Job Description for Secretary

Preparation – Review files and procedure book from last term to better understand the scope of the new position. Materials should include:

• Secretary’s minute book(s) with minutes from prior board and association meetings
• PTA records – Bylaws, membership list, charter, rosters and correspondence

If your PTA bylaws have a recording secretary and a corresponding secretary as officers, discuss how you will work together.

Consult the California State PTA website, Toolkit, and Leader’s website to find out more about:

• PTA policies, best practices and resources
• Insurance Guide

It’s also worthwhile to talk to last term’s secretary to get advice and tips about your new role.

Recording – When taking minutes at a meeting, focus on noting:

• Actions taken by group in the order they took place
• What is done, not what is said

This means that any detailed discussion or personal opinion is not included in the minutes.

Whether you hand-write or use a laptop or device to take notes at a meeting to produce the minutes, remember to include the following information:

1.  Meeting Details:

• Name of your PTA
• Date, place and type of meeting
• Start time and end time of meeting
• Attendance list
• Name and title of presiding officer

2.  Business Items:

• Approval of previous meeting’s minutes ‘as written’ or ‘as corrected’ with a list of corrections
• Summary of treasurer’s report listing date and balance on hand in the last report followed by income,expenses and date and balance on hand in the current report
• Motions to adopt budget, financial reports, financial review reports and resolutions
• List of authorized payments or ratified expenditures to pay bills
• Motions to approve projects, fundraisers, contracts and bylaws changes, noting the name of the person making a motion and result of the vote, whether adopted or defeated
• Record if a quorum or majority was needed for motions with a counted vote, as well as the number voting for and against the motion
• Note that a two-thirds vote was required for approval after the outcome of motions requiring a two-thirds vote

3.  Summaries of Reports/Presentations:

• Summary of officer, chairmen and administrator reports with important, written reports attached
• Election results with nominees’ name and the number of votes each nominee received
• Brief reference to program presented at an association meeting, noting type of presentation, presenter, title and the organization represented

Additionally, add your signature and title at the end of the minutes: e.g. ‘Maria Perez, Secretary’.

Distributing – It’s always best to complete the minutes soon after a meeting. Send a copy to the president to review before distributing minutes to the group that generated them.

There are several ways to share minutes with your members. For a smaller group, such as a board, you can email the minutes for review before the next meeting.

For association meetings, prepare hard copies of minutes as handouts or post them at the meeting. Minutes can be published in a unit newsletter if it is sent only to PTA members.

It is important to keep in mind that PTA minutes are produced only for the group that generated them and are not for public distribution. For this reason, they are not posted on any website, on social media, or in newsletters in their entirety. For association meetings, provide only a summary of the minutes, online or in school newsletters, that highlights the main actions taken at the meeting.

Approving – Minutes are presented for approval at the next meeting of the group as a standardagenda item. This action is recorded in two, different places in the master copies of the minutes:

• Minutes of current meeting – Note that previous meeting’s minutes were approved ‘as written’ or ‘as corrected’ and list the corrections
• Minutes of previous meeting – Write the word ‘Approved’ and the date after your signature and title

The president can also appoint a committee, ideally three people, to approve minutes during the term. This helps to save time at a meeting.

When using a committee to approve minutes, committee members must be present at the meeting to:

• Read the minutes on behalf of members
• Report on any corrections at the next meeting
• Approve, sign and date the minutes after secretary’s signature on the master copy of the minutes

Correcting – Corrections to minutes are made when they are presented for approval at a meeting. They can also be made at any subsequent meeting when an error is discovered.

Only the group involved in the meeting – the board or the association – may correct minutes from one of their previous meetings.

To record a correction in the master copy of the minutes, use a red ink pen to:

• Circle the incorrect words
• In the margin, write the correction, the date and your initials

Preserving – Minutes are the legal, permanent records of a PTA as a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization and are kept forever. At the end of the term, master copies of any board and association meetings must be permanently bound. Minutes can be 1) printed, signed, and taken to an office supply store or print shop to be bound; 2) printed, signed, and permanently glued into a book with non-removable pages; or, 3) signed digitally, saved as a PDF, and uploaded into a secure PTA drive, such as the document retention system.

As secretary, you are assigned a few other tasks as indicated in your bylaws. At meetings, be prepared torefer to minutes of previous meetings, adopted bylaws and the current membership list, if asked. You may also be asked to provide blank paper for voting by ballot and to help count a vote.

For an association meeting, the secretary presents a board report and moves the adoption of board recommendations.

In addition, some administrative tasks carried out by the secretary include:

• Sending notices of board meetings
• Preparing a list of unfinished business from meetings for follow-up by the president
• Notifying officers and committee members of their election or appointment

• Adhere to PTA financial procedures as outlined in Bylaws and State and National PTA guidelines
• Protect members’ privacy by utilizing member information for PTA purposes only
• Attend PTA sponsored workshops or trainings
• Maintain a current procedure book, electronic files or records to pass on their successor
• Work together as a team to positively impact the lives of all children and families

California State PTA – www.capta.org

• PTA Leaders tab and more
• California State PTA Toolkit
• Running Your PTA Made Easy
• California State PTA Insurance Guide

Online Services:

• Officer Contact System – To enter officer and board member information and generate useful reports
• e-Bylaws – To revise and update PTA unit Bylaws
• Tax Filing Support Center – To help units meet Federal and State reporting requirements
• MyPTEZ – To handle PTA accounting needs and generate financial reports
• TOTEM – ELECTRONIC MEMBERSHIP SYSTEM – To join and renew membership and for PTAs to manage membership

National PTA – www.pta.org

• Run Your PTA tab and more
• E-Learning Workshops