|
|
|
|
Article IV - Officers and Elections
Bylaw 2 - Affiliation and Registration
Bylaw 3 - Qualification of Officers
Bylaw 4 - Duties of Officers and Building Representatives
Bylaw 7 - Nominations and Elections
Bylaw 10 - Negotiating Committee
SCHALMONT TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION
CONSTITUTION & BY-LAWS
The name of this organization shall be The Schalmont Teachers Association.
The purpose of this organization shall be to promote the interests of public education by:
Advancing the standards of the teaching profession.
Promoting the general welfare of the members.
Promoting the better understanding of educational
Issues among teachers and lay citizens.
Section 1: All those regularly engaged at least one-half of their employed time in teaching in the schools of the Schalmont District and those other certificated personnel whose supervisory or administrative duties do not exceed one-half time shall be eligible for membership.
Section 2: Membership shall be continuous until termination of employment .
Article IV -- Officers and Elections
Section 1: There shall be a President, a First Vice President, a Second Vice President, a Secretary and a Treasurer of this Association, elected as prescribed in the bylaws.
Section 2: (a) There shall be
an Executive Board consisting of the officers, the building representatives and
one retiree representative. The retiree representative will be appointed by the
STA President.
(b) Each operating school building will elect a
minimum of one representative. Each of the buildings will also be entitled to
an additional representative (or representative vote) for each fraction
thereof. For example, a building with 7 members is entitled to one
representative, one with 23 members to two, one with 46 members to 3, etc.
Section 3: Officers shall be self-nominated using a form developed by the Executive Board. The term of office shall be two years and they shall assume office as of the following July 1st.
Section4: (a) Representatives
from each building in the district shall be elected by its faculty no later than
September 30. Responsibility for holding this election shall rest with the
previous year's representative or, in his/her absence, by a person appointed by
the President.
(b) If a building's representative has not been chosen by
September 30, the President may appoint one to serve until one is elected by the
building's faculty.
Section 5: Officers, members of the negotiating committee, and the editor of the newsletter and other individuals so designated by the Executive Board shall be compensated as provided in the annual budget.
Section 1: There shall be at least one general meeting a year, one of which shall be the annual business meeting in May or June, held at an hour and place designated by the President.
Section 2: Special meetings may be called by the president, the Executive Board, or upon written request of 10 per cent of the members.
Section 3: The Executive Board shall meet at least monthly during the academic year.
Section 1: An amendment to the Constitution and Bylaws may be introduced in writing at any meeting of the Executive Board or any meeting of the Association. Such proposed amendment shall be presented for action not later than the first Association meeting following its introduction.
Section 2: Members shall be notified in writing of the proposed amendment at least five days prior to the meeting at which the amendment is to be voted on. Due notice shall be deemed given if one copy per member is delivered to building representatives for general distribution six days prior to such meeting.
Section 3: Amendments to the Constitution, when approved by a majority of those present and voting at a general meeting, shall become a part of the Bylaws.
Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, shall be the authority on all questions of procedure not specifically stated in this Constitution and Bylaws.
Bylaw 2 -- Affiliation and Registration
Section 1: This Association shall be affiliated annually with the NYSUT and the AFT, upon meeting the standards of affiliation.
Section 2: This Association shall be registered with the New York Board of Regents as a professional organization of teachers.
Bylaw 3 -- Qualification of Officers
Section 1: Candidates for office in this Association shall meet the following qualifications: Membership in this Association.
Bylaw 4 -- Duties of Officers and Building Representatives
Section 1: The president shall preside at all meetings of the Executive Board and the Association; shall call all regular and special meetings; may appoint all committees; shall be ex officio a member of all committees; shall represent the Association when called upon to do so.
Section 2: The Executive Vice-President shall assume the duties of the president in the president's absence and shall act as parliamentarian. The Vice Presidents shall be responsible for such activities as assigned by the President and Executive Board.
Section 3: (a)
The secretary shall keep a record of all meetings of the Association and the
Executive Board. He/she shall attend to all correspondence of the Association
and act as archivist. At the end of his/her term, he/she shall turn over to the
Secretary the minutes, correspondence, and records of the Association and shall
file with NYSUT/AFT the names of the new officers.
(b) The minutes shall report only the effect of
ballots, not the numbers or the abstentions.
Section 4: The treasurer shall keep an accurate record of all money receipts and expenditures of the Association. He/she shall disburse funds only by check and each such check shall be signed by both the President and the Treasurer. At each general meeting, he/she shall report on the financial condition of the Association. He/she shall keep an official roster of members. At the end of his/her term, he/she shall prepare the books for audit by the Executive Board and deliver to his/her successor all financial records and material of the Association.
Section 5: Building representatives shall act as liaison between their building's members and the Association and act as otherwise provided herein.
Section 6: (a) The delegate(s) to the NYSUT Representative Assembly shall be elected by the members at the same time and manner as STA Officers.
