Bylaws Amendments Notice

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As stated in Article XII, proposals for amending the PSBA Bylaws must be submitted "in writing, mailed first class and postmarked or marked received at PSBA headquarters prior to March 1 of each year." Proposals should be addressed to the Bylaws Committee Chair or the Executive Director and sent to PSBA headquarters by the March 1 deadline.

Official notice: Proposed bylaws revisions

In accordance with Article XII, Section 6 of the PSBA Bylaws, notice is hereby given that the following revisions* to the bylaws were properly submitted to and approved by the Bylaws Committee and subsequently recommended by the PSBA Board of Directors for consideration at the annual business meeting of the association on Thursday, Oct. 16, at the Hershey Lodge & Convention Center:

* Proposed new language is underlined; words proposed to be removed are shown with strikethrough. An ellipsis (…) refers to remaining language in the same section that is unaffected by the proposed revision.

a. Add to Article III, Board of Directors:

“H. To perform any other duties enumerated in the Bylaws.”

b. Amend Article VI, Regions, Regional Directors and Regional Cabinets:

“SECTION 1. Establishment and Change of Regions. For administrative purposes, the state shall be divided by the Board of Directors into not less than ten (10) nor more than fifteen (15) regions, one of which shall be geographically coterminous with the School District of Philadelphia and one of which shall be geographically coterminous with the School District of the City of Pittsburgh. The Board of Directors, with the consent of the cabinets of the regions affected, may regroup counties into new regional districts regions.

SECTION 2. Notification of District Region Composition. The current composition of school districts within each region shall be published at least once each year in an official publication of the Association and in at least two consecutive issues of that publication following any change made in school district boundaries.

SECTION 3. Areas. Each region shall be divided into areas, which shall be comprised of groups of member school entities as established in the regional activity plan prepared by the regional cabinet and approved by the Board of Directors.

SECTION 4. Administrative Organization.

A. Regional Directors. Each region shall have a regional director selected as follows:

1) Regional directors shall be voting members of the Association in the region for which they are elected or designated. Except for the regional directors of Regions 10 and 13, regional directors shall be elected by a majority of the members of the regional cabinet for a term of two (2) years commencing January 1 following their election and may be re-elected for two (2) additional, successive two-year terms. For Regions 10 (Philadelphia) and 13 (Pittsburgh), the regional directors shall be designated by the governing board of the member school entity. In the event a regional cabinet fails to elect a regional director, the Board of Directors shall appoint a regional director. The appointment shall be made before November 30 and be for a two-year term as if the appointee were elected in accordance with this subparagraph.

The election, at the option of each region, shall be in accordance with one of the following two procedures:

(a) At regional meetings held for the purpose of election between January 1 and July 1 of the last year of the term of the incumbent regional director, and at which nominations are made from the floor and a vote is taken by those in attendance at the meeting.

(b) Through a ballot process that takes place between January 1 and July 1 of the last year of the term of the incumbent regional director, complies with the policies adopted by the Board of Directors and includes a provision for absentee ballots. In order to utilize this process,

(i) The regional cabinet shall meet and adopt the ballot process by majority vote of the entire regional cabinet. The cabinet meeting and adoption shall take place ninety (90) days prior to the date of the regional meeting when the election is to occur;

(ii) The executive director of the Association must be notified prior to the mailing of the regional flier noting the election; and

(iii) The regional director shall convene a meeting of the regional cabinet for this purpose at the call of any cabinet member, any member entity within the region or on his/her own initiative. In the event a regional cabinet takes action to utilize this ballot process, said process shall continue in subsequent elections unless the regional cabinet takes action by majority vote of the entire regional cabinet at least ninety (90) days prior to the date of the regional meeting when the election is to occur and notifies the executive director of the Association prior to the mailing of the regional flier noting the election that it is reinstating the election process set forth in subparagraph (a) hereof.

2) Regional directors from odd-numbered regions shall be elected in even-numbered years and those from even-numbered regions in odd-numbered years.

3) Vacancies in the position of regional director shall be filled by the regional cabinet within sixty (60) days, using the procedure set forth in subparagraph 1 of this section. The regional director elected to fill the vacancy shall serve out the remainder of the term of the former regional director and may be re-elected in accordance with subparagraph 1 of this section. In the event a regional cabinet fails to fill a regional director vacancy within sixty (60) days, the Board of Directors shall appoint a regional director to fill the vacancy.

4) Upon recommendation by a regional cabinet, the Board of Directors may remove a regional director from office. The removal from office of a regional director shall require an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the voting members of the Board of Directors.

5) The regional director shall preside at regional cabinet meetings and shall have all the prerogatives which go with such office, together with the responsibility of promoting the interests and the programs of the Association. In addition, the regional director shall: oversee preparation and implementation of the regional activity plan; provide overall leadership for regional legislative activity; represent the region at meetings of the Board of Directors; and perform such other duties as the Board of Directors may require.

