Merging Districts

[BadenP]

Merging districts and merging councils is a way of life when revenues and membership continue to go down on a nationwide basis as it is currently doing. However the downside of this is that this loss continues to multiply exponentially until there is some well thought out financial recovery plan put into place, otherwise the districts and councils assets are liquidated and disappear into some vortex. Within five years after I left the council as Sr. DE with two very solvent camps and with an excellent growing FOS and other financial campaigns a new SE came in and in those five years managed to put the council into massive debt. He took loans out on both camps and the council office, and the council being unable to repay the loans because the lack of a solid financial campaign under the new administration lost all three assets, and the council was merged with another. So things can change real fast when poor management is allowed to occur.

 

GW, I too read the financials on Bob White's council and agree with you 100%, he grossly exaggerated the truth in his statement.(This message has been edited by BadenP)

[Sprite]

What should be the guidelines for determining districts?

Number of Scouts

Number of Units

Economics

Experienced and availability of volunteers

 

Are there any guidelines on this?

 

Our experience--There were 2 long established, self sustaining troops in our District when I started. That were expected to provide all the volunteers. Our DE was horrible at organizing encampments/jamborees, training, etc. I know we complained about him for at least 4 years--but he brought in the money. Our district had a lot of new, low economic area troops in it and needed the help. Finally we are redistricted (combined with another district). There is more interest in volunteering. Scout Reach arena is now it's own organization.

[Gold Winger]

"Gold Winger - and of course when your one district was formed it had only one district chair and one district commissioner. They were given the job of handling six times what was normal. How many of the professional staff was working the new district?"

 

The new giant district will have a professional staff of four. A DD and three DEs with different areas of responsibility: membership, finanace, program.

 

I don't know if there are official guidelines . . . okay, they probably exist in some secret handbook . . . but when they split my district, it was said that a district should have about 50 units, no more than 60 for a DE to be able to serve it effectively. That seemed to work well.

 

Maybe the problem isn't money raising but the ability to recruit new professionals.