The Second week of May 2008

In this week’s edition of the newsletter:

1. New/Returning Officer Workshop – May 20
2. How to Conduct an Election
3. Calendar of Events

 NEW/RETURNING OFFICER WORKSHOP – MAY 20^TH 7 – 9 PM FAULKNER RIDGE CENTER

The PTAC Officer Workshop and Sharing Session is scheduled for Tuesday, May 20th from 7-9, at the Faulkner Ridge Center, 10598 Marble Faun Court, Columbia. No RSVP is needed. This session is designed for new and current officers of the local PTAs, as well as, committee chairs and anyone else that is interested.  

This is a great opportunity for new PTA officers and others to gain valuable information that will help them achieve their objectives for the next school year. The evening will conclude by 9:00 pm and refreshments will be served.

All sessions will run concurrently from 7 - 9 pm.

 

1. This session will be for PTA Presidents and other local PTA officers.

(There is a separate session for the Treasurer.) We will focus on specific

officer training and: how to improve communications to parents, after-school

activities, and increasing volunteerism/membership within your school.

 

2. This session will be the Treasurer's Workshop led by our PTAC Treasurer,

Bob Rosenberg. This workshop/training is geared towards helping the treasurer

better understand how PTA accounts should be managed. Learn all about keeping

your local PTA accounts in order. In addition, Bob will discuss other areas of

importance, such as, taxes, form 990, our new insurance, budgeting questions,

carryover funds for the summer, etc.

 

3. This session will be led by Mr. Frank Aquino, Chairman and Ms.

Ellen Flynn Giles, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Education. They will discuss

the role of the Board of Education and the Department of Education.

 

Please share this information with your new and current officers, committee

chairs and anyone else that may be interested in attending this training

workshop and sharing session. We look forward to seeing you on May 20th!

No registration necessary, please let your new officers know.  They are most welcome even if your elections have not occurred yet. 

 HOW TO CONDUCT AN ELECTION 

It is best to have the membership list the night of the elections and check the member's names against the membership list before entering the general membership meeting. You can identify members by giving them a sticker, card, ballot, etc. It is also important that you have a membership table set up for those who want to become members for the election (check your bylaws under Membership) Remember, that membership purchased in the spring is only good until the next fall, September 30th. The membership table is closed at the onset of the meeting.

The President calls for nominations at the time established (General membership meeting according to the agenda)

Once the voting begins, the doors are closed and continue to be so until the winners are chosen.

The President asks for the Nominating Committee's report. The Nominating Committee chair is called upon for its report. The Nominating Committee chair states: "The nominating committee submits the following nominations: For President, Jane Fonda; For Vice President, Jennifer Lopez; and so on and so forth"

There is no voting by proxy, mail, electronic or otherwise.

Nominations from the floor immediately follow the report of the nominating committee's report. 

If the Nominating Committee has provided a name for an office, the Chair would state the following:
"For President, Jane Doe is nominated by the Nominating Committee. Are there any further nominations for the office of President? [If a member nominates another person, the chair repeats the name of that nominee.] "

Chair states "Nominations are now in order for the office of _____________" (best if you go from President and down the list)
Member rises and makes nominations as follows "I nominate _____________"
No second is required
No person can nominate more than one person per office
Nominee must verbally consent to the nomination and sign the consent form.
Chair states, "__________ is nominated. Are there any further nominations?"
Chair asks again, "Are there any further nominations? If not (pause) nominations for the position of _________________________ are closed."

After nominations are closed, voting for that office can take place or nominations for the next office are called. It might be best to run through the entire slate to see how many offices will have more than one candidate for the office.

A person does not have to be present to be listed as a candidate as long as his/her consent has been given. They need to have filled out a consent form to verify their intention to put forth their name for the office.

The same person can be nominated for more than one office and quite possibly be elected to both positions. In that case, he can choose the office that he wants to accept. The other office would be vacant. The President can open up nominations for that office that night to fill the vacancy.

When nominations have ended, the chair repeats the office position and the candidate (ie. For the office of President, the nominee is Jane Doe)

Voice Vote
When an election is uncontested (only one person per office) you can take the vote orally in the order the officers listed.

President states, "All those in favor of __name________ for the office of _____________ please say aye. All those opposed please say no."
Typically the person is elected. However, if there is not a clear voice vote (more than half) the chair can ask for a show of hands. If the person's election does not have more half the votes than the person is not elected.


Ballot Vote
This is done after nominations are made from the floor. Ballot voting is best to do when there is a contested position or if it is a contentious election process.
o Ballots need to made up ahead of time with adequate spaces perhaps three (3) for individuals to write down all the contenders names.
o Ballots ought to be on colored paper with a different color for each office. 
o Make sure that you have an overhead, a large piece of paper or electronic capabilities to write down all the nominees names. 
o Make sure someone is appointed to do this for the President.
o Make sure that you have created a ballot box with sealed edges and a slit in the top for the ballots.
o Bring pens/pencils for people to mark their the ballots.

Sample Ballot for an office:
President ____________________________ ( )
____________________________ ( )
____________________________ ( )

You can list all offices on one ballot if need be or use separate sheets of paper for each office.

Provide time (i.e. 2 - 4 minutes) for the candidates to promote themselves. You might want to pose a question or two. Sample might be, "Where do you see Parent Involvement?; What is your experience?; Where would you like to see this PTA going? Etc" Or, you may just ask them to tell the audience about themselves.

The President appoints tellers to distribute, collect and count the ballots if a ballot box is not being used. 
The number of tellers is dependent on the number of voters – however, an odd number is preferred.
Tellers are chosen for accuracy and dependability and have no direct or personal involvement in the election.

Presiding officer can vote on a ballot.

Once the ballots are completed, the chair inquires, "Have all voted who wish to do so?" Then the President needs to state, "The polls are now closed."

Tellers count the ballots outside the meeting room preferably in a secluded area/place.
Ballots need to include all the names listed for each office. 
Each ballot should clearly show who the person voted for.
Blank ballots are ignored and discounted as illegal votes.
If two ballots are folded together, this is also illegal.
Misspelled names are ok as long as the meaning is clear.

When the tellers return, the head teller gives the report aloud to the chair.
The tellers report states:
Number of votes cast per office 97
Necessary for election 49
(number of votes needed to declare a winner is one more than half the number in the audience making sure that the quorum has been met)
Candidate A received 51
Candidate B received 24
Candidate C received 14
Illegal Votes 
Number of illegal votes (ineligible, not enough names) 8

The President re- reads the tellers report and declares the winner.

The ballot count is listed in the minutes.
Ballots can be ordered as destroyed or kept by the secretary until such a month is named before being destroyed.

*In the case of where there is no clear majority winner, the President states that there is "No Election" and ballots are handed out again. Only the candidate can withdraw their name from the ballot. Balloting continues until there is a clear winner.

The Consent Form can be printed up at the bottom of a ballot or printed up on slips of paper. This would make it easier for folks to run from the floor.

SAMPLE CONSENT FORM
Date

I, _______________________________, do give my consent to serve in the position of 

_______________________________ for the XYZ School PTA/PTSA for the school year of 20__ -20__

___________________________________ ___________________________
Signature Date 

 

CALENDAR

May 20       Spring Workshop 7 pm at Faulkner Ridge Center

June 2       PTAC General Meeting, 7:30 pm at BOE & Backpack Collections

July 26      MDPTA Summer Leadership Conference

 

Thank you for advocating for every child, one voice