(b) The delegate(s) shall, in writing or in a general meeting, ascertain the feelings of the membership re: the issues to be considered in the next meeting of the NYSUT Representative Assembly.
Bylaw 5 -- The Executive Board
Section 1: The Executive Board shall be responsible for conducting the routine business of the Association, review proposals submitted by the members and make recommendations for their disposition, and make recommendations relating to Association policies and programs.
Section 2: The Executive Board shall outline a program for the coming year and prepare a budget therefore, the latter to be submitted to the general membership for approval at the annual meeting in May or June. The budget will be in effect from July 1 to June 30.
Section 3: The Executive Board is empowered to authorize appropriate emergency expenditures which were not provided for in the annual budget.
Section 1: After the annual election, the President, with the approval of the Executive Board, shall appoint chairpersons and members of the following standing committees: legislative, class size, professional growth, public relations and social.
Section 2: Each standing committee shall make regular reports and recommendations to the Executive Board.
(a) The Legislative Committee shall study, report on and, where appropriate, recommend Association action on local, state and national legislation which affects public education and the profession.
(b) The Class Size Committee will have at least three members: one from elementary, one from middle school and one for high school. The committee should initiate meetings with building principals on or before October 15th of each academic year to study class size problem areas and to make recommendations for solutions where there are inequities in class size.
(c) The Public Relations Committee shall promote understanding and goodwill between the profession, the Association and community groups. It shall cooperate with other community groups in promoting good public education. It shall keep the membership informed on professional matters and recommend good public relations procedures.
(d) The Professional Growth Committee shall be responsible for activities related to selective recruitment, teacher preparation and certification, orientation of teachers new to the district, in-service education, and other professional programs related to the state and national Teacher Education and Professional Standards movement.
(e) The Social Committee shall arrange the social and recreational programs of the Association.
(f) The Scholarship Committee shall be responsible for activities related to raising funds for the STA scholarship(s), for screening and selecting recipients of the STA scholarship(s), and for administering the Geraldine Corrigan Memorial Scholarship and for releasing news to the media concerning the awards.
Section 3: Special committees may be appointed by the president with the consent of the Executive Board, or on recommendation of the members assembled. The responsibilities, composition, and term of a special committee shall be outlined specifically in the resolution creating it.
Section 4: Committee meetings may be convoked by the chairperson or the president.
Section 5: Committee decisions shall be by a majority vote of the members present and voting.
Bylaw 7 -- Nominations and Elections
Section1: Procedures for Nominations
(a) On or before April 1, the President, with the approval of the Executive Board, shall appoint an election committee of at least three persons.
(b) This committee shall prepare a list of officer-nominees, containing names of all interested and eligible candidates for each position.
(c) Any interested person must submit their names to the election committee no later than 10 days prior to the annual meeting in order to be considered for office
(d) Teachers who choose agency fee may not be nominated for an office, nor take part in any of the election procedures.
Section 2: Procedures for Elections:
(a) Elections of officers shall take place in each building following procedures and date established by the Executive Board. The election will take place no later than two weeks following the annual meeting held in May or June.
(b)
Election shall be by individual secret ballot.
(c) The preparation of
materials and conduct of elections and ballots on amendments shall be the
responsibility of an ad hoc committee appointed by the president.
(d) Absentee ballots shall be permitted. Write-in ballots will be valid.
Section1: The Executive Board shall have the power to name personnel to complete the unexpired term of those who leave a committee, the Executive Board, or an officer's position, except in the case of the President.
Section 2: In the event a vacancy occurs in the office of President, the Executive Board will appoint a current officer of the Executive Board to serve a President until the next general election. I, for some reason, an officer is unable to serve as President, the STA Executive Board will appoint a current member of the Executive Board to serve as President until the next election.
Section 3: In the temporary absence of the President and Vice-Presidents, the treasurer shall conduct meetings and other necessary Association business.
Section1: A quorum for all meetings of the Association shall consist of those members present.
Section 2: A quorum will be presumed present unless the question be raised by a member as a point of order during the meeting.
Bylaw 10 -- Negotiating Committee
Section 1: The negotiating team shall consist of at least three persons, with a maximum of five. There shall be at least one member from the elementary level, one from the middle school and one from high school.
Section 2: The negotiating team will canvass all Association members by December 15 to solicit items for consideration for the negotiations package. The team will submit a proposed package to the Executive Board for its approval. The team will enter into negotiations on the approved package and will seek tentative agreement on any negotiated items, subject to approval by the Executive Board. Tentative and final agreement by the team is subject to Executive Board approval of the negotiated items.
Section 3: After approval by the Executive Board, all changes to the current contract must be presented to the membership in writing in completed form. This shall be given to the membership three days prior to the scheduled vote for ratification.
Section 4: Voting on contract ratification shall take place in each building following procedures and date established by the Executive Board.
