Committee Meetings attendance

[Buffalo Skipper]

I have a few committee meeting questions. Who is allowed to attend a committee meeting? I don't mean vote, I men who is allowed and NOT allowed to be present?(This message has been edited by Buffalo Skipper)

[The Blancmange]

Our meetings are posted on the Troop website and anyone is welcome to attend and provide input. The only time we have had non-committee member parents attend is when the committee is considering more significant issues.

 

I suspect, for most troops, encouraging members to attend is a bigger issue than coming up with reasons to prevent someone from attending.

[Basementdweller]

I cannot find anywhere as to who is allowed to attend.

 

Voting rights are CC and Committee members. I cannot find anywhere whether the SM has a vote or not, I imagine that is a local troop decision.

 

I would hope that everyone would be welcome.

[Buffalo Skipper]

I believe the committee guidebook states that registered committee members may vote. It also states that the SM is not a member of the committee.

 

This is not a question of voting, but of attendance.

[Eagledad]

That is a good question. I know that we advertised and welcomed everyone to all our monthly Committee meetings. It was rare for a non member to attend, however if we needed to have a discussion on a subject that we didnt want discussed in general public, we called a special committee meeting and invited only those required for the subject. One such meeting was the physical abuse of a scout by an adult leader. The UC was always invited to every meeting, especially for those special outside meetings.

 

Barry

 

[Oak Tree]

Our pack always invites everyone but no one from outside the committee ever attends.

 

The troop used to do it as an all-parents meeting back when the troop was small, but now it's just a committee meeting and usually goes pretty quickly and uneventfully - maybe half the time there's nothing really to discuss. I don't think we openly invite people, but neither have we ever turned anyone away. I don't think the UC has attended any meetings, although he'd be welcome to.

 

As Barry's troop did, I could foresee a use for a closed session, but we've never had one of those either. We would probably deal with those situations with one-on-one discussions if possible.

 

As far as BSA rules go, such a thing is not specified. I think you'd be well within your rights to limit the meeting to committee members only (plus Scoutmaster), or to open it as you wish. You could even go with smaller sub-committees for some issues if you want (and by "you", I mean the CO).

[moosetracker]

Our troop invited, but few came..

 

Last night hubby & I went visiting another troop who invited us. (We are just starting to go out visiting, we are at district level, not unit level.) Many things were different, and it was nice to take note of the differences.. And alot was going on to get a feel for the way the troop worked..

 

1) They hold their meetings during the troop meeting.. SM comes in for his piece, and stayed for an important topic.

 

2) Called a Parents meeting for the purpose of getting the parents to come, held on same night for the purpose to get parents to come. They had about 30 in attendance. They did comment it was a high turnout but they were voting on a trailer, and were proposing doing away with charging at each event (which I guess many show up on the day, without fees, go and don't pay).. To charging $100 per year then not charging for any normal monthly camping events (HA events excluded.) Anyway.. Big interest in subject matter.

 

3) All voted in the troop, registered or not.

 

4) Still had some problems getting parents to take on positions, so it was a topic that night.. Alot of their jobs title functions did not run as per the way National outlines, for example no Outdoor Coordinator, but a high Adventure coordinator (Secratary was to do tour permits.).. Anyway, with all the parents there they brought up some were doing 2 jobs, and passed around the list of vacant jobs, and other jobs they wished for a strong assitant to learn from the person who was doing it as backup.. Didn't get all jobs filled, but got two or three, and got a strong message out to the others at the table.

 

5) there was a young scout that sat at the table all but maybe the last 15 minute, I though he would have an Eagle presentation, or be there to discuss a PLC idea or next years calendar.. Never did figure out why he was there, he made some suggestions and seemed comfortable being there.

 

Anyway a great introduction to how their troop functions behind the scenes. We hope to get back soon for a Troop meeting.

 

Edited to add one humorus comment from SM, when talking about who currently was doing which positions (who were doing 2 jobs etc)..

"Ok, everyone knows I'm SM.. But SM is not part of the committee.. I work for you.. You can fire me anytime.. Any time. Really, if you want to fire me now, I'm gone.. Really any time.."..

 

Just was funny how he said it, and I know again some people thing the committee does have the power (as long as COR supports them) others do not.. I know the viewpoint of this topic by this SM.(This message has been edited by moosetracker)

[fred8033]

Scouting is generally an "open" activity. No secret societies. No hidden processes or procedures. "Normal" on-going activities (troop meetings and committee meetings) should be open for observance. Camps and other outings are generally open as long as we don't detract from youth interacting with youth.

 

Dealing with "sensitive" person-specific issues can require privacy at times to avoid creating a larger problem, to avoid gossip and to protect reputations.

 

With that said, why would you document who can NOT attend? Heck, most scout groups I know don't vote on things. It's more by general consensus

.

[Buffalo Skipper]

The committee meets once a month on troop meeting nights. For the past few 2 years, we have not had sufficient ASM support to allow me (SM) to leave the troop meeting to attend the Committee Meeting. In the past 5 months, our ASM corps has grown in number and experience, and I have finally been able to attend and participate in committee meetings.

