MassCUE Proposed Bylaw Revisions

to be voted at the General Membership Meeting

Proposed changes are underlined

1. Purposes

a. Share and exchange ideas, procedures, techniques, etc.

b. Promote educational use of technology in education

c. Collaborate with other agencies and organizations with similar purpose

d. Encourage formation of local and online groups

e. Notwithstanding any other provision of these articles, the corporation is organized exclusively for one or more of the following purposes: religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purposes, or to foster national or international amateur sports competition (but only if no part of its activities involve the providing of facilities or equipment) or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals as specified in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, and shall not carry on any activities not permitted to be carried on by a corporation exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954

f. No substantial portion of the activities of the corporation shall be carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation; and no part of the activities of the corporation shall be participating or intervening in (including the publication or distribution of statements) any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office

2. Rules of Membership

a. Membership is open to any individual regardless of race, color, creed, sex, national origin, sexual orientation or disability.

b. Membership is open to any interested individual

c. Types of membership

i. regular

ii. complimentary

iii. life

iv. student:

for full-time students only

25% discount on membership dues

3. Fiscal Rules

a. Association will be non-profit in terms of IRS regulations

b. Dues to be set by Governing Board

c. Memberships paid in advance

d. Memberships non-refundable

e. Membership lasts one year from date of payment

f. Revenues not distributable to members or officer except as approved by the Governing Board, for either:

reimbursement of related expenses

compensation for approved services

g. No part of the net earnings of the corporation shall inure to the benefit of any member, trustee, director, officer of the corporation, or any private individual (except that reasonable compensation may be paid for services rendered to or for the corporation), and no member, trustee, officer shall be entitled to share in the distribution of any of the corporate assets upon dissolution of the corporation

4. Governance

a. Governance is conducted by the Governing Board

b. Governing Board has the following responsibilities

i. conduct routine business

ii. establish policies

iii. create and dissolve committees

iv. fill vacancies on itself

v. uphold bylaws

c. Decision procedure of the Board

i. all members of Governing Board may vote

ii. majority rules

iii. action may be taken by polling rather than formal meeting with roll call results distributed to Governing Board within 48 hours.

d. Membership of Governing Board

i. regular, life, and student members may serve

ii. duration of Governing Board membership is 2 years

iii. elected members are the President, President-Elect, Treasurer, Secretary and four members

elected at large
iv. the four officers shall be elected in alternating years to the four at large members of the

Governing Board

v. after elections, the Governing Board may appoint additional members to balance

representation geographically and by educational responsibility. These appointments are made

in collaboration with the Elections Committee, and give preference to candidates who were

nominated but not elected. These appointed members shall have voting rights on the

Governing Board. The term of the appointments shall be concurrent with the four elected

officers and end when the officers’ terms end even if appointed in an alternate year

vi. a voting majority of the Governing Board shall be elected by regular membership vote

vii. additional appointed liaison positions on the Governing Board will provide links to other

organizations. Liaison positions shall not have a vote on the Governing Board and shall be

considered advisory

viii. elected members and the appointments made in accordance with item v. of this paragraph

shall retain Governing Board voting status if they serve as liaison to any other organization

e. Election procedures

i. Elections Committee will prepare a slate of candidates for the Governing Board

ii. Elections Committee oversees voting procedures and tabulation of results

iii. in case of tie, the election will be re-run

iv. nobody running can be involved in tabulation

v. vacancies on Governing Board are filled by the Governing Board; when an elected position

becomes vacant any person appointed to serve out the term shall be considered “elected” for

the remainder of that term.

vi. if presidency becomes vacant, the President-Elect assumes the presidency; the office of

President-Elect remains vacant until an election can be called

vii. elected members will take office within 30 days of the election. Outgoing officers will mentor

the new officers through November but not as a voting member.

