The Board of Directors consists of the executive committee (elected) and the authorized chairpersons (appointed) of the committees. The executive committee is the group of elected officers: the president (or co-presidents), vice-president(s), secretary, and treasurer. Standing committees are those which function throughout the school year, as do most of our committees. Ad hoc committees are those that are formed for the purpose of organizing a single, specific event, such as gathering support for an issue like improved traffic safety or organizing a bike rodeo.

As members of the Board of Directors of our local unit, it is our responsibility to make sure the organization is run in a fiscally and legally sound manner. The responsibilities of a board member are the following:

1. Attend and be prepared for board meetings. Meetings are held for the purpose of making decisions, therefore, the active participation of the board members is necessary.
   
   
2. Deal with facts - not personalities. Decisions should be made based on qualified, objective input.
   
   
3. Avoid conflicts of interest or self-dealing. In any matter dealing with the business of the organization, do what a sense of fairness, ethics, and personal integrity dictate.
   
   
4. Understand the organization's finances and the procedures for handling money.
   
   
5. Subordinate your personal interests to the interests of the whole organization, and speak for the board only when authorized.
   
   
6. Support the decisions of the board. Once the board has voted, its members are obligated to support the decision.

Finally, we need to understand the laws that govern our organization. The PTA is a private, non-profit, tax-exempt corporation, subject to state and federal requirements for such corporations. We need to appreciate that we are not part of the school's organization, which is subject to very different laws as a public institution. In general, PTA members need only to be familiar with the Standing Rules, which are defined by our own organization.