District Politics and what is policy?????

[Basementdweller 608]

Does anyone know what the documented procedure is for creating a new District???? Could you please guide me to the proper references.

 

We are in the middle of merging two districts and one of the districts Chair and Vice chair have declared themselves as the head of the new district. There is a bunch of ugliness going on and the New District Exec is not being any help at all, as a matter of fact my phone calls are not being returned. Council just keeps referring me to the DE.

 

There is a lot of closed meetings with the self proclaimed leaders and their minions. They have move the round table out to their home town which is an hour drive for most of us in the district, instead of in the middle like it should be.

 

I could start organizing a rebellion but do not want to stoop to their level.

 

I am completely amazed at the poor behavior by Adults, Egos, bad language and general unscout like behavior. They are acting like lions on a kill, I have never seen anything like it.

 

My goal is for the districts to merge by the book. What ever that is.

 

Any help or guidance would be appreciated.

 

 

 

[Eagle92 110]

Is it a current merger, i.e within the past month or so, or has it been longer. If longer may have been set up already. unfortunatley I can't help too much as when my district merged, I was working summer camp. If memory serves, and it;s been 14 years and I wasn't there, one district merged with 3 districts. Those folks who lived in the territory that became part of my district were part of the committee still and had it actually helped us out as they were people who complemented our abilities.

 

 

The district committee book may have the answer, but I no longer have a copy.

[Basementdweller 608]

It is in process as we speak.

[Twocubdad 665]

What is the district commissioner doing? Is he or she behaving or is he/she part of the problem. Usually when one of the district "Key Three" (Chairman, Executive and Commissioner) goes over the wall the other two are there to fill in. Sounds like you only have one (or maybe none) of the three functioning.

 

I don't have any references with me, but I believe the person responsible for appointing the district chairmen is the council chairman or president. The couple times we've had openings locally, I think he DE was usually responsible for doing the real leg work -- the council president's okay was just a formality. But if things are getting touchy and especially if the DE is AWOL, I would make a call to the council president. That's probably the formal route, more productive may be to contact the Scout Executive or the Director of Field Service, if you have one. The DFS is usually the DE's supervisor.

 

My experience with district mergers isn't good either. We had a merger several years ago. The council had two weak districts which never met quality district goals, so they just decided to merge them in with two other strong districts. The results were both poor and fairly predictable. Scores of old-time volunteers saw the merger as a good time to retire including most of the commissioners and one entire day camp staff. The commissioner corps and the day camp attendance is still well below what they were pre-merger.

 

The merger was the brain child (some would say brain fart) of a closed-door committee the old Scout Executive put together. He correctly figured that any change in districts would become very political, but incorrectly figured that developing the merger plans in secret would solve that problem. In the end, little changed, except the marginal elements of the old districts simply dissolved. The new districts were an average of the old. It's a trick school districts have been playing for years. If one school is performing above average and another below, shuffle the students so you have two average schools. No one learns any more or less, but the numbers sound better.

[Eamonn 61]

Basementdweller,

If you have questions about this merger, which it seems that you do have.

Avoid talking to the professionals. At the end of the day they are only doing what the Board has instructed them to do and there is a very good chance that anything you have to say will never get to the people who matter.

Volunteers should as much and as far as possible talk with other volunteers.

You might want to check how the Executive Board in your Council is set up.

If there is a vice-president for District Operations? He is the man you need to talk with.

If not the Council President is the guy.

Chances are that the President (Or VP) is not going to get involved with "House Keeping" issues such as where the R/T will meet. But he or she should be able to give some guidance as to the selection of the District Chairman and District Members at Large.

The Council Commissioner should appoint the District Commissioner for the new District. He or She will select R/T Commissioners and they will decide when and where the R/T will meet.

I'm guessing as things are now that each District has its own people taking care of things like Advancement, Training, Camping and all the rest of the Committees that go into making a District Committee? In a perfect world everyone would work with the new District Chairman (Who might for this year be appointed by the Council Executive Committee, or might be nominated and voted in at a special District Meeting where the COR and the District Members at Large vote.)

