OCASA 2023 By-Laws

Orange County Association of School Administrators
CONSTITUTION
Adopted – 1995
Revisions: November 16, 2022

ARTICLE I – NAME

The name of this Association shall reflect the former OCASSA (Orange County Association for Secondary School Administrators), OCAESP (Orange County Association for Elementary School Principals), MSPA (Middle School Principals Association), HSPA (High School Principals Association), and Postsecondary Technical Center Directors (PTCD); to become the new OCASA (Orange County Association of School Administrators).

ARTICLE II – PURPOSE

The Purpose of this Association is to promote the welfare and protect the rights of its members.

ARTICLE III – OBJECTIVES

To provide leadership that encourages communication and unity that moves forward the purposes and needs of the membership: to promote professional practice and the educational interests of the membership: to support local, state, and national professional organizations; and to improve educational opportunities in the county, state, and nation.

ARTICLE IV – MEMBERSHIP

Section 1: Active Members

(a) Active members shall include all school-based administrators and any persons who have retired from these positions. Membership shall be deemed a privilege and not a right.

(b) Active members shall have the right to hold office, the privilege of participating in discussions at any meeting, and the right to vote in elections and/or decisions, and at general membership meetings.

(c) Active membership shall be continuous while employed or retired from the Orange County Public Schools, or resigns from the Association, or fails to pay membership dues to the Association within the specific period as specified in the By-Laws.

ARTICLE V – REPRESENTATIVE BOARD MEMBERS

Section 1:
The Representative Board of Directors shall be the policy-making body of this Association. Members of this Board shall be active Association members in good standing.

Section 2:
(a) The Representative Board of Directors shall consist of the elected officers and one representative from each of the following components:

(1)  Elementary School Principals
(2)  Middle School Principals
(3)  High School Principals
(4)  Postsecondary Technical Center Directors
(5)  Elementary School Assistant Principals
(6)  Middle School Assistant Principals
(7)  High School Assistant Principals
(8)  Postsecondary Technical Center Assistant Directors
(9)  Retired Administrators

(10)Hospitality, Communication, Membership and Legislative/Legal Service Committee

       Chairs

(b) Component Associations with elected presidents shall be represented on the Board of Directors and one alternate representative for each component by plurality for one-year terms beginning July 1 and ending June 30. Associations with elected presidents shall automatically serve on the board or appoint a designee. Alternate representatives shall serve in absence of representatives. If a representative changes their job title to reflect inclusion in a component other than that from which elected, the respective alternate representative shall assume the duties of representative director. If both change job titles, the President, upon conferring with the Chair will recommend to the Board replacement/replacements to fill the vacancy/vacancies.

Section 3:
The President of the Association shall preside at meetings of the Representative Board of Directors.

ARTICLE VI– OFFICERS

The officers of this Association shall be: President, President-Elect. Past President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Each shall serve one-year terms beginning July 1 and ending June 30.

ARTICLE VII – EXECUTIVE BOARD

The Executive Board shall consist of the officers of this Association; said board shall be the executive authority of the Association.

ARTICLE VIII– EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The Association shall have an Executive Director. This person shall be contracted by the Association and shall perform duties and receive compensation as determined in the Contract Agreement. The Executive Committee and the Representative Board of Directors shall determine the process for contracting with the Executive Director.

ARTICLE IX – TERM OF EXISTENCE

This Association shall have perpetual existence.

ARTICLE X – AMENDMENTS

Section 1:
The Representative Board of Directors shall by a two-thirds vote of its members present and voting at any meeting of the Board propose amendments to this constitution. The proposed amendments may be ratified by a three-fourths vote of those present and voting at the next general membership meeting, provided notice of said amendments has been given, in writing (via email), to each member at least seven days before said general membership meeting.

Section 2:
The general membership may, by a two-thirds vote of those present and voting, propose amendments to this Constitution. The proposed amendments shall be ratified by a three-fourths vote of those present and voting at the next meeting of the membership; provided notice of said amendments has been given, in writing, to each member at least seven days before said meeting of the membership.

BY – LAWS

ARTICLE I – MEETINGS

Section 1:

There shall be a meeting of the Representative Board of Directors a minimum of four times a year.

Section 2:
There may be a scheduled meeting of the Executive Board prior to the Representative Board of Directors’ meetings.

Section3:
Special meetings of the Representative Board of Directors, general membership, and Executive Board may be called by the President or on request of two members of the Executive Board, five members of the Representative Board of Directors, or ten members of the Association, respectively.

Section 4:
Any topic of business for which a special meeting is called must be stated in the call.

ARTICLE II- QUORUM

Section 1:
A quorum for meetings of the Executive Board or any committee shall be a majority of its members.

Section 2:

A quorum for the Representative Board of Directors shall consist of the number of Representatives which is equal to a majority of membership components having at least one Association member.

Section 3:
A quorum for all meetings of the general membership shall consist of the members present at such meetings.

ARTICLE III – DUES AND MEMBERSHIP

Section 1:

The Representative Board of Directors shall approve all matters related to annual dues of members.

