Summer may be all fun and games for the kids, but it is a very busy time for your school’s PTA. One of the last things that the PTA does before the school year is out is induct the incoming PTA board. This new board has to spend the summer learning all of the tasks that come along with their new title on the board. The planning sessions will be long over the summer since the board meetings are more than likely the only time that your PTA board will be able to get together to brain storm.
The first summer PTA board meeting should include not only the incoming board members but also the members leaving the board. This is what I like to call a meeting of the minds. The outgoing board member can help the new board member taking over that position by going over how they handled certain tasks and what things they think need to change or things that they wanted to accomplish but weren’t able to for whatever reason. This is such an important meeting. The passing of the PTA torch is more than just announcing who the new board members will be, it is teaching those new board members what being on the PTA is all about. You have to pass on any information that you have from prior years so they understand what has been done int he past sot hey can adequately plan for the upcoming school year.
During this meeting of the minds it is a good time for the new PTA President to stand up and tell everyone what he or she hopes to accomplish during the upcoming school year. The new board needs to set at least one goal for the school year during this first meeting. The President can throw out a few ideas for the year’s goals with his or her own goals for the PTA for the year. These goals could be just about anything. Some goals could be to purchase play equipment for the school playground, to increase parent involvement, or to start a new reading program. These are only a few ideas for goals, take your time as a board and make sure your goals are set before school starts in the fall.
Another important task for the summer is to decide what events the PTA will participate in throughout the year. If parental involvement is an issue at your school, then scaling back on the PTA events may be in store for your PTA. This is never something that a PTA wants to do, however, if you do not have enough help to pull off so many PTA sponsored events, then you may need to pick and choose which events you think are going to benefit the school and the children the most. If you have an over-abundance of parental involvement, maybe you can look into increasing the events that the PTA sponsors. This all depends on the situation at your school. Make our choices wisely and don’t over extend your PTA or else you will wind up with a bunch of burned out board members at the end of the year. This is the last thing that you want!
One of the most important decisions that PTA boards make over the summer is regarding fund raisers. How much money needs to be raised to accomplish your goals? What type of fund raiser is going to help you to raise that amount of money? Which fund raising company will give you the best payout? Are you willing to give up a percentage of the payout in order to get more help from the fund raising company handling all of the details? Do you want to do a selling fund raiser, a collecting fund raiser, or a creative fund raiser? These are all very important questions which need to be thoroughly researched and discussed by the entire board. Fund raisers can be a very sore subject for parents in the school. It always seems like the school is asking for money these days, so the PTA needs to choose the fund raiser wisely. You want the fund raiser to be something that the children and the parents can get excited about! Some typical selling fund raisers are wrapping paper, magazines, cookie dough, and candy bars. Some common collecting fund raisers are aluminum cans, and box tops for education. Some more creative fund raisers are auctions, carnivals, bake sales, and talent shows. Think over all of the options and choose a fund raiser that will be right for your school and your PTA.
Even though the summer is a busy time for the PTA board, remember to have fun while at the board meetings. Bring snacks and don’t forget that you are all working to make the school better for your children and all of the other children at the school. Have fun and enjoy all the planning!
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