MEMORANDUM
| To: | School Business Administrators County Association Presidents Board Presidents Board Delegates |
| From: | Cynthia J. Jahn, Esq., General Counsel |
| Cc: | NJSBA Officers, Board Of Directors Members And Alternates |
| Date: | March 31, 2020 |
| Re: | Annual Delegate Assembly, June 27, 2020 (New Date) SPECIAL NOTICE – Extension of Deadline for Submitting Resolutions |
| Place: | The Conference Center at Mercer 1200 Old Trenton Road West Windsor, New Jersey |
On March 20, 2020, the New Jersey School Boards Association Board of Directors approved the postponement of the annual Delegate Assembly to June 27, 2020. (The original date was May 16, 2020.) The action, recommended by the Executive Director, was in response to the current public health emergency, Governor Murphy’s Executive Order restricting public meetings and federal guidelines limiting gatherings to no more than 10 individuals.
The June 27 meeting is scheduled to take place at The Conference Center at Mercer on the campus of Mercer County Community College. If current restrictions are still in place on that date, arrangements will be made for virtual participation by delegates. Adequate notice and instructions will be provided.
Adjusted Timelines NJSBA Bylaws (Article 5, Section 7) sets the deadline for submission of resolutions as 65 days in advance of the Delegate Assembly. Therefore, based on the new meeting date, the deadline for cutoff of resolutions has been extended to 5:00 p.m., April 24, 2020. Resolutions received in the proper format at the Association office by 5:00 p.m. on April 24 will be considered for the Delegate Assembly agenda by the Resolutions Subcommittee at its meeting on May 11, 2020.
In accordance with the Association Bylaws, the Resolutions Subcommittee will consider only those resolutions that have been submitted by boards that are current in payment of their dues.
The Resolutions Subcommittee will, upon request by the body that has submitted a resolution, extend an opportunity to appear before it or a subcommittee thereof to present the resolution. Rules for the conduct of such appearances are attached. Please note that in accordance with the rules, all requests for appearances must be made in writing and received by NJSBA by 5:00 p.m. May 7, 2020.
After the May 11 meeting, a Report of the Resolutions Subcommittee will be sent by email to school business administrators, county association presidents, board presidents and delegates. The Report will include all resolutions received by the Subcommittee for the Delegate Assembly agenda, and all action taken by the Subcommittee.
The agenda materials (including the background materials and the Subcommittee’s recommendations on all resolutions to be presented to the Delegate Assembly) will also be available to all district boards of education and school board members on NJSBA’s Web site www.njsba.org/da in time to permit consideration of the issues by district boards of education before the Delegate Assembly. All committee reports with recommendations for delegate action and proposed Bylaws amendments will also be placed on the Web site.
The agenda materials are specially bound in the Delegate Handbook for the convenience of district board delegates. The Delegate Handbook will be mailed on June 10 to the board’s registered delegate. Please note: After the June 10 date, the handbook will be available online or at the registration desk.
Emergency resolutions admitted to the Delegate Assembly agenda by the Emergency Resolutions Subcommittee will be e-mailed the week of the meeting to preregistered delegates and placed on NJSBA’s Web site.
Each district board should be represented at the meeting by its delegate or alternate; the delegate or alternate having been appointed as outlined in the Association Bylaws, Article IV, Section 2 “Delegates.”
Each District Board shall be represented in the Association by one delegate or alternate, who shall be a voting member of such district board and who shall be elected or appointed in such manner, and for such term, as may be determined by his or her district board. State-operated school districts shall be represented by a delegate and alternate selected from among the members of the state-operated district board of education appointed pursuant to the statutes governing state-operated school districts. The delegates and alternates from state-operated school districts need not be voting members of the state-operated district board of education. The selection of the delegates and alternates shall be made at the annual organizational meeting of each district board of education or, in the case of a state-operated school district, as soon as practicable after the creation of the district and the appointment of the state-operated district board of education.
RULES FOR THE CONDUCT OF APPEARANCES
BEFORE THE RESOLUTIONS SUBCOMMITTEE OR ANY SUBCOMMITTEE THEREOF
Pursuant to Article V, Section 4 of the Bylaws of the New Jersey School Boards Association, the Resolutions Subcommittee has adopted the following Rules:
- Definitions ‑ For Purposes of these Rules,
a. “proponent” shall mean any body which, pursuant to Article V, Section 2 of the Bylaws, submits a resolution which is pending before the Resolutions Subcommittee; and
b. “interested party” shall mean any body which is permitted to submit a resolution pursuant to Article V, Section 2 of the Bylaws, or any other person or organization which has a legitimate interest in any resolution pending before the Resolutions Subcommittee; and
c. “authorized representative” shall mean any person authorized in writing by any proponent or interested party to represent it before the Resolutions Subcommittee, or an attorney‑at‑law of the State of New Jersey.
2. Requests for Appearances
a. Each proponent shall be sent a letter acknowledging receipt of the resolution, and advising him or her of the right to request an appearance before the Resolutions Subcommittee. The letter will also explain the resolutions process and advise the proponent that upon completion, he or she will receive a copy of the staff research including the recommendation.
b. All requests for appearances before the Resolutions Subcommittee shall be made in writing and received in the Trenton office of NJSBA prior to the Resolutions Subcommittee meeting for which the resolution on which they appear has been submitted.
3. Written Submission
a. Any proponent or interested party who is scheduled for an appearance before the Resolutions Subcommittee or a subcommittee thereof shall submit a written statement summarizing its views.
b. Sufficient copies (25) of each such statement shall be reproduced for distribution to the members of the Resolutions Subcommittee.
4. Representation
a. Any authorized representative may appear before the Resolutions Subcommittee on behalf of a proponent of a pending resolution or on behalf of an interested party.
b. In no case shall more than two authorized representatives appear before the Resolutions Subcommittee on behalf of a proponent or interested party.
5. Conduct of Appearance
a. The proponent of a resolution shall present its views first; interested parties may then present their views in the order in which requests for appearances were received.
b. Each such initial presentation by a proponent or an interested party shall not exceed five minutes in length.
c. The Chair of the Resolutions Subcommittee may direct questions to each proponent or interested party immediately after its presentation.
d. Members of the Resolutions Subcommittee may direct questions to each proponent or interested party immediately after the questions of the Resolutions Subcommittee Chair, or they may reserve such questions until the end of all presentations on the resolutions.
e. Each proponent and interested party appearing before the Resolutions Subcommittee on a resolution shall remain available to the subcommittee until all presentations on the resolution are complete.
6. Subcommittee of the Resolutions Subcommittee
a. Where the number of requests for appearances and the volume and nature of the subcommittee’s business so warrants, the Chair of the Resolutions Subcommittee shall, upon the recommendation of the Executive Director, call a meeting of the subcommittee of the Resolutions Subcommittee.
b. The subcommittee of the Resolutions Subcommittee shall consist of only members of the Resolutions Subcommittee, and shall meet solely for the purpose of receiving appearances and hearing presentations from proponents and interested parties.
c. A quorum for the conduct of the subcommittee business shall consist of the Chair of the Resolutions Subcommittee, who shall preside, and four other members of the Resolutions Subcommittee.
d. The subcommittee shall fully report to the Resolutions Subcommittee on the presentations.
7. Effective Date; Waiver
a. These rules became effective on October 28, 1981, were amended on March 9, 1984, October 18, 1991, April 2, 2002 and November 18, 2006 and shall remain in effect unless further amended or repealed.
b. The Resolutions Subcommittee reserves the right to waive the operation of these rules or any part thereof so as to best effectuate the objective of the resolutions procedure.
(11/18/06 revised)