Meetings · Step 4 of 10

How Motions Work in a Booster Club Meeting (With Motions Chart)

Updated Oct 8, 2026

A motion is a formal proposal that the booster club take an action or a position, and it is the only way a board or membership meeting makes a decision under Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised (Robert’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). This page explains how to word a main motion, how to change it, how to delay or dispose of it, and how to undo a decision later, with a chart of the motions a booster club actually uses.

Any voting member can make a motion. The president, as chair, manages each one through the steps described on Robert’s Rules of Order for Booster Clubs, and the secretary records each motion and its result in the minutes.

The Main Motion

A main motion brings new business before the meeting. Only one main motion can be pending at a time. Everything else on this page is a tool for handling a main motion or the meeting itself.

A good main motion is specific enough that the treasurer could act on it without asking a follow-up question. It states the action, the amount, the purpose, and any deadline.

Weak motion Strong motion
“I move that the club look into new uniforms.” “I move that the club spend up to $2,400 from the uniform fund to purchase 40 marching band rain jackets, with the order placed by October 15.”
“I move that the club do a fundraiser.” “I move that the club hold a car wash on Saturday, September 20, at the school parking lot, with the fundraising chair responsible for district facility approval.”
“I move that the club support the trip.” “I move that the club contribute $50 per traveling student toward the spring competition trip, paid directly to the tour company.”

A motion with several parts, or one involving a policy, should be written out and handed to the secretary before the meeting. On a small board, a motion does not need a second. In a general membership meeting, most motions do.

Amending a Motion

An amendment changes the wording of a pending motion before the vote. There are three forms:

  1. Insert or add words: “I move to amend by adding ‘with a maximum of $500 from the general fund.’”
  2. Strike out words: “I move to amend by striking ‘and banners.’”
  3. Strike out and insert: “I move to amend by striking ‘$2,400’ and inserting ‘$2,000.’”

An amendment must be germane, meaning closely related to the subject of the motion. An amendment to a motion about rain jackets can change the number of jackets, but it cannot add a donation to the drama club.

An amendment to the motion is a primary amendment. An amendment to the amendment is a secondary amendment. No third level is allowed. The board votes on the secondary amendment first, then the primary amendment, then the main motion as amended. When announcing the result of an amendment vote, the chair should say “the main motion as amended is now pending,” because the board still has to vote on the motion itself.

There is no such thing as an automatic “friendly amendment.” Once the chair has stated a motion, it belongs to the board, and any change must be adopted by a vote or by unanimous consent, even if the person who made the motion likes the change.

Delaying or Disposing of a Motion

Goal Motion to use Notes
Get more information first Refer to a committee “I move to refer the motion to the uniform committee, to report at the November meeting.”
Decide later Postpone to a certain time “I move to postpone the motion to the next meeting.” This is what most people mean when they say “table it.”
Avoid a vote on the motion entirely Postpone indefinitely Kills the motion for the rest of the meeting without a direct vote on it
Set aside for something urgent Lay on the table Temporary, for an urgent interruption. Not for killing or delaying a motion
End debate and vote now Previous question Requires a two-thirds vote
Limit speeches or set a time to vote Limit or extend limits of debate Requires a two-thirds vote

“Table” is the most misused word in booster club meetings. Robert’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’s motion to lay on the table exists to set a motion aside briefly when something more urgent comes up, and the motion can be taken from the table later in the same meeting or at the next meeting. Using it to kill a motion is out of order, because it would let a majority suppress debate without the two-thirds vote that closing debate requires. A member who wants to delay a decision should move to postpone it. A member who wants to defeat it should vote against it.

Likewise, a member calling out “Question” does not end debate. Ending debate takes a motion for the previous question, which needs a second in a general meeting and a two-thirds vote, or unanimous consent.

