Is it time to pull the plug on our pack, or can we recruit more Cubs?

[DenZero]

Beavah, the 2 schools and the 2 pack meeting locations are each about 1 mile apart, so location isn't a big factor. The schools are big enough to each support a pack. The Large Pack has about 65 Cubs. They are rather heavy in 2nd year Webelos, and will be losing some leadership with those Webelos. There are people who prefer the flexibility of a small pack, but most parents prefer to be able to take their kids to meetings and not be pressured into taking a pack position.

 

I appreciate all of the advice. I have summarized it and will present it at a parent's meeting to be scheduled soon. We will invite the Chartered Org. representative and the Troop's scoutmaster. We will need to either decide to throw in the towel or to begin a serious search for new leaders.

 

Paul

 

[MarkS]

When I rechartered my pack in 2005 and helped transfer that responsibility to someone else in 2006, I recall the paperwork saying that a den leader for each level of boys was required. Not a single den leader for the entire pack.

 

I didn't find any list of recharter requirements from the National web site, but I did find some information dated October of this year from the Transatlantic Council that lists the adult leadership requirements I recall.

 

See http://www.tac-bsa.org/how_to_recharter.rtf for details. Is this accurate?(This message has been edited by MarkS)

[ScoutNut]

Mark, either your council has decided to stay with one leader per pack Cub level in hopes of ensuring sufficient leaders for their units, they have simply never changed their paperwork, or the person in charge of recharter is not aware of the change.

 

This change was announced at the National meeting about 3 years, or so, ago. It might have been the same meeting that they announced the Tigers would go to the blue uniform, or the one before that.

 

Copied from the New-Unit Application form -

 

"Packs must have a den leader/Webelos den leader/Tiger Cub leader who should be registered as an adult in the pack."

 

From what I understand, this was done to help small Packs who would have had a hard time chartering if they had to register a leader for a level with only 1 or 2 boys.

[MarkS]

ScoutNut,

 

Fair enough. Maybe councils do have some discretion on defining the rechartering requirements for their units. Based on the recharter packages I received, it doesn't seem to be a paperwork or a forgetfullness issue on the part of my council.

 

For small units such as DenZero's, I would agree that the requirement of just one den leader should be sufficient for rechartering the unit. However, DenZero did say they only had two "official" leaders and if "official" equates to chartered leadership, I don't think that would be sufficient for a quality program.

 

Anyway, given the makeup and geographical descriptions of the two units herein, it sure seems that merging the smaller struggling unit into the larger one is the best solution. Qaulity programs come from spreading the work around, not from just one motivated leader doing all the work--no matter how talented.