{"id":2619,"date":"2014-07-23T11:58:13","date_gmt":"2014-07-23T11:58:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ptachc.org\/?page_id=2619"},"modified":"2019-10-14T17:07:35","modified_gmt":"2019-10-14T17:07:35","slug":"secretarys-guide","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ptachc.org\/?page_id=2619","title":{"rendered":"Secretary’s Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Secretary’s Duties Brief<\/a> power point presentation<\/p>\n

Secretary Handbook<\/a>\u00a0Click here for the printable copy<\/p>\n

RECORDING SECRETARY DUTIES<\/strong><\/p>\n

First, read the duties of secretary as listed in your bylaws Article VII, Section 3.
\nThe recording secretary is responsible for keeping accurate records of the proceedings of the association.<\/p>\n

I. MEETING NEEDS:
\n1. Paper and pencil or a lap top computer to take notes
\n2. Secretary\u2019s Notebook
\n3. Copies of last month\u2019s minutes awaiting approval<\/p>\n

II. TAKING MINUTES
\n1. Record the minutes of all meetings \u2013 general, board of directors, and executive committee.
\n2. The notes taken in a meeting must be accurate but not verbatim unless recording a motion
\n3. Use the agenda as a guide and look at previous minutes are helpful
\n4. Keep in mind the following:
\na. Record the date, time, and place of meeting, who called the meeting to order and the time of adjournment.
\nb. Take attendance with a sign in sheet (to establish quorum as required by bylaws)
\nc. Sit near the presiding officer so that you hear everything clearly and accurately
\nd. Use your judgment about what is important. If in doubt, include it. Record the actions not the opinions of the members
\ne. Record the name of the person who makes a motion, better yet, have the motion written and signed. File along with the minutes
\nf. Write \u2013Adopted- or \u2013Failed- at the end of the motion, record the vote for\/against if it was by ballot.<\/p>\n

III. TYPING MINUTES
\n1. Within the week after the meeting, while everything is fresh in your mind, type a rough draft.
\n2. If portions are unclear, make the appropriate calls
\n3. If your Presidents requests, send them the rough draft
\n4. All minutes should be signed by the secretary
\n5. The final copy of the minutes should be typed and copies made for all attending the next meeting<\/p>\n

IV. CORRECTING THE MINUTES
\n1. At each meeting, the minutes of the previous meeting are read either by the secretary or in silence by all present.
\n2. The President then will ask if there are any additions or corrections to the minutes.
\n3. If a correction is made, note it on the original copy and state the correction in the next set of minutes.<\/p>\n

V. INDEXING THE MINUTES
\n1. Minutes are kept chronologically in a minute notebook (a three ring binder) and kept for 7 years.<\/p>\n

If your PTA has a CORRESPONDING SECRETARY
\nTHINK OF ALL TYPES OF COMMUNICATION, NOT JUST LETTERS!<\/p>\n

1. Copies of letters sent by the PTA should be kept on file by both the secretary and the president
\n2. Letters from the PTA should be written on PTA letterhead (NOT school stationary)
\n3. Letters should be written in business form. They should be brief and contain all necessary pertinent information.
\n4. If the president composes the letter, it should be signed by him\/her. If the secretary composes the letter, it should be signed by him\/her.
\n5. A willing corresponding secretary could make him\/herself almost indispensable to the very busy president.<\/p>\n

Some suggested other duties could be:<\/p>\n

a) Maintain a PTA Bulletin Board somewhere highly visible in the school
\nb) Awards \u2013 be responsible for completing various award nomination forms. A few awards are: The National PTA Phoebe Apperson Hearst Award due in February, the PTA Councils award in May.
\nc) Send the list of newly elected local PTA officers to the PTA Council and MD PTA in June
\nd) Organize and publish a directory of parents and students to be used only for PTA communication and noncommercial community activities
\ne) Be the editor for the PTA newsletter
\nf) Be responsible to display the PTA Objects and Mission during each meeting
\ng) Remember to send thank you notes to guest speakers or others who helped in a PTA program.
\nh) Make sure that the names of those who have volunteered during the school year are published with a recognition and thank you in your newsletter.
\ni) Be responsible for the social media updates the PTA website, PTA Twitter account, etc.<\/p>\n

OUTLINE FOR SECRETARY\u2019S NOTEBOOK
\nSection 1. Organizational Papers
\nContact list of officers and chairs with phone numbers and email address
\nCopy of current bylaws
\nApproved budget
\nInsurance policy (unless maintained by the treasurer)
\nMembership list (copy from membership chair)<\/p>\n

Section 2. Executive Committee\/Board of Directors Minutes
\nAgenda
\nAttendance sheet
\nTreasurer\u2019s report
\nApproved minutes
\nCommittee reports
\nHandouts
\nFile these items monthly, in chronological order.<\/p>\n

Section 3. General Meeting Minutes
\nAgenda
\nAttendance sheet
\nTreasurer\u2019s report
\nApproved minutes
\nCommittee reports
\nHandouts
\nFile these items monthly, in chronological order.<\/p>\n

