High School Softball - Board of Directors

[uncdrew]

Very cool about the scholarship money. We can't really even afford to play softball, let alone have a surplus.

 

[The Man In Blue]

Ahhh ... so we are talking about affiliated groups that are not actually under the governance of the school (such as boosters, supporters, PTA, etc.).

Yeah ... those organizations should have by-laws (generally a legal requirement when an organization files for not-for-profit status). How much those by-laws mean depends on the organization. I would say 99% of the time they mean nothing and most members don't know they exist, let alone how to even put their hands on them.

When I ran our summer rec program, I led a major revamp of our by-laws. The existing ones were written in the early 1970s and not only did they no longer apply, but they actually made it impossible for our board to legally conduct business. It defined our officers (President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer) but then defined the rest of the board membership as "all of the coaches." This made it virtually impossible to ever hold a quorum outside of the meeting when teams were drafted. The other problem was the circular logic of "the coaches are all board members" and "the board must approve all coaches."

Of course, the by-laws also stipulated that we were supposed to maintain a soda vending machine in the park and hold a mother-daughter picnic. Not terrible ideas, but things that had no place in the by-laws. By-laws define how the organization is governed, not how daily business is conducted.

What happens when you violate your by-laws? Generally, nothing. However, should somebody get a bee in their bonnet and a lawsuit crops up for whatever reason (my daughter should have gotten that scholarship!), failure to follow your own by-laws will bite you in the rear.

 

[Orange Socks]

Very cool about the scholarship money. We can't really even afford to play softball, let alone have a surplus.

This for ALL of the sports. Our biggest fundraiser is Flags with Pride. For a yearly subscription of $40 we will place an American Flag at your home 6 holidays a year. We have 588 subscribers this year. We split the price with the Flag Company who provides the routes, replacement flags and poles, mailings, emails, Pvc sleeves and online payments.

 

[YoungBuck]

Private schools I totally understand the concept of boosters... but public schools. Public schools should include that cost in taxes (I understand that happens in very few places).

Every time a fee or fundraiser is required (or implied) it's one more hurdle for a poor kid to not play. Softball has quickly become a sport for the better off.

 

[The Man In Blue]

Private schools I totally understand the concept of boosters... but public schools. Public schools should include that cost in taxes (I understand that happens in very few places).

Every time a fee or fundraiser is required (or implied) it's one more hurdle for a poor kid to not play. Softball has quickly become a sport for the better off.

I gave this a like for the second part of your comment, but I am kind of torn on the first ...

While I absolutely agree with the benefits of youth sports, I am not keen on my tax dollars going to a small group of 10-15 kids playing a game. This is a perfect application for a boosters' club, particularly to make sure that children that don't have access to the resources can still play.

 

[radness]

If it wasn't for booster clubs would there even be high school softball?

 

[PJR202]

Very cool about the scholarship money. We can't really even afford to play softball, let alone have a surplus.

Yeah, for us it's like "quick! we gotta sell some strawberries so we can pay the bus drivers!"