Planning Your First Membership Meeting

​The new school year is upon us and the PTA year is about to get into full swing! Now is the time to plan your first general membership meeting of the year! 

​While some PTAs may be planning for in-person meetings, some are planning to meet online, which may require a little additional preparation.
If you are new to hosting virtual meetings or hybrid meetings, get to know your virtual meeting tool’s online support – there should be tips for setup for all the features, including screen sharing, enabling closed captioning, and login requirements.

TIP: Host one or more practice meetings with a few board members ahead of time to get accustomed to the online meeting tools and platform you'll be using.

Whether your PTA meets virtually or in-person, the same items of business must be done.

1. Approve the 2024-2025 budget – Even if your membership approved a 2024-2025 budget in the spring, adjustments may need to be made. The board of directors should review the approved budget before the meeting and make recommendations to the membership for any necessary changes. Even if there are no recommendations by the board, the budget must be reapproved by membership.
2. Present and approve your mission statement and goals - A mission statement is a concise summary of an PTA's purpose, goals, and the methods to achieve them. To ensure your PTA's budget and programs align with your mission, it's important to review it annually with your board members and present it to the membership for approval.
3. Approve the standing rules – Standing rules are the set of conditions the members impose on the running of the PTA, and they must be approved annually. They should be reviewed by the board prior to the meeting to ensure they are up to date with all requirements. The Leadership Guides section of the WSPTA website has standing rules templates. There were MANY updates to the WSPTA Uniform Bylaws this past spring that will impact your local PTA!  Read more on WSPTA’s blog.
4. Present the 2023-2024 financial review – Results of the end of year financial review should be presented to the members of your PTA. The annual Financial Review is a requirement of the PTA/PTSA’s insurance. It is also a helpful tool meant to assist the Treasurer and the rest of the Board of Directors in establishing and refining best practices. During a Financial Review, the policies and procedures are being reviewed, and the committee’s feedback is important in providing insight to those policies.
5. Hold elections – If you have vacant positions, you'll want to hold elections. Washington state nonprofit laws require a President, Secretary, and Treasurer to be elected by the members. Check if your standing rules include other positions that must be elected. Some PTAs may not have elected a complete slate of officers in the Spring. If your PTA falls into this category, you will need to take several steps to make sure you can hold a legal election by virtual meeting. View Council’s Voting Policy as an example.
6. Elect a nominating committee – This is required by the WSPTA Uniform Bylaws and is part of the WSPTA Standards of Affiliation. A nominating committee elected in 2024-2025 is tasked with presenting the slate of 2025-2026 candidates. Three members must be elected to a nominating committee at least 30 days prior to the election. Electing this committee early in the year means that they have all year to do the work, you are asking for volunteers at one of the best-attended meetings of the year (hopefully, before people are over-committed), and if you are unable to get three nominees at this meeting you will have additional meetings at which you can continue to work to get three nominees.
7. Select delegates to attend WSPTA’s Legislative Assembly. – PTA delegates from all over Washington meet to discuss, debate, and vote on new issues and resolutions, including the adoption of WSPTA’s 2024-2026 Legislative Platform and Top Five Issues. Check your PTA's standing rules to see the guidelines and priority order for selecting delegates. This may include the number of delegates allowed and any specific positions (e.g., advocacy chair, president, etc.) that have priority to attend. Confirm in your budget how much is allocated to attend Legislative Assembly.
   
   

Bonus Tip: Plan on having something additional to offer your members once the business is complete. The first meeting is a great opportunity for your principal to give an update on the start of the year. Plan ahead with your principal and make sure you know what format for taking questions they are comfortable with. During the meeting, act as the moderator by setting ground rules and expectations for how members will participate and ask their questions.

Questions about planning your first general membership meeting of the year? 
Contact Council - We are here to help!