Re: Committees

Thanks for your thoughts, Jim. You see things much as I do, or did.
Unfortunately, a careful reading of the Troop Committee Guidebook gives a
slightly different sense of things.

Because the Chartered Organization must approve the scoutmaster, they
have taken the view that the committee's views are irrelevant. They (in
the person of their representative to the committee) would not approve
the committee's choice. While we're not strongly opposed to the person
they did approve, our lack of "hiring/firing" authority diminishes our
clout with the Scoutmaster. There is no provision that I can find for
"evaluating" the Scoutmaster, and our SMs have consistently insisted that
the committee has no right to do so.

Our Scoutmasters (the last two) have also insisted that the committee has
no right to establish "policies and procedures," but is merely there to
"advisethe Scoutmaster on the rules and regulations of the BSA and the
chartered organization," as the book says.

Your cautions are well-placed. I don't believe anyone on the committee has
the desire to micro-manage the program or to interfere with the
Scoutmaster's duties. But in our scoutmaster's view, we are allowed no
input at all. We're just there for him to delegate jobs to, like getting
permits, rides, etc. If there's anything we don't like "well, there are
other troops," he says. Many families have taken this advice, but I'm
reluctant to give up on this troop. Despite the (in my view) power
imbalance, the troop has a strong tradition, a great program, and the
boys have a lot of fun. The issues we butt heads on tend to be
relatively minor ones, but when they go unresolved, their importance grows.

Our council office has unfortunately been of little help. Can anyone
offer me written policy that explains the Committee's responsibilities in
different terms? Any other advice?

Thanks for your help.

Tim Goncharoff
Troop 674
Santa Cruz, CAn Fri, 24 Jan 1997, Jim Sleezer wrote:

> In my book, troop committees "hire" the scoutmaster and they need to
> provide for his/her evaluation on a continuing basis. A scoutmaster who
> is not willing to participate in this needs to be replaced. On the
> other hand, the committee has "hired" the SM to lead the troop and should
> not be trying to micro manage every situation.
>
> If the SMs practices are not clearly defendable, then they need to be
> changed. It is perfectly legitimate to have disagreements between the
> committee and the unit leader(s); I would expect some in any healthy
> unit. If the SM cannot accept the committee's policy and procedures
> decisions, then he/she should step aside.
>
> You do need to help defend the SM against over intrusive committee
> members who want to run the show themselves (and probably wouldn't
> accept the committee's guidance if they were in the SM position!!)
>
> jim sleezer
>

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