Section 4. Miscellaneous
\nSchool Newsletters
\nPTA Newsletters<\/p>\n

HELPFUL HINTS
\n1. Using a lap top computer is helpful to write the minutes as the meeting is taking place.
\n2. Take attendance at each meeting to establish quorum. Create a master roster sheet for the board of directors to sign at each meeting. Keep attendance records. Record absent members, note if they were excused or unexcused absences. Verify local bylaws. There may be provisions for removing non- productive members who repeatedly miss meetings
\n3. Request that all motions and amendments be written, then file these copies of the motions with the minutes. Index cards are handy to write down motions. Record the name of the person who made the motion.
\n4. Minutes should be written up in a timely fashion (within the week after the meeting). Decide with your president how to disseminate them to members, i.e. e-mail, back packs, school mailbox, and at next meeting.
\n5. Be concise. Record the action of the group, not the discussions or personal opinions
\n6. Use the agenda as a guide in writing up minutes
\n7. Committee reports that are written ahead of time can be recorded as \u201csee report attached\u201d
\n8. Record the number of votes on each side in a vote by ballot or in a counted vote.
\n9. Corrections to the minutes -Do be specific when recording corrections in the minutes. Record the date, page, and line in the minutes of the meeting in which the correction was made.
\n10. Request written reports from all chairs. Create a standard form and give enough to each chair for the year. Request that they file one each month, even if there wasn\u2019t any activity that month. This will allow the board of directors the ability to build a working notebook documenting when each committee has activity and will be helpful when trying to interest someone new to take a position. This will document month\u2019s of activity and approximately how much time was invested
\n11. Meetings – verify the bylaws as to the number of day\u2019s notice that different types of meetings require.
\n12. Create an Action Item list after the meeting. Note what motions were made and if action is to be taken and who is to complete the task.
\n13. Whenever possible, use all media available to advertise your events and meetings.
\n14. Create a mailbox file system for the board of directors. A plastic crate with a hanging folder for each member works well. Use a sticky note stapled inside each hanging folder with the name of the current person in that position (and their child\u2019s name, grade, & teacher to send correspondence home via the child\u2019s backpack. This works well at the elementary level)
\n15. If one of your duties is to sort the PTA mail, as mail is received, drop in each appropriate folder and encourage members to look in the mailbox every week. Post on the front of the mailbox the number of copies needed to disseminate information to everyone.
\n16. If a member is absent from a meeting, be sure to put all handouts into their hanging folder.
\n17. Create a correspondence notebook with dividers for each month. Discuss with the president who will maintain the notebook. It should be brought to each meeting so all members have the opportunity to review the correspondence.
\n18. Create an emergency telephone tree and distribute to all board of director members. This is very useful if there is an emergency or a cancellation due to inclement weather. Emails are not always the best way to communicate immediate information.
\n19. Written correspondence will be directed to the president. You may be asked to send out invitations, thank you notes or letters as necessary. Make sure that there is a budget line item for postage and stationery to cover your expenses.
\n20. Create PTA letterhead stationary that can be used by your board of directors if there is none. Logo must be standardized using National PTA logo. For more information, http:\/\/www.pta.org
\n21. Executive committees\/Board of Directors run differently at each local PTA. Some PTAs enjoy refreshments and encourage members to sign up for a specific month; and others acknowledge birthdays. These items could be listed at the end of the minutes along with the date of the next scheduled meeting.<\/p>\n

SAMPLE AGENDA
\nGeneral or Board of Directors PTA meeting
\nDate
\nCall to Order
\nAttendance List \u2013 Quorum Check
\nPurpose of the National PTA Read
\nIntroduction of Guests, Agenda
\nAgenda
\nMinutes
\nTreasurer\u2019s Report
\nReports of Officers & Committees
\nPrincipal\u2019s Report<\/p>\n

UNFINISHED BUSINESS\/ITEMS TO BE ADDRESSED<\/p>\n

New Business & Motions
\nReminders
\nAdjournment
\nCalendar of upcoming dates of activities<\/p>\n

________________PTA
\nBOARD OF DIRECTORS ATTENDANCE ROSTER
\n(SAMPLE OF MEETING SIGN IN) \u2013 (ADAPT TO YOUR NEEDS) \u2013 (ADD OR DELETE COMMITTEE CHAIRS AS NEEDED)<\/p>\n

Type of Meeting:_____________ Date:_____________<\/p>\n

Position Signature<\/p>\n

President _____________________________
\nFirst Vice President _____________________________
\nSecond Vice President _____________________________
\nTreasurer _____________________________
\nRecording Secretary _____________________________
\nCorresponding Secretary _____________________________
\nPTA Council Delegate _____________________________
\nPTA Council Delegate _____________________________
\nTeacher Representative _____________________________
\nCommittees: (add or delete committees as needed)
\nX committee name _____________________________
\nZ committee _____________________________
\nY committee _____________________________
\nA committee _____________________________
\nB committee _____________________________
\nC committee ____________________________<\/p>\n

Principal _____________________________
\nGuests _____________________________
\n_____________________________<\/p>\n

WHAT RECORDS SHOULD MY PTA KEEP?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Secretary’s Duties Brief power point presentation Secretary Handbook\u00a0Click here for the printable copy RECORDING SECRETARY DUTIES First, read the duties of secretary as listed in your bylaws Article VII, Section 3. The recording secretary is responsible for keeping accurate records … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":40,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2619","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ptachc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ptachc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ptachc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ptachc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ptachc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2619"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.ptachc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5400,"href":"https:\/\/www.ptachc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2619\/revisions\/5400"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ptachc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/40"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ptachc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}