Re: Who hires and fires Assistant Scoutmasters?

Jesse Cross wrote:

>> I must agree with Mr. Moser. It is and should be the =

scoutmaster's
prerogative to "hire and fire" assistant scoutmasters. The
scoutmaster is the person vested as the Chief Executive Officer =

of
the troop. The scoutmaster has a troop committee to help him
accomplish his vision for the troop and to serve as an oversight
body. If the troop committee doesn't like what a scoutmaster is
doing they should address the issue directly to the scoutmaster.
Any scoutmaster who lets his troop committee do an end-run around
him by countermanding one of his decisions has lost control and
needs to resign for the good of the organization. <<

I have to disagree here.

In my mind, the SM is not the CEO of the troop, but the COO
(Chief Operating Officer). The Troop Committee Chair is the
Chairman of the Board and CEO.

It is the job of the troop committee to select the leadership
of the troop. It is their job to make sure that only
qualified, trained individuals are involved with the youth.
The troop committee and the Chartered Organization each
on their own have the authority to remove a scouter from
the organization (but not from Scouting as a whole). They
also have the authority to name an individual to any position
in the troop over the objections of the SM.

However, just like a business, there will be big problems
if the overall "management group" doesn't work together.

The wants and needs of the SM should carry a lot of weight
with the troop committee. They should think very carefully
before they go against his wishes. However, ultimately
they need to answer to the Chartered Organization directly,
and indirectly to the parents of the youth in the unit.
If the SM can't accept this, he *SHOULD* step down.

If there were only one set of parents complaining, I
could be persuaded that they are just troublemakers and
the complaints are unfounded. However, getting "several"
parents complaining is a strong warning signal that
something is wrong. Rather than arguing over who
has authority for what, the better approach would
be to get the problem fixed ASAP.

YIS

Joseph A. Alessi in Ozwin 2.20
JosephAlessi@Compuserve.com
Vice Chair - Program, Lafayette District
ASM Troop 313
Adviser to the Treasurer, Unami Lodge
I used to be an Owl

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