We recently had our Committee Chairman walk out and quit the troop. We currently have an interim Chairman, but he will be in the position for less than a year. There are several people in our troop who would make an amazing Chairman, but the committee won’t consider them yet because they have a Life Scout still in the troop, and they consider that to be a “conflict of interest”. I haven’t, however, been able to find that cited anywhere. Is this an accurate BSA rule? Can a Committee Chairman have a scout still in the troop?
@NatalieCone - it is the COR who approves leaders. And as a CC i had no issues with my son in the unit
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Our COR is very uninvolved and relies on the committee’s suggestions. He does ultimately make the choice, but the information is presented to him by the committee. It’s not something he does independently. Regardless, thanks for your input that you didn’t have an issues with having a son in the unit.
@NatalieCone - beyond that, the scoutmaster corp has the direct contact with the youth. The committee is the back office part of the program.
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If our committee would consider someone with a scout still in the troop (if the “conflict of interest” rule can be disproven), this will shift things for our troop committee dramatically in a positive way.
I do not know of any troop where the Committee Chair does not have a Scout in the troop. The committee is NOT responsible for advancement. The committee’s job is to provide the resources the Scouts need to implement THEIR program. It is the Scoutmaster that is responsible for all advancement per the Guide to Advancement, not the committee. I don’t see how the CC could have a conflict of interest by having a Scout in the troop given the CC has nothing to do with advancement.
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Can the Scoutmaster not have a youth in the unit?
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The BSA has no such rule that I am aware of. I was a Committee Chair when my son was in the troop.
What is the perceived conflict of interest? A parent cannot be a board of review member for their own child, so that isn’t the issue.
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The “conflict of interest” idea has been circulating in our troop for so long, I don’t even know where it originated from, but it’s something the committee adheres to without question. I’m excited to be seeing otherwise!
I’ll be approaching our interim CC with your input, as well as the input of others, along with the fact that I can’t find that rule cited by BSA anywhere.
The only possible conflict of interest that I can think of is that the Committee Chair signs off on Eagle Scout rank applications, but so does the Scoutmaster.
The Troop Committee is responsible for the approval of Eagle Scout service project proposals, but the Committee has the option to designate representative(s) to act on its behalf.
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Frankly, I’d be more worried about a committee chair with no vested interest in the unit than one whose scout is a member. Our CC no longer has a scout in the unit, but did. Our SMs over the years have had scouts in the unit. As many others have said, there’s no BSA rule that says CC or any other registered scouter can’t have a youth in the unit. It’s potentially a bigger issue for someone who has program responsibility (SM/ASM) than someone on the committee (administrative) side.
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Thank you for pointing this out. If our choices (as our committee currently believes) are only adults who do NOT have a scout in the troop, it would include adults who have made some shady decisions this last year, rendering them untrustworthy, and seem to be power-hungry. I’m trying to do my part in making sure we know what ALL our options are.
This sounds like an old unit that had to make a rule to deal with a specific situation years ago, which has now been lost to history
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There is no BSA policy whatsoever for any registered adult to have (or not to have) a youth in the unit. However, I have come across the opposite situation where some chartered organizations (a few private religious schools come to mind) who require a registered leader to HAVE a youth in their program to be registered. That is a CO’s choice, as long as it does not conflict with an existing BSA policy. That being said, you may want to check with your Charter organization.
If you are looking for backup in convincing your committee, I would start by reaching out to your unit commissioner (or district commissioner) for assistance. It is part of their job to be a resource for information. Particularly in relaying BSA policy.
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As this is a policy question, this needs to be directed to your council. We have been instructed not to entertain these questions in the forums.
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