Section 2:
The fiscal year of this Association shall begin on July 1 and end on June 30. The membership year shall begin on July 1 and end on June 30.

Section 3:
Active membership shall be established when the member submits his or her payment in full, or when the member enrolls in the payroll deduction plan.

ARTICLE IV – DUTIES OF OFFICERS

Section 1: President
The President shall preside over all meetings of the Executive Board, Representative Board of Directors, and general membership. The President shall appoint a member of the Association to act as a Parliamentarian. The President shall appoint the chairs and members of all committees with the advice and consent of the Representative Board of Directors and shall be an ex-officio member of all committees. The President shall be the executive officer of the Association and shall represent the Association before the public either personally or through delegates. The President shall perform all other duties as herein provided and generally incident to the office.

Section 2: President Elect
The President-Elect shall preside at meetings in the absence of the President and shall perform all other functions usually attributed to this office and assigned by the President. The President of OCASA must be a sitting principal or technical center director. The President-Elect shall assume the office of President upon the inability of the President to complete his or her term of office. The President-Elect shall begin a one-year term as President following completion of a Presidents term. Only persons who have served as members of the Board of Representative Directors may be elected to the office of President-Elect.

Section 3: Past President
The Past President shall serve as a member of the Executive Board.

Section 4: Secretary
The Secretary shall keep accurate minutes of the meetings of the Executive Board, Representative Board of Directors and the general membership. The Secretary shall assist the President with official correspondence and maintain office files of correspondence and other records pertaining to the Association.

Section 5: Treasurer
The Treasurer shall hold the funds of the Association and disburse them upon authorization of the Executive Board within the approved budget. The Executive Director, President, and

Treasurer will be authorized to sign checks. A bank reconciliation will be done monthly. Void checks should be kept for audit. For audit purposes, the check number, date paid, and amount of the check will be written on all invoices when paid. Reason for payment will appear on all checks. An Audit Committee will be appointed each year for the purpose of auditing the financial records. This audit will be conducted in the month of July. The audit report will be filed with the President with a written report to the Representative Board of Directors. The Treasurer shall keep an accurate record of receipts and disbursements and prepare an annual statement for publication to members at each general membership meeting.

ARTICLE V – DUTIES OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD

Section 1:
The Executive Board shall be responsible for the management of the Association, approve all expenditures not within the budget, carry out policies established by the Representative Board of Directors, report its transactions and those of the Representative Board of Directors members, suggest policies for consideration by the Representative Board of Directors, and exercise the right to approve or disapprove membership in this Association in accordance with any policy established by the Representative Board of Directors. The Executive Board shall prepare a fiscal year budget based on the July membership and present such budget at the July meeting of the Representative Board of Directors.

ARTICLE VI- DUTIES OF THE REPRESENTATIVE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Section 1:
The Representative Board of Directors shall approve the budget, set the amount of dues, act on reports of committees, approve resolutions and other policy statements, adopt procedures for implementing the Constitution and Bylaws of this Association, establish standing committees and give advice and consent to the Presidents appointments to such committees.

Section 2:
Powers not delegated to the officers of the Association shall be vested in the Representative Board of Directors.

ARTICLE VII- ELECTIONS

Section 1:
Prior to April 15 of each year, the President shall appoint five members of the Association as the Elections Committee. The nominations should be reflective of the overall membership.

Section 2:
The Elections Committee shall notify each member of the Association by email that elections are forthcoming and request nominations for the offices of President-Elect, Secretary, and Treasurer. 

Section 3:

The Elections Committee shall determine that each nominee is an active member in good standing and that each nominee is willing to serve in the office to which nominated. The Committee shall seek at least one nominee for each vacancy if no nominations are received from the membership. The Committee shall prepare and forward an appropriate ballot to each Association member prior to June 1. All ballots should be received by the Committee on or before a date established by the elections committee each year. Voting for write-in candidates will be permitted. An electronic survey for voting will be disseminated via email.

Section 4:
All elections shall be by popularity. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes will be declared. Component Representatives, if they have a president, will serve or provide a designee to the Representative Board of Directors. Alternate Representatives may be appointed or elected by their respective component group or by general membership election with the candidate receiving the highest number of votes declared Alternate Representative.

ARTICLE VIII – VACANCIES

Section 1:
The Board of Directors, by a majority vote of those present and voting at an official meeting of the Board of Directors, may declare a seat vacant for one or more of the following reasons:
excessive absences from meetings of the Board; removal from membership in the Association; failure to maintain membership in good standing; a resignation in writing; and/or in the case of a component representative, a job change which places the representative in another component.

Section 2:
If the office of the President is declared vacant, the President-Elect shall automatically fill this vacancy. All other offices declared vacant shall be filled by the Representative Board of Directors.

Section 3:
All Representative Board of Director positions that are declared vacant shall be filled by the alternate representative of the respective component. If both positions are vacant, the President, upon conferring with the chairman of said component group or council will recommend to the Board a replacement/s to fill the vacancy/ies.

ARTICLE IX – STANDING RULES
Any standing rules adopted by the Representative Board of Directors shall be written and filed with the Constitution and By-Laws to provide a basis for an operational procedure.