Running your PTA
The Chair is spending PTA funds and making decisions without discussing it with the rest of the committee – is this normal?
No, all decisions have to be made by a majority vote of the elected committee members. No committee member – not even the Chair – should be acting on their own and agreeing to anything, especially the spending of funds as that can leave them vulnerable. If they agree to something the rest of the committee disagrees with, then that single committee member could end up being personally liable for the payment since it wasn’ t made by a majority vote of the committee. Make sure all your committee members are aware of this and raise it with the school so they know to approach the committee as a whole instead of an individual committee member.
If some of our current committee members are not re-elected at our next AGM, what do we need to do about handing over?
Once a new committee is elected, it’ s always useful if the outgoing committee members have a handover meeting with them to discuss everything they do for the PTA, what’ s been successful, what hasn’ t worked and so on. Outgoing committee members also need to hand back everything they have that is PTA related, especially financial records. They should work with the new committee members to change signatories at the bank, as well as log in and update entries for accounts like the Charity Commission, so that the new members can access everything they need. We would also recommend changing passwords used by the committee.
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We have a committee member who is proving to be a bit tricky when votes don’ t go the way they want them to and it’ s becoming awkward. What should we do?
First step is for someone to have a quiet word with them about their behaviour. They may not realise what they are doing or the impact it’ s having. Remind them that a committee is a team that works together, and decisions made by the PTA are always decided by a majority vote of the committee members. This means you don’ t always get what you want! You could also consider introducing a code of conduct policy so everyone knows what behaviour is expected of them, also giving you something to refer to if their behaviour doesn’ t change or improve. While you could remove them as a committee member, this can be unpleasant for everyone and should really be a last resort. If you’ ve tried the quiet word approach, addressed the issue in line with the code of conduct and still seen no changes, you could formally vote to remove them due to their disruptive behaviour and failure to comply with the code of conduct. You would need to formally write to them as a committee detailing their behaviour, give them 14 days to respond and then take a final vote on whether you would still like to remove them, taking their response into consideration. If this is the case, they would be removed with immediate effect and would need to hand back any PTA property. The committee’ s decision is final.
Got an issue you need advice on? Contact Clare and her team:
Helpline 0300 123 5460( Mon-Fri 9:00-5:00)
info @ parentkind. org
To set up your own code of conduct policy, we have a downloadable template you can use: parentkind. org / your-pta-expert / pta-resources / code-of-conduct-example
Message us at PTA Expert by Parentkind or post a question in our community group PTA Hangout by Parentkind
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