Scoutmaster voting on Committee

[Eagle732]

Does the Scoutmaster vote on Committee decisions?

[sst3rd]

In short, no. He is not a member of the Troop Committee, plus, Committees don't "vote" on anything. Please review the Committee manual for specifics.

 

sst3rd

[John-in-KC]

The Scoutmaster is a member ex officio of the committee. His job is to report out on the program (since he is THE program officer), to request resources, and to integrate thoughts of other adults into his mentoring of the youth.

 

A well run committee, as stated elsewhere, should be able to operate on consensus.

[Eagle732]

Anyone have a link to the Troop Committee Guide Book online?

[Eagle732]

Found this link to the 2000 edition of the Troop Committee Guide Book:

http://www.bacarrowhead.org/training/TroopCommitteeGuidebook.pdf

 

[Beavah]

Yah, what decisions is da committee votin' on exactly?

 

Generally speakin', if da committee is votin' something contrary to the recommendation/desire of the Scoutmaster, that's a recipe for conflict or at least a recipe for needing to look for a new Scoutmaster.

 

The actual practice in different troops varies quite a bit. If the committee is a parent committee and the SM is a parent, then odds are the SM should vote like the rest of the parents, eh? He/she doesn't get disenfranchised as a parent just because of doin' the most work (as a SM).

 

If the committee is a true CO committee of individuals selected/recruited for their outside expertise, then the SM might function as indicated and report to the committee but not vote.

 

Just depends, eh?

 

Beavah

 

[Eagle732]

Good point Beavah, In our troop we have "Parent Meetings" where ever parent is encouraged to attend. However the only parents that attend are committee members, rarely do I ever see a parent attend. As the SM I have refrained from voting on issues as per the Troop Committee Guide Book which seems pretty clear; "The Scoutmaster is not actually a member of the troop committee and has no vote". I was just wondering if there was someway I could have a say in what's going on.

[John-in-KC]

E732:

 

You do have a say. It's called: Ladies and gentlemen, here is the program the youth have developed for the next x weeks. Their support needs are:

1)

2)

3)

4)

...

nnn)

 

The time for the Committee to give you guidance is before the youth are planning. If they're planning October, the Committee should be giving you guidance for November.

[kenk]

Kind of adding on to what Beavah said ...

 

The Troop Committee doesn't really vote on anything. Each person on the committee has a role in supporting the Scoutmaster's program and the PLC's decisions.

 

If money is needed for something - whether equipment or an activity - it is someone on the committee's job to work toward getting that money - usually through fundraising or donations or dues. They work things out and come to an agreement. No need to vote.

 

The other main task of the Troop Committee is ensuring that the Scoutmaster is ensuring that the troop is getting an appropriate program and following BSA policies - including safety. This is accomplished through communication with the Scoutmaster and Boards of Review with the Scouts.

 

If there is a parent meeting that is a great thing - it can provide a nice format for communication, but it is for the most part outside the regular program. The troop is run by the Scouts, guided by the Scoutmaster (and ASMs) and supported by the Troop Committee.

 

If a parent meeting is needed - for the purpose of communicating with parents - I would encourage the PLC & Scouts themselves to develop and run the parent meeting. What better way to show the parents how Boy Scouts works? That also takes it out of the hands of the adults and puts it into the hands of the Scouts - where it should be.

 

By the way, there wouldn't be any need for voting at a parent meeting either.

 

In my own council I see no better example of a youth-run activity than our summer camp. Except for registration, the main camp office, and the kitchen, the entire summer camp and its program are youth run. Its astounding what those young men and women - all under 18 years of age - can accomplish.

[eisely]

The role and responsibilities of troop committees, as distinct from pack committes, have been discussed at length in various threads on this forum over the years. While it is certainly correct that most committee decisions can be made by consensus there is nothing prohibiting formal voting.

 

Taking formal votes does have its advantages. It imposes a little discipline on the process. It also gets people used to the idea that votes are ordinary things. When the really messy situations arise, usually involving disciplinary matters, utlizing formal votes results in clarity as to what is being decided and how it is to be decided.

 

If one is going to think of relying on voting on decisions, then one needs to think about who is actually a voting committee member and who is merely a parent. One also needs to think about what consitutes a quorum. These may seem onerous but they are really quite simple matters.

 

There are some who may object vociferously to the idea that any vote is ever necessary, but one important advantage of conducting regular votes is that decisions are transparent and it becomes more difficult for cliques or dominant personalities to control decisions.

 

In any event, the SM is not a member of the voting committee. However, this is not to say that the SM does not have a great deal of influence. If the SM takes an organized open approach to dealing with the committee, it will be rare that the committee will simply overrule the SM.

[shortridge]

Sorry if this takes the thread too far off-topic...

 

kenk: Is your summer camp a unit-run camp or a council camp? If it's a council camp, there's no way that all the program is run by youth under age 18. That runs contrary to national camping standards. Each major program area should have a 18+ director, with 21+ in several cases (shooting sports, aquatics, COPE/climbing, etc.).

[Eagle732]

Most of our votes revolve around expenditures.

[Gunny2862]

In our Troop voting is generally just a Formalization of Consensus. It tracks that a decision was in fact made rather than that we discussed the issue and generally felt the same about it. And thus that for example that an (especially for sizable purchases) expenditure of Troop funds is actually authorized.

 

For us a quorum is a minimum of 50% of the registered Adults.

 

I don't vote, I do express my opinion.

ASM's vote on anything that isn't procedural- they are parents too, those procedural votes belong in the Committee.

 

[kenk]

Its a council camp. There are some other adults there - certainly in Shooting Sports (a wonderful gray-haired gentleman), but climbing is staffed by youth, though there may be an adult in charge behind the scene that I haven't seen after several years attending. One of them could be college age.

 

I've not seen an adult at the waterfront, though again, I suppose the waterfront director could be college age.

 

The director might be in college (??), but no older than that.

 

I might be off on their ages, but I'm so impressed with what even college-aged kids can do.

[frank10]

In most cases I have seen, a request is put forth and is passed by a vote of one... that's the one person who looks up and says "I'll do that for you". Next item...