Language of Proposed Amendments to DCFA Constitution and Bylaws Now Available, Meeting Requirement for At Least 14 Days Advance Publication Prior to Nov. 12 Convention

The motions to amend the DCFA constitution, motions to amend the DCFA bylaws and resolutions submitted by the 30-day advance deadline for consideration at the DCFA Annual Convention on Friday, November 12, 1:30 – 5:00 p.m. can be accessed in this PDF file.  

This posting meets the requirements for public posting at least