They should all be able to check their egos at the door before they meet and be able to go about getting what needs to be done? Done!

But as we know this isn't a perfect world.

The Council I serve went from five Districts down to four about fifteen years ago and there are still people who are unhappy. Some people are now saying that we need to go down to two as a way of saving money (Cutting two DE's.) With our falling membership and falling income, my feeling is that it is now a matter of when not a matter of if.

The District we more than lightly will merge with has a lot of mule-headed wonderful Scouter's and the District I'm in has just as many wonderful mule-headed Scouter's.

Of course not everyone or everybody is going to get what they want or even what they think is best.

Who knows? Maybe some deals might be done under cover of night, is smoke filled rooms? Sadly, some people will allow their feeling to get hurt and may even allow themselves to become upset.

As for what I might do?

I've always said that I do this for fun.

I sure as heck am not going to allow myself to get upset or allow my feeling to get hurt.

I love work! If someone wants my job?

I'm happy to watch them while I wish them all the best.

Ea.

 

[Basementdweller 608]

Eamon thx for your reply, you hit in on the head. Both districts have a years entrenched committee, and I was of the opinion that some of the our district committee members should resign and let some fresh blood and ideas in. I asked for more cub activities at the district level, the response was "why we never did it before?". Being the new guy, this is the third year back, I have ran into the "this is the way we do it here". Yes, but there is other ways too.

 

District execs are the best politicians on the planet. You can talk with them for hours with out getting one shred of helpful or credible information. Call for help or information, be prepared for the old soft shoe around what you want or need.

 

It seems to me the reorganization is taking place with out any input from the volunteers. What could I or should I be asked, I have no clue, but participation in the process would have been nice. I try my best to stay out of District politics, but I am a whats fair kinda guy. It just seems that a small group is looking after their own best interest and not that of the District or boys. Whats right is right....

 

I was not at the closed door meeting, but I understand there was some very large egos and personalities having at it. I worries me.

 

I will still go to round table and participate, not going is ignorant. We have one side of the new district saying they will not attend unless it is moved. Ridiculous.

 

Eamon, like you I do this for enjoyment. I initially became a leader to spend more time with my son, as your already aware, I actually spend less time with him.

[Eamonn 61]

Basementdweller

A few years back when I was District Chair. Someone in the Service Center was making a fuss about having a budget for each and every District Activity. (I have another good war tale about this, which I might post later.)

I sat down with the DE, ordered a pizza, opened a bottle of wine and we started going over all the budgets.

After a while I noticed that we didn't have a budget for the Cub Scout Olympics. I thought this was a little odd. The DE said that she would check it out and get back to me.

A few days past and she called to tell me that there was no budget for the event.

I remembered that a few weeks earlier my Mother-In-Law had been clearing out some of the stuff from back when she was a Den Mother and that there had been something about the Olympics in the pile. I'd filed it and was even able to find it!! It was the rules and list of events for the first Olympics back in the 1960's.

Reading over it it soon became clear it was the brain child of one guy. A really wonderful Scouter Old Pete Rice. Pete and his side-kick Ben had organized the event, but had made it a Pack event, inviting other Packs to participate.

Sadly by the time I read this Pete was no longer with us, but Ben was and still is.

I called Ben who has twin boys about my age and the three of us back in the day were very close. I asked Ben what the deal was with the Olympics? He explained that when the event started several hundred Cubs participated. They wanted to ensure that every Cub Scout got a shirt and that the medals and the stuff they gave to the little fellows was not junk.

Pete had thought that if the District got involved that the Council would see all the money and want a cut!

So the event was never a District event even though it was called the District Cub Scout Olympics.

Ben went on to say that over the years a committee had managed the money, buying the equipment that was needed and that by doing things this way they had not had to go back and ask anyone for what they needed.