f. President’s responsibilities

i. lead the Board

ii. preside at Governing Board meetings and General Meetings

ii. coordinate work of various committees

iii recommend committee appointments for board approval including chairpersons

iv. assure maintenance of membership records

v. prepare agenda for Governing Board and general meetings

vi. represent association

g. President-Elect’s responsibilities

i. assist President

ii. perform President’s duties in case of absence

h. Past-President’s responsibilities

i. serve the Board as a non-voting member

ii. assist President

i. Secretary’s responsibilities

i. keep official records, including minutes of general and Governing Board meetings

ii. assure maintenance of minutes and distributions to board members

j. Treasurer’s responsibilities

i. keep financial records

ii. make disbursements as authorized by Governing Board

iii. prepare annual budget

iv. present financial reports

v. serve as member of Finance Committee

vi. deposit revenues

k. Board Member Responsibilities

i take an active role in a current committee

ii attend at least 75% of meetings

l. Removal from office

i. a member of Governing Board can be charged with “misuse of office” for failure to fulfill

duties

ii. member of Governing Board can be charged with “misuse of office” for excessive absence

iii. two-thirds majority of the Governing Board is required for removal

m. The duties of the four at large Governing Board members shall be determined by vote of the Governing Board after elections are completed

5. Committees

a. Standing committees are:

i. Conference

ii. Finance

iii. Elections

iv. SIG

v. Policies and Procedures

vi. Historian

vii. Communications

viii. Professional Development

b. Committee responsibilities:

The President provides each committee with its charge.

Committees make recommendation to the Board; the Board makes policy.

i. Conference - oversee all aspects of annual state conference, planning, management

ii. Finance - prepare annual budget - oversee accounts, make policy regarding spending

iii. Elections - prepare slate for elections - oversee and certify elections

iv. SIG Committee: communicate and coordinate with SIG leaders

v. Policies and Procedures – review policies and recommend revisions; record policies as the

board votes them

vi. Historian – collect and archive images and information from MassCUE events

vii. Communications – oversight and management of on Cue, website, mailing lists and other

forms of electronic print communications

viii. Professional Development – plan, develop and implement a wide variety of professional

development opportunities around the state

c. Other committees may be established by the Governing Board with a specific charge and duration

6. Special Interest Groups

Special Interest Groups operate under the auspices of the Professional Development Committee.

The SIG Coordinator works with the Professional Development Chair to promote professional growth opportunities through the MassCUE SIGs.

a. A member may seek approval to start a MassCUE SIG by sending a SIG Registration form to the SIG Coordinator stating the name of the SIG, location, brief mission statement, and personal contact information.

b. SIG Leader(s), approved by SIG Coordinator, is responsible for the efficient operation of the SIG.

c. Six (6) members are required to start a SIG.

d. There must be a minimum of three (3) meetings per year.

e. SIG meetings must be advertised in the MassCUE Calendar.

f. SIG Leaders will be guided by the MassCUE SIG Leaders Handbook.

SIGs that achieve the above requirements will be granted official SIG status annually by a vote of the governing board at the last meeting of the fiscal year

7. Meetings

a. There will be 1 general meeting per year

b. Members must be notified 6 weeks in advance

c. The Governing Board must meet 4 times per year

d. The board may vote to enter into an Executive session

8. Quorums

a. A quorum of the Governing Board shall consist of a majority of the Governing Board and must include at least one of the following officers: President, Vice President, Treasurer, or Secretary

b. A quorum of the general membership is defined as those members present at the general meeting

9. Parliamentary procedure

a. Robert’s Rules, in so far as they do not conflict with these bylaws or other rules of the association

b. Rules enforced by President, or chairperson of particular committee

10. Fiscal year

a. The fiscal year will date from July 1 to June 30

11. Amendment procedure

a. Proposed amendments must be approved by a majority of the Governing Board

b. If not approved by Governing Board, a proposed amendment can be submitted to the membership if endorsed by a petition signed by 15% of the membership

c. To be approved, the amendment must be accepted by two-thirds of the voting members

d. No more than 9 months may elapse after an amendment is approved by Governing Board or petition, before it is presented to members