Please Read Comments to A660s
Thank you.
Staten
1 - Several times in the forms in the back of the document, it uses the word "stationary" when you mean "stationery".
2 - In the section about auditing the books of a PTA on pages 19 and 20, when you are describing the audit committee, you mention that the auditor can't be a member of the PTA (section L.1.d). I think that you have put this in the incorrect section and you should have another section on external audit. In addition, you say the audit must be by April but you don't say what period of time it must cover. My concern is that much of the expenses of a PTA are done in May and June and that might never be looked at if the audit is in April.
3 - You say that if a PTA gets a 501C3, they must have
counsel. Our PTA has a 501C3 (which I believe all non-profits must have -
I don't think it is an option), and we don't have counsel and don't see the need
for counsel. I would also encourage
your legal department to explain to us how a PTA can raise funds and not be a
501C3.
4 – You have several recommendations concerning the person
who maintains the PAs books. You
never mention that this person is the treasurer (who must maintain the books),
and elsewhere in the document, you say there are no qualifications to be an
officer. This is an inconsistency.
5 - Members of a CEC, etc, can’t serve on a school
leadership team. This conflicts with
A-655. In addition, since these
regulations are now in effect during the comment period, does that mean there
are many SLTs out there out of compliance because they have less than the
required number of parents? We also
currently have parents who work in one school in Staten Island (District 31)
serving as a PTA officer and SLT member on the school their child attends, also
in
6 – On page 6, section 2.b.i. It says that if a vacancy
occurs in a mandatory officer position and it is not filled within 10 calendar
days, the PA will cease to function. This
is not enough time! What if an
officer resigns on December 23? The
10 calendar days would be over before school is back in session.
7 – At the top of page 9 you say that candidate statements
can be posted on the school website, sent via email or sent via backpack.
If you want to allow this, you should mandate that all candidates have
the same options. Maybe one can make
copies and mail them home while another cannot afford to do that.
In addition, how can the candidates have access to the members email
accounts?
8 – In section c.i. at the bottom of page 11, it mentions
the ranking of officers. I can’t
figure out what this means. If the
recording secretary quits, who takes over?
9 – In section J.4.b. at the bottom of page 14 it says that
distribution of information during instructional hours does not constitute a
violation of this provision. I think
this is wonderful. However, I feel
it should also say that collection of envelopes is not a violation of this
provision.
10 – Attachment 5 is a budget proposal form.
I think that if the PTA has its own form, which includes the necessary
information that should suffice. In
the PTAs I have been treasurer, our forms have much more information – I would
not want to waste my time trying to simplify the form.
11 – On page 16, section 6.c, it says that reimbursement
can’t be given until the next regularly scheduled meeting.
This would be a terrible imposition on some PTA members who may not be
able to afford to wait for reimbursement.
12 – In the section on bank accounts you say it is OK for a
PTA to have more than the mandatory checking account.
You also say they can’t use withdrawal slips.
If they open a money market account to get more interest, the only way to
get money into our out of that CD would be with deposit or withdrawal slips.
I think this should be an exception to the rule.
13 – On page 18, section b, it says that the transfer of
records by the treasurer must be made in the presence of the principal.
Why????
14 – Going back to page 2, it defines who may be a member
of a PTA in section A.1.a. In page 1
of attachment 8 (Minimum requirements for bylaws) it says that parents of
children in a citywide program are automatically members of the PTA in the
school their child attends. This
wording should be added to page 2 of A-660.
In addition, if a District 75 program exists in a campus, which school
PTA are the parents members of? Can
they choose?
15 – There are several problems with Attachment 8, minimum
requirements for bylaws. On page 1
of 4, section II.A. it says that at least one general meeting must be scheduled
and held within sixty calendar days of the beginning of the school year.
This should be within 30 days as long as you have a functioning PTA.
I continue to have problems with all committee meetings being mandated to
be held in the school. Often the
school does not have room for all committees to meet.
In addition, certain committees, such as a yearbook committee, may need
computers or other supplies, which are not available at the school and may be
available at a private residence. In
my opinion, as long as the location of the meetings are known, there should not
be this restriction.
Section II.D. says that members must vote before an outside speaker can
come to a meeting. This means that
if a need exists for a speaker, it may take as long as 2 months to first bring
it to membership at one meeting and than have them come at the next meeting.
It seems to me that this is a job the executive board of the PTA can do
by themselves. It also says outside
observers are prohibited. I thought
we, as PTAs would want to encourage community members to be a part of our school
family.
Section F says that draft minutes must be distributed to the membership
prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting along with the meeting notice.
This is particularly onerous in a school without a major budget for
copying. In reality, you are now
forcing us to send out maybe 1,000 copies of the minutes when maybe 50 people
show up at the meeting. This is a
huge expense for most PTA.
Quorum is listed in section IV. As the president, three other executive
board members (defined as officers in section V.A.) and at ten parent members at
large. This is ridiculous. First, if
the president is ill, the vice president should be able to run the meeting –
that is what they are there for. With
this rule, this is not possible. Secondly,
some PTAs only have the core officers, so they will never be able to have
quorum. Even requiring 4 out of 6
officers (if your PTA has that many) to attend every meeting does not match the
reality of our busy lives. In small
schools especially, requiring a total of 14 members be present would be a good
goal but would not always be met.
In section VI. B. it says a PA may establish class parents as additional
officer positions. I do not know
what ‘class parents’ means in this context.
16 – Attachment 9 for Presidents councils says elections
must be held by September 30 but the term runs through June 30.
That means that there is not Presidents council after June 30.
Is that right? It also says
in section VI.E. that elected representatives term will end with a change in the
office of the presidency. That
should not be the case – if the president leaves in the middle of the year,
the alternate should maintain their position.
I also feel somewhere in here it must say that a representative to CPAC
must be elected if the President of presidents’ council is unable or unwilling
to serve in that capacity.
Thank you.