Changing a Decision Already Made

Situation Motion Who may make it Vote required
The board voted earlier in this same meeting and wants another look Reconsider A member who voted on the winning side Majority
The board wants to cancel a decision from a past meeting Rescind Any member Two-thirds, or a majority if notice was given in advance, or a majority of the entire membership
The board wants to change a decision from a past meeting Amend something previously adopted Any member Same as rescind

Previous notice means that the intent to make the motion was announced at the prior meeting or included in the call of the meeting. A booster club that wants to change last month’s decision with a simple majority should send notice with the agenda.

Some decisions cannot be undone. Once the action has been carried out in a way the club cannot reverse, such as a signed contract the other party has relied on, rescinding the vote does not cancel the obligation.

Motions That Protect Members

Motion Use
Point of order A member believes a rule is being broken. “Point of order. The motion was not on the call of this special meeting.” The chair rules.
Appeal A member disagrees with the chair’s ruling and asks the meeting to decide. A majority vote, or a tie, sustains the chair.
Division of the assembly A member doubts the result of a voice vote. One member can demand it, and the chair retakes the vote as a rising (standing) vote.
Parliamentary inquiry A member asks the chair how to accomplish something procedurally.
Request for information A member asks a factual question about the pending motion.

Motions Chart

The handful of motions a booster club actually uses, based on the 12th edition of Robert’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.

Motion What it does Second needed?* Debatable? Amendable? Vote required
Main motion Brings new business before the meeting Yes Yes Yes Majority
Amend Changes the wording of a pending motion Yes Yes, if the motion it amends is debatable Yes (a secondary amendment is not) Majority
Refer to a committee Sends the motion to a committee Yes Yes Yes Majority
Postpone to a certain time Delays the motion to a set time or meeting Yes Yes Yes Majority
Postpone indefinitely Kills the motion without a direct vote Yes Yes No Majority
Lay on the table Sets the motion aside for something urgent Yes No No Majority
Take from the table Resumes a tabled motion Yes No No Majority
Previous question Ends debate and moves to a vote Yes No No Two-thirds
Limit or extend limits of debate Changes speaking limits Yes No Yes Two-thirds
Recess Takes a short break Yes No Yes Majority
Adjourn Ends the meeting Yes No No Majority
Reconsider Reopens a vote taken at the same meeting Yes Yes, if the original motion was debatable No Majority
Rescind or amend something previously adopted Cancels or changes a past decision Yes Yes Yes Two-thirds, or majority with previous notice, or majority of the entire membership
Suspend the rules Sets aside a rule of order for one purpose Yes No No Two-thirds
Point of order Asks the chair to enforce a rule No No No Chair rules
Appeal Asks the meeting to overrule the chair Yes Usually No Majority or tie sustains the chair
Division of the assembly Requires a vote to be retaken visibly No No No None (one member’s demand)

* On a small board, with no more than about a dozen members present, motions do not need a second.

Suspending the rules cannot set aside state law or the bylaws (other than a bylaw provision that is itself a rule of order or that provides for its own suspension). It also cannot set aside a rule that protects absent members, such as a notice requirement.

Common Mistakes

  • Vague motions. “Look into it” passes easily and decides nothing. Next month the same discussion happens again.
  • “Tabling” to kill a motion. The motion stays alive and can be taken up again, and the members who wanted it discussed have a legitimate grievance. Use postpone, or vote it down.
  • Voting on an amendment and forgetting the main motion. The board adopts an amendment, moves on, and never votes on the motion itself. Nothing was approved.
  • Treating “Question” as a closing of debate. One member silences the room without the two-thirds vote that rule requires.
  • Reversing last month’s decision by a bare majority with no notice. The rescission needed two-thirds, so the original decision may still stand.

How Motions Work in a Booster Club Meeting (With Motions Chart)

https://boosterclub.org/meetings/motions/

Checklist

Before the meeting

During the meeting

  • President
  • President
  • President

After the meeting

  • Secretary
  • Secretary

Related pages

Sources

Updated October 8, 2026

Booster Club

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