Region 3
WSPTA's Region 3 covers Clark, Cowlitz, Skamania and Wahkiakum Counties. It also includes the Lyle, Trout Lake and White Salmon School Districts of Klickitat County.
Region 3 Register
The Register is a quarterly
newsletter that focuses on events and issues that effect
Region 3.
Fall 2009
Newsletter
Region Director Message
Every spring we dream about the upcoming Summer Break and think about what we have accomplished for the year. Here are some ideas to help prepare next years' leaders for success:
- Allocate sufficient money for board training and education. Why? By allocating funds for board training you are making an investment in your PTA. When PTA officers attend training they are learning the laws that govern non-profits in the state of WA and by attending Regional and State Conferences they will receive training for their specific jobs within PTA. This will strengthen your PTA and help build a foundation for future leaders.
- Include money for Legislative Assembly and Focus Day.
Part of being a PTA is using our voice to be as loud as we can be when it comes to everything and anything that involves advocacy. Legislative Assembly is the baseline of our grassroots. Members submit issues that are meaningful to them, debate them and help other PTA in our State aware of them. Focus Day is a way to add faces to our voices. At this year’s Focus Day, we had over 1000 PTA members show the legislature their faces. When you add that to our voice the impact it has in the legislature is priceless.
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Elect next years' leaders and input their names on the wastatepta.org website.
Make sure when entering incoming officers that you also check to make sure their contact information is correct. WSPTA leaders use email as a main source of communication, so it is very important to make sure the contact information for your leaders is current.
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Send next years' board to the Region 3 Fall Regional Conference to learn the skills that they will need to lead in coming year.
You can train your entire team in just one evening or part of the weekend. See your region calendar for details located at
www.wastatepta.org/regions
- Schedule a financial review for late June. Best Practices dictate that to help keep our funds safe, we should do at least one financial review per year. We suggest a winter review as well to catch potential problems before they grow out of control. A great way to get the newly elected board involved is to have them on your committee as long as they weren't signers during this fiscal year.
The financial review involves an examination of the financial transactions of the PTA, and the procedures used to conduct those transactions.
The treasurer is the custodian of the funds of the PTA and is charged with the responsibility to deposit and disburse funds and to keep accurate records.
However, the board of directors has the responsibility to see that the funds of the PTA are administered properly and actions are made in the best interests of the members. To assure that this has been done, that the board acted responsibly, and that good financial practices have been followed, a financial review of the books and records must be conducted.
A financial review must be conducted:
• Immediately following the end of the fiscal year (June 30th) in compliance with WSPTA Uniform Bylaws.
• When a new PTA member assumes the treasurer position;
or
• Whenever there is a question about the financial wellbeing or performance of the PTA.
Who can perform the Financial Review?
The WSPTA Uniform Bylaws are very specific in defining who can conduct a financial review of the PTA’s books and records. Page 10 Article 5 Section 7 Duties of Officers “treasurer” (e) (2)
…………close the books on June 30 and submit the books and records for financial review to a financial review committee of no fewer than three (3) members appointed by the president or to a qualified accountant. The financial review committee shall not include the people who were authorized to sign or individuals living within the same household as those authorized to sign on the bank account for the period being reviewed;
For questions, you can refer to the WSPTA Leadership Handbook- Money Matters section page 14 and 15. The Financial Review check list can be found on pages 34-37. Or, contact your Region Director.