When I put the phone down from talking with Ben. I felt like Tom from the Tom and Jerry cartoons. I had a little Angel on one shoulder and a little Devil on the other.

The Angel was telling me that I needed to change things and bring the event under the District. The Devil was saying if it's not broke, don't fix it.

I went with the Devil.

My point is that a Pack can organize an event and invite other Packs to participate.

I don't know what sort or type of events you want for the little fellows in your area? There are some that do need the OK from the powers that be, but not very many.

I'll bet my last dollar that when a District Activities Committee sees that something is happening and they are not involved? They will want a piece of the action.

When they do? Or what they do?

I don't know.

But it's great fun to find out!! (There goes that little Devil again!!)

Eamonn.

 

[Hal_Crawford 15]

Great story Eamonn. I would go with the devil on this one as well.

 

This thread leads me to wonder. Why is it that we teach democracy and citizenship to our scouts but as an organization we model banana republics? We have the ruling juntas and the coups being planned in closed door meetings. What a fine example!

 

Hal

[sherminator505 10]

It seems to me that the new would-be-powers-that-be need a gentle reminder that there are a lot more new faces that they will need to deal with justly. I would recommend that the leadership for the old district round up as many of their committee members as possible for the next district committee meeting, and as many scouters as possible for the next district roundtable. When you're there, be polite and Scout-like, but make sure that your concerns are addressed and your questions are answered.

[Basementdweller 608]

Eamon, thx again for your wisdom and advice.

 

Currently our district has ZERO cub events. Well that isn't the entire truth, This is the first year in the last 15 we actually had a day camp, I am Program Director. We had 100 scouts and parents attend. We even received accreditation.

 

We have been going out of district and attending events, halloween, Christmas, spring and summer camp outs.

 

I would like to see

 

District Pinewood derby championship

Spring Camp out with a relevant theme.

I like the Cub Olympics

District fishing derby

 

I tried to organize, started recruiting volunteers and troops to help, a family fun day, and the Districts Activity Director took offense and told me to back off in not so friendly terms. I was told any and all activities had to go thru him and he would never, ever approve anything I submited. hmmmmmm.

 

Hense my belief new blood is needed.

 

So Eamon, whose approval do I need to pursue to run some of these activities? I have a growing number of parents and scout leaders who are interested in helping.

[Eamonn 61]

In the other thread that is now running about changing one thing a forum member mentions about the strange (My word) way things are set up in the BSA.

I'm not that happy with the way we vote people into office.

Having COR as the people with the votes, sounds great on paper. Kinda puts me in mind of the old joke about the Doctor saying that the operation was a success but the patient died??

I do believe that the most important people (After the youth of course!) Are the youth leaders. I hold firm to the idea that these people should lead the youth members aided and supported by Unit Committees, along with the District and the Council.

When Districts and Councils turn this around (Units doing the supporting.) Volunteers should find ways of telling the District and the Council, in as nice a way as possible to go take a hike.

Of course we the volunteers are the District and the Council.

If the truth be told we do share the same goals.

We all want to see more and more youth benefit from the good works that are done at the unit level. We want to see Districts and Councils work toward helping improve the programs that units can offer, by offering quality training's, events and camps that the youth will participate in and enjoy.

With this in mind, it's not what is done as much as how it's done.

Some years back I got a note from the DE in our Council who was looking after Cub Scout Camping telling me that there was a mandatory meeting.

I seen the word mandatory and it was like a red rag to a bull. I sent a five page letter back explaining that I was a volunteer and the word mandatory wasn't in my vocabulary. But because I was at that time the District Rep. On the Cub Camping Committee, I attended the meeting anyway!

As both District Commissioner and Chair. I went out of my way to get people to buy into and take ownership of what we were trying to do.

Membership for me has never been about numbers. It is about bringing more kids in to have fun and hopefully learn some good stuff.

Money is always tight, having people donate or sell stuff is more about the program than having extra cash to put in endowment. Is the money always spend wisely? No! But most of it is.

Eamonn.