Each officer and chairperson is responsible for providing information and materials to pass on to his/her successor at the end of the term. Supplying these resources helps ensure that a PTA can continue to thrive as an organization.
When organized and collated, all material related to a PTA office or committee is known as a Procedure Book. It contains items and details to paint a picture on the scope of the position, how work was done and what was achieved during the year.
These materials may be kept and passed on in a binder, on a flash drive, or as electronic files stored on the cloud to access and download.
Procedure books are labeled with the PTA position or committee name; the name of the unit, council, if in council, and PTA district; and, a list of previous officers/chairpersons with the dates served and contact information.
They should also contain the following statement:
“This procedure book is the property of _________ [name of unit] and is to be given to the incoming officer/chairperson at the end of the term.”
To start the year right, a Procedure Book contains:
- Executive board roster
- Job description (See: California State PTA Toolkit, Job Descriptions)
- Current Unit Bylaws and Standing Rules
- Agendas and Minutes from meetings
- PTA calendar of events and/or monthly duties
- Budget and financial information
- Officer/Chairperson Reports
- Information from conferences and workshops
- Relevant communications and newsletters
- Contact information for community and business partners
Providing a summary of what worked best and suggesting ways to make it even better are also useful items to add to a Procedure Book for your successor.
Please Note: Procedure Books belong to a PTA and are not to be regarded as the personal property of individual volunteers.
