Bylaws | ocsba

ORANGE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION

CONSTITUTION and BYLAWS

Adopted April 30, 1963

Revised September 13, 1973

Amended May 27, 1982

Amended May 26, 1983

Amended May 26, 1988

Amended May 26, 1992

Amended May 31, 2000

Amended June 6, 2007

Reviewed with no changes October 16, 2013

ARTICLE I - NAME AND SUCCESSION

This Association shall be known as the Orange County School Boards Association. This organization is the successor to an information group known as the Associated School Boards and Trustees of Orange County, New York, and as a successor organization assumes all the assets and obligations of the former group as well as any established policies not in conflict with the constitution and bylaws.

ARTICLE II - OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this Association shall be as follows:

1. To promote and encourage cooperation among the various school boards and Board of Cooperative Educational Services in the interest of better education.

2. To exchange and disseminate information on educational issues and to hold conferences for the discussion of such issues.

3. To provide a recognized association that will voice the positions of its members on legislation and other matters.

4. To assist its members with their school board concerns.

5. To further the mutual objectives of this Association and the New York State School Boards Association.

ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP

Membership in the Orange County School Boards Association is open to any school district eligible for membership in the New York State School Boards Association.

Membership shall be initiated upon application to the Executive Director pending the receipt of dues.

A member board may send as many board members to Association meetings as it chooses. All board members shall have the right of discussion.

ARTICLE IV - DELEGATES

Each member board is entitled to select one of its members as the voting delegate to the Orange County School Boards Association. The voting delegates shall be the governing body of the Association from which the officers will be elected. In the absence of the official delegate, another authorized member of the school board shall have the right to vote.

The term of all delegates shall be for one year. It is the responsibility of each member board to fill a vacancy should it occur.

The general responsibility of conducting the affairs of the Association shall be vested in the governing body of delegates.

The responsibilities of the voting delegate are as follows:

1. To attend Association meetings;

2. To vote on Association matters;

3. To communicate the association’s activities to the delegate’s board of education;

4. To support and promote the events sponsored by the Association.

ARTICLE V - OFFICERS

The elected officers of this Association shall consist of the following:

1. President

2. First Vice President

3. Second Vice President

4. Secretary

5. Treasurer

These officers shall be nominated and elected as provided in Articles VII and VIII. They shall act as an Executive Committee to handle the day-to-day business of the Association between meetings of the voting delegates.

The term of office of the elected officers shall be from July 1 to June 30.

No officer shall serve more than three successive years in the same position.

The First Vice President shall fill an unexpired term of the President. If the First Vice President cannot fill the unexpired term of the President, the Second Vice President shall fill the unexpired term of the President. Other unexpired terms of the elected officials may be filled by the governing body of delegates until the next fiscal year on July 1.

Ex Officio members of the Executive Committee shall include the following:

1. The immediate past president who is a continuing member of a local board of education;

2. The Legislative Chairperson who is appointed by the President;

3. Any elected official of the New York State School Boards Association residing in a member district of this Association.

The Executive Committee shall serve as a Budget Committee and shall present a detailed budget to the delegates at least 30 days prior to the Annual Meeting.

ARTICLE VI - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The Association shall have an Executive Director whose duties and responsibilities shall be prescribed in the approved job description. The Executive Director is the administrator of the Association and serves under the direction of the Executive Committee. The Executive Director

shall be an ex officio member of all committees except the Auditing and Nominating Committees.

ARTICLE VII - NOMINATING COMMITTEE

The President shall appoint a Nominating Committee whose members shall report their recommendations for officers and the Executive Committee's recommendation for Executive Director. The Committee shall report their recommendations at the Annual Meeting of the Association. Further nominations for officers may be made from the floor at the Annual Meeting. Only the voting delegate from a member board shall be eligible to serve as an elected officer of the Association.

ARTICLE VIII - MEETINGS

The Annual Meeting shall be held between April 1(st) and June 30 (th). The purpose of this meeting shall be the adoption of the budget and the election of officers and the executive director by the voting delegates.

Special meetings of the Association may be called by the President for promoting the objectives of the Association as outlined in Article II.

Notices of regular meetings shall be sent to reach the voting delegates of the Association and the district clerks of member boards at least 10 days prior to the date of such meetings.

A quorum shall be the voting delegates from a majority of member boards.

Having established a quorum, all action of the Association requires a majority vote of the voting delegates present.

ARTICLE IX - COMMITTEES

The President shall appoint such committees as needed to achieve the objectives and desires of the Association.

ARTICLE X - DUES

The annual dues shall be based on a schedule from each district’s total budget amount for the previous year. The executive committee will recommend the schedule to the members at the annual meeting.

Dues must be paid to the association by September 30. Bills will be mailed to the districts after the annual meeting. Delegates of member boards whose dues remain unpaid after September 30 shall be ineligible to vote until their dues are paid. Notices of ineligibility will be mailed to the member district.

ARTICLE XI - FISCAL POLICY

The fiscal year shall be from July 1 through June 30.

The depository for all Association funds shall be designated at the Annual Meeting.

The Executive Director shall receive all dues and deposit same to the account of the Association. The Executive Director, the President, and the Treasurer of the Association shall each have authorized access to the Association funds.

Disbursements shall be paid by the Executive Director. The Executive Director shall prepare for the Executive Committee a quarterly itemized report of expenditures. The Executive Director's records shall be audited annually.

ARTICLE XII - AMENDMENTS

Amendments to this Constitution and Bylaws may be adopted by a 2/3 vote of the voting delegates present at an Annual Meeting. Proposed amendments shall be mailed to voting delegates at least 20 days prior to the Annual Meeting.