Job Descriptions for PTA Leaders

PRESIDENT

Thank you for taking the time to work with your PTA and school community as a PTA leader. Being a PTA leader can be exciting and rewarding, but it can sometimes feel a little overwhelming and complicated, but Sixteenth District PTA is here to help.

Need more?

If you are looking for answers, there are three other resources that will help you:

1. Your bylaws/standing rules – ask your Parliamentarian for a copy
2. The California State PTA Toolkit (link below)
3. The Insurance and Loss Prevention Guide (sent to every PTA yearly)

You can also call your council or district officers for more help or to arrange a training for your entire PTA board. If you are missing any of these resources, call our office and we will help.

Financial duties of the president

Remember that the president:

Must sign, with the secretary, all authorizations for payment
Is an authorized check signer and may sign checks as required
Appoints a budget committee. This can happen as soon as the president is elected, even before taking office. The treasurer chairs the budget committee and the president serves on the committee
Has all contracts and other legally binding documents approved by the executive board and the association before signing with another elected officer
Makes sure all financial due dates are met so that the association remains in good standing with the California State PTA. Check with your council (if in council) or Sixteenth District PTA for these dates

Thank you for helping to make a difference for every child, we look forward to working with you.

California State PTA Resources

http://toolkit.capta.org/

http://toolkit.capta.org/job-descriptions/president/

TREASURER

The treasurer is an elected officer and the authorized custodian of all funds of the local PTA. Some responsibilities of the office are specified in the unit bylaws and others are established by district PTA and California State PTA procedures. The treasurer’s duties also include keeping records and preparing reports to comply with local, state and federal laws. California State PTA resources for treasurers are listed at the bottom of this page.

Thank you so much for volunteering to be the treasurer for PTA/PTSA! The only job qualifications you NEED to have is being organized and available to keep the financial information up to date. We have training for the rest!

If you have questions, please email us!
treasurer16thpta@gmail.com

Visit the California State PTA website for valuable resources to learn
even more!

PTA/PTSAs are public charities and must be operated within these rules
Financial controls for all PTA/PTSAs
Healthy Fundraising Ideas
Whistleblower Policy
Record-keeping guidelines
Understanding PTA audits

…and much more!

California State PTA Resources

https://capta.org/pta-leaders/run-your-pta/finance//
http://toolkit.capta.org/finance/

SECRETARY

PTA Minutes and the Secretary

Minutes may be handwritten in permanent ink, typed, or computer generated. The original hardcopy of each association and executive board meeting's minutes must be kept in a binder or other organized file. Minutes contain a record of action taken by the group, with that action recorded in the order it took place. Personal opinion and discussion are not included.

Minutes should contain:

Name of the association and kind of meeting – association, executive board, special
Date, time and location of meeting
Name and title of presiding officer or pro tem
Attendance list
Disposition of minutes of previous meeting – whether read and approved/corrected, or reading postponed, including when and how they are to be approved
Statement of accounts as given and list of bills approved for payment
Summarized reports of other officers and chairmen, important reports such as the budget should be attached to the minutes
Record of each motion voted upon, the name of member who made the motion, and whether adopted or defeated; if counted vote requested, the number for and against the motion; if a two/thirds vote was required; i.e., for bylaws changes, it must be noted after the outcome of the motion
Copy of any resolutions adopted
Brief notation of program topic, names of participants, and method of presentation
Time of adjournment
Signature of secretary, using own given name and date approved, added at the next meeting.

California State PTA Resources

Job description: toolkit.capta.org/job-descriptions/secretary/

FINANCIAL REVIEWER (FORMERLY KNOWN AS AUDITOR)

The Financial Reviewer is responsible for working with the Financial Review Committee to review the books, and financial records of a PTA/PTSA to determine their accuracy, and that PTA financial procedures, as outlined in the Bylaws and Finance Toolkit, are adhered to.

Financial Reviews may be conducted by an elected financial reviewer, an appointed financial reviewer, or the council/district PTA. Alternatively, the board may authorize, subject to the ratification of the association, that the required financial review be conducted by a qualified accountant (volunteer or paid).

The financial reviewer is often a member of the budget, programs, or fundraising committees, but is never the one authorized to sign the PTA/PTSA’s checks.

Purpose of the Financial Review

The purpose of the financial review is to ensure the PTA/PTSA’s money is being handled in the safest way possible to avoid fraud or theft of funds. A financial review determines the accuracy of the books, detects inconsistencies or errors, provides recommendations for corrective action, protects the financial officers, verifies that funds were sent through channels as appropriate, and assures the membership that the association’s resources were managed properly.

One requirement of the Fidelity Bond, provided by the insurance company, is that each PTA/PTSA Association must conduct an annual audit/review of the books by an audit/review committee or qualified accountant or coverage for embezzlement, robbery, theft, and fraud may be voided.

California State PTA Resources

http://toolkit.capta.org/

http://toolkit.capta.org/finance/pta-financial-review/

HISTORIAN

Role of the PTA Historian

A key part of the PTA historian's role is to raise awareness about the achievements, success and legacy of PTA in your community.

What the Historian does:

Captures and keeps a record of their unit's activities and successes
Collects and adds up their unit's volunteer hours, on a regular basis
Showcases their unit's success at PTA meetings, events and activities
Shares their unit's history and legacy of PTA as a leading voice for all children

Ways to get started:

Look through last term's procedure book and historical materials and start your own procedure book
Brainstorm ideas to plan how and when you'll showcase your PTA's success (Founders Day is often a key date)
Publicize why and how you'll collect everyone's volunteer hours for PTA meetings, activities and events during the year
Review the PTA Unit – Annual Historian Report Form Ideas for capturing & keeping records
Make a PTA Scrapbook
Make a video of some of your events
Take pictures and display them
Make a PTA slide show or loop video to play at events and/or before meetings
for a PTA bulletin board in the school's multipurpose room, office or other common space
Create a historian page on your unit website
Use poster board to display photos, clippings and memorabilia
Convert hours into money and present a symbolic check to your Principal at a school or PTA event
Share your ideas and successes with your Council, District and State PTA organizations