Board Meetings vs General Membership Meetings in a Booster Club

Two Bodies, Two Kinds of Authority

The membership is the club’s voting members, as the bylaws define them, often every parent or guardian who has joined for the year. Its authority is whatever the bylaws give it, which typically includes electing officers, amending the bylaws, adopting the annual budget, and approving dissolution.

The board (sometimes called the executive board or executive committee) is the officers and any other directors the bylaws name. It manages the club’s business between membership meetings, with only the authority the bylaws grant. Under Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONRRobert’s Rules of OrderRobert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR), the rulebook most booster club bylaws adopt for running meetings. It governs a club only if the bylaws adopt it, and state law and the bylaws come first.All terms), the board cannot alter or undo a decision the membership has made, and it cannot act on a matter the bylaws reserve to the membership.

Some booster clubs have no voting members at all. Their bylaws make the board the only decision-making body, and parents are supporters rather than legal members. That structure avoids several problems with pay-to-vote memberships but gives parents less voice. The trade-offs are covered on Membership Rules in Booster Club Bylaws.

The Two Meetings Compared

Who Decides What

The bylaws control. A typical division of authority looks like this.

When the bylaws do not say which body decides something, the safe course is to bring it to the membership. A board that stretches its authority on a large or controversial decision invites the membership to challenge it.

Who May Attend a Board Meeting

Under RONRRobert’s Rules of OrderRobert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR), the rulebook most booster club bylaws adopt for running meetings. It governs a club only if the bylaws adopt it, and state law and the bylaws come first.All terms, the right to attend a meeting belongs to the members of the body that is meeting. A board meeting is a meeting of the board, so club members who are not on the board do not have an automatic right to attend unless the bylaws or the board grant it. The board may invite anyone and may ask non-board members to leave.

Most booster clubs do better with open board meetings. Parents who can watch the board work trust it more, and recruiting next year’s officers is easier when parents have seen a meeting. A workable approach:

1. Adopt a standing rule that board meetings are open to members.
2. Allow member comments in a fixed agenda slot with a time limit.
3. Reserve a closed portion (executive session) for sensitive matters.

Executive Session

An executive session is a portion of a meeting held in secret, with only board members and anyone the board invites present. Votes may be taken in executive session. Proceedings are confidential, and members who disclose them can be subject to discipline.

Appropriate uses in a booster club:

• A specific family’s request for financial help
• A complaint about a volunteer or a possible misuse of funds
• Legal matters, insurance claims, or threatened claims
• Negotiating a contract before terms are final

Executive session is not a way to avoid parents’ questions about the budget or a controversial decision. The decision itself, such as approving a contract or removing a volunteer from a position, should be recorded in regular minutes whenever confidentiality allows.

Open-meeting laws are written for government bodies such as school boards. A booster club is a private nonprofit, and whether any such law reaches it varies by state. More often, openness requirements come from the school district’s booster club policy or agreement. Check the club’s state page and its agreement with the school.

Board Minutes and Member Access

Under RONRRobert’s Rules of OrderRobert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR), the rulebook most booster club bylaws adopt for running meetings. It governs a club only if the bylaws adopt it, and state law and the bylaws come first.All terms, any member may examine the minutes of membership meetings. Board minutesMinutesThe official record of what a meeting decided, not a transcript of what people said. The secretary takes them, the next meeting approves them, and the club keeps them permanently.All terms are open to board members, and to other members as the bylaws or the board provide. State law may give members of an incorporated club broader rights to inspect records, and that varies by state. Posting approved board minutes for members is the simplest way to avoid the question.

Reporting to the Membership

The board answers to the membership. At each general membership meeting, the board should report the actions it has taken since the last membership meeting, along with the treasurer’s report. A one-page “report of the board” listing each decision, with amounts, is enough. Members who see what the board did are less likely to suspect what it did not report.

Special Meetings

The bylaws say who may call a special meeting of the board or the membership (typically the president, or a set number of board members or voting members) and how much notice is required. The notice must state the business to be conducted, and only that business may be taken up. A special membership meeting is the right tool when a decision reserved to the membership cannot wait for the next regular meeting.