 

Last night, one of our ASM (parent of 2 scouts) was able to break away from the troop meeting (there were 3 other ASMs in attendance) and he came over to sit in on the committee meeting. As soon as he walked in, the Committee Chair leaned over to me and told me that ASMs were NOT to be at committee meetings, and that he had recently verified this with the UC. A little shocked, I suggested that as a parent, he had a right to be there and hear what was said. The CC replied that his wife could register to be on the committee and his family could be represented in that manner. The ASM did not interfere in the meeting, but was obviously present and engaged in the preceedings. When near the end of the meeting the CC asked if there was anything else or any questions, the ASM spoke up and asked what was being done to better communicate activities and happenings with parents (communication IS a real problem in our troop, as few adults really take the time to disciminate information except thru the scouts at a meeting; it is a problem I have been working to resolve, but that is not the point of this post. Spin off if you want to talk about this...). The CCs reply was pretty much what he has said privately to me, that as an ASM he should not be attending this meeting and his wife could join the committee.

 

I have looked through the Committee Guidebook, and have found only one reference to who attends. The statement is at the beginning of Chapter 4 and indicates that committee meetings are to be attended by Committee Members and the Scoutmaster. But there is no exclusion of ASMs from attending.

 

Frankly, I was stunned by this and I am unsure of how to proceed. I have no doubt that ASMs are not a part of the Committee, but to so openly oppose their presence just makes no sense to me.

[Papadaddy]

I prefer a more formal meeting, just for efficiency's sake. I don't think you will find it written anywhere who can or cannot attend a Committee Meeting. Common sense dictates to me that the meeting is run by the Committee Chair and all registered committee members are expected to attend, along with the SM and maybe SPL when he is presenting a proposal. Other troop adult leadership and parents would certainly be welcome to attend as "observers", unless discussing a sensitive personnel or discipline issue. There should be an agenda published ahead of time and adhered to. This minimizes disruption and dominance of the meeting by any one person. Start on time and end on time. Any items to be discussed need to be forwarded to the CC in advance for inclusion on the agenda, at his discretion. Anyone not a registered committee member does not get a "vote". And, I agree, most business was conducted by consensus, not formal voting.

 

PS: If the SM cannot attend, I see no problem with him designating an ASM to attend in his stead...on an occasional basis. If the SM can't step away and let the SPL run the meeting, you have bigger problems. That being said, it would be good if the Committee did not meet at the same time as the Troop Meeting.(This message has been edited by papadaddy)

[bear dad]

EagleDad,

 

Are you by chance with T 386 in Edmond?

[The Blancmange]

Sounds like a power issue to me. If the ASM was provding constructive input, why would one not want him there? If someone were being disruptive or trying to monopolize the meeting, that might be a reason to deal with it on an individual basis.

 

Troop operations should be an open book. With the exception of some of the issues mentioned that call for privacy or discretion, I see no reason to exclude a parent from the committee meetings.(This message has been edited by the blancmange)

[Eagledad]

>>EagleDad,

 

Are you by chance with T 386 in Edmond?

[fred8033]

Work with your CC to make him comfortable with it. Maybe ask about what you and the ASMs can do to minimize distractions during the committee meeting. Or ...

 

I'd rather not call it a "power play" as much as someone trying to do it by the book or someone learning the job or someone trying to find a way to run the meeting. Also, UC's (bless their heart) sometimes make suggestions that need more context to integrate. The UC was absolutely correct by the book, but it shouldn't be an issue if someone else sits in.

[GKlose]

The way I see it, it's the CC's show. But our troop isn't exclusive. We're meeting monthly, on a separate night from troop meetings, and all parents are invited. I saw that when I joined that nothing really happened without the SM's blessing, but otherwise we pretty much run on a consensus basis.

 

Last fall, we had some contention. It related to a change in troop policy where Scouts' positions of responsibility would not be credited unless actual effort was put forth for the entire duration. Our advancement chair brought this up, as a change to how Boards of Review would be conducted. One Scout was, unfortunately, to be the first "victim" of a delayed BoR. The dad (not a committee member) was not pleased, and started shouting at the meeting, despite pleas for him to keep his voice down. Afterward, the CC admitted to me that he was quite uncomfortable during the exchange. This is the only time that our consensus was anything but, and we had disagreement.

 

But just to fill in the rest of that story -- a few factors had got us to that point. One is that Scouts, at their prior Boards of Review, had been told that they'd had their last "freebies". It was only a delay (until PoRs had been satisfactorily filled). Turns out the ultimate problem, with dad pushing the Scout, was that we were coming up on our first Court of Honor in 5 months or so, without another one scheduled. They'd wanted him to move up in rank prior to the CoH. The situation was diffused with a new BoR policy, where rank badges were handed out immediately after completed BoRs (with recognition, and cards, given at the next CoH). Problem solved. The Scout did fulfill his PoR, had his BoR, received his Life rank badge right away, and was honored at our most recent CoH. But we really could have done without the shouting.

 

Guy