me give you an example...we recently had an issue with the chairperson of a major committee who was in over her head. We wanted to tap a new chairperson, but we didn't want to embarrass the original volunteer, or turn her off from future involvement. At an exec board meeting, we discussed the issue, decided on a course of action and implemented it. In the end, the original chair saved face and the new chair quietly slid into the position. No big group discussion of anyone's character or personal attributes. Quiet, confidential, and effective.

We usually have an Exec Meeting a few days before general meeting. We go over happenings since last meeting and any upcoming events (who's handling it, is more help needed, etc.). It's usually just to make sure there are no surprises at the meeting. Can't hurt and could help you work together better.