The nominating committee is an essential part of a successful PTA. The committee’s charge is to slate one person for each officer position at least 30 days before the election. However, nominating committees often run into problems in completing this seemingly simple task. Here are five problems that nominating committees most commonly have and how to fix them.

  1. No committee chair. The nominating committee is supposed to elect its own committee chair as soon as they are elected as a committee. This essential step is often overlooked, and the result is the committee doesn’t have one person responsible for driving the nominating process forward. To ensure this doesn’t happen, have your nominating committee elect their chair right after the PTA meeting when they’re elected. If a member isn’t present, get them on the phone or via text so the committee can agree on a chair and inform the PTA president who that is before the evening is over.
  2. Not clear on what they’re looking for. If your nominating committee isn’t clear on what the duties are for each officer position, they may end up seating a nominee who isn’t the best choice for that position. The nominating committee should collectively review the duties of the officer positions found in the bylaws, as well as any additional information in standing rules or procedure books. Once the committee knows the duties of each position, they are prepared to find candidates best suited to each one.
  3. Too passive. Does your PTA just send out an e-mail or ask at a PTA meeting if anyone is interested in serving as an officer next year and then just wait for the volunteers to line up for each position? Do you end up with no nominees and “candidates will run from the floor” at the election meeting? While people volunteering to serve in an officer position is helpful, it just doesn’t happen all that often, and when it does, the best person for the position may not be the one stepping up. Your nominating committee needs to go beyond passive “who wants to serve?” requests and actively seek out candidates that will be effective leaders and have the skills to do the job well. The committee should talk to the current officers, consider those they suggest as potential replacements, and look to other people such as committee chairs and those “just volunteer for a lot of PTA events” folks. The key job of the nominating committee is getting people with the right skills in the right positions as well as creating a team that will work together effectively.
  4. Not asking for someone to fill a position directly. When nominating committees just ask for volunteers for officer positions at PTA meetings, it is far to easy for everyone to just sit on their hands and far more difficult to be the lone person who raises their hand and says they’d like to serve. After seeking out recommendations and developing their own list of target candidates, the nominating committee needs to talk with each potential candidate individually and, if they feel a candidate is qualified, ask directly if they would be willing to serve. The committee should set aside time to do this, perhaps by setting up in a local coffee shop and inviting candidates to join them at certain times. Asking people to serve while other things are going on (e.g., sitting on the sidelines during a rec league soccer game or while serving punch at a PTA event) can make it more difficult to get a person to agree to serve. Eliminating distractions so the focus is on the officer position can help to get a potential candidate to say yes.
  5. Not selling your PTA. Did you think selling your PTA was just something you did to grow your membership? Think again—your nominating committee also needs to be selling your PTA to those it is trying to convince to lead your PTA. With membership, selling your PTA is about what your PTA does and provides, but with leadership, it’s about what your PTA has and needs. Your nominating committee needs to be selling potential candidates about the resources available to make the officer jobs easier (e.g., procedure books, Illinois PTA resources, past officers available to consult, Illinois PTA officer training, etc.). The committee also needs to be explicit about what the PTA needs in its officer candidates (e.g., good accounting skills, solid organization skills, great volunteer recruiter, etc.) and how a candidate meets those needs.