B. Assistant Regional Directors.

1) Assistant regional directors shall be voting members of the Association in the area for which they are elected. Except in Regions 10 and 13, one assistant regional director shall be elected in each area by a majority of the PSBA liaisons from the member school entities in that area. Each assistant regional director shall serve a term of two years, concurrent with that of the regional director for the region. Assistant regional directors may be re-elected for additional two-year terms. In the event the PSBA liaisons for an area fail to elect an assistant regional director, the Board of Directors shall appoint the assistant regional director. The appointment shall be made before November 30 and be for a two-year term as if the appointee were elected in accordance with this subparagraph.

2) For Regions 10 (Philadelphia) and 13 (Pittsburgh), one assistant regional director shall be named by the governing body of the member school entity.

3) Assistant regional directors shall be responsible for performing duties described in the regional activity plan, those assigned by the regional director as well as others established by the Board of Directors.

4) Vacancies in the position of assistant regional director shall be filled by a majority vote of the PSBA liaisons in the respective area, or by the governing body of the member school entity in Regions 10 and 13, within 60 days. The assistant regional director elected to fill the vacancy shall serve out the remainder of the term of the former assistant regional director. In the event the PSBA liaisons fail to fill an assistant regional director vacancy within sixty (60) days, the Board of Directors shall appoint an assistant regional director to fill the vacancy.

5) Upon recommendation by either a majority of PSBA liaisons in an area or the regional director for the region, the Board of Directors may remove from office an assistant regional director. The removal from office of an assistant regional director shall require an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the voting members of the Board of Directors.

C. PSBA Liaison.

1) Each member school entity shall be entitled to designate a PSBA liaison.

2) Liaisons shall be voting members of the Association and shall be appointed by, and serve at the pleasure of, each school board in the manner provided by local policy or practice.

3) Duties and responsibilities of PSBA liaisons shall be defined by the Board of Directors and by local school board policy.

D. Regional Cabinet. The regional director shall appoint a cabinet to assist in promoting the membership, interest and programs of the Association. The term of cabinet members shall run concurrently with the term of the regional director, who shall have the power to remove any cabinet member who fails to perform the functions of that office. Each cabinet shall include:

1) An assistant director for each intermediate unit within the region and a recording secretary whose respective duties shall be those generally performed by such officers.

2) At least one representative from each class of school district in the region.

3) Other representatives appointed by the regional director deemed necessary to the needs of the region including, as needed, county coordinators and representatives from PSBA organizations admitted into membership under Article VII.

4) Whenever possible, membership in the regional cabinet shall provide for representation from rural, suburban, urban and growing districts.

C. As soon as the cabinet and assistant directors have been appointed, the regional director shall so advise the Executive Director.

1) Each region shall have a regional cabinet consisting of the regional director, one or more assistant regional directors and PSBA liaisons from member school entities in the region.

2) Each regional cabinet shall meet at least two times per year, at the call of the regional director.

3) Regional cabinets shall be responsible for developing regional activity plans, for advising the regional director and for such other duties as may be provided in these bylaws or determined by the Board of Directors.

4) The requirements of this subsection do not apply to Regions 10 (Philadelphia) and 13 (Pittsburgh).

E. Regional Activity Plan.

1) Each regional activity plan shall, at a minimum, describe: the areas within each region, the member school entities that comprise each area within the region, the planned outreach activities to school entities in the region and planned legislative activities in the region.

2) The Board of Directors shall provide guidance to the regional cabinet for the preparation of, and shall have final authority to approve, regional activity plans.

3) Regional activity plans shall be prepared for a period of two years, consistent with the term of office of the regional director, but shall continue in effect until revised by the regional cabinet and approved by the Board of Directors.

4.) The requirements of this subsection do not apply to Regions 10 (Philadelphia) and 13 (Pittsburgh).

D. Regional Meetings. At least one regional meeting shall be held during the term of every regional director, but this requirement shall not apply to Regions 10 (Philadelphia) and 13 (Pittsburgh).

This requirement may be satisfied by holding the meeting for purposes of electing a regional director as required by Section 3.A. of this article. Two or more regions may combine to hold a joint meeting upon the approval of the regional cabinets affected. The Board of Directors, with the consent of the affected regional cabinets, may for meeting purposes subdivide any region into two or more districts, but such subdivision shall not enlarge the rights of the district nor otherwise affect its administrative operation.”

c. All items throughout the Bylaws that are referenced as “he” shall be changed to a gender-neutral description, such as “he/she” or “they.”

d. All references to “vocational-technical schools” shall be changed to “career and technical schools.”

e. The first reference in each section to “Region 10 and Region 13” shall read as “Region 10 (Philadelphia) and Region 13 (Pittsburgh).”

A copy of the complete text of the existing bylaws may be downloaded from the PSBA Web site (psba.org), or copies may be obtained by contacting the office of the executive director at (800) 932‑0588, ext. 3304. Questions concerning the proposed revisions should be directed to Thomas J. Gentzel, executive director, at tom.gentzel@psba.org.