All of you know that for more than a decade, I have fought vigorously to make condo and HOA education mandatory for all directors. After the Surfside tragedy I’m glad that The Florida Legislature came around and made mandatory education the law.
Of course, there were always those that fought mandatory education for directors. Most of the time the argument was that requiring mandatory education would deter residents of condos and HOAs from serving on a Board of Directors. The thinking was that it’s already hard enough finding volunteers to serve on the Board because the job doesn’t pay any money. If we force everyone to take a class, rest assured nobody will ever volunteer to serve.
I am so proud to say that the critics could not have been more wrong. I’m writing this blog after the greatest week of participation I have ever had. This week I taught classes in West Palm Beach and Tampa. There was just about 400 participants in each class. It was standing room only, a mob scene to say the least.
Not once did any participant complain about the fact that education was now mandatory. On the contrary, they wanted to know when additional continuing education classes will be made available. In other words, they can’t get enough of it. They want more.
The people that serve on association boards are not looking for the easy way out. If they were, they simply could have stayed off the board and made complaints like everyone else. Instead, they volunteered because they care about their communities and want to make them better by knowing the laws that they need to know.
I believe Florida is only one of two states that require Board members to take educational classes. Trust me, we are on the right side of the law on this one. Just ask the attendees who weren’t able to find a seat.
These in-person classes are incredible and I plan to attend another one this year. I agree that initial and continuing education is absolutely necessary not only for Board members but for ALL CAMs regardless of how long they have been on the job. Thank you for doing all you do!
With this in mind, I offer there should be additional training requirements for Management Firms/Companies and "portfolio" CAMs.
Here is why - there are no acceptable answers (that I am aware of) to these two questions:
1. Who trains a Management Firm/Company on how to conduct/supervise community association management for "portfolio" CAMs?
2. Who sets the standards for "portfolio" CAMs to ensure they are not overtasked?
The answers do NOT…
I agree. After 22 years on board and having read the horrible 720 back and forth 100 times I am probably not in need of a course but the fact is that a majority of BOD members is clueless even about the basics. Classes help. And those BOD members who do not have time for that probably do not have time to do any meaningful work on the board either. Once every 10 years the FL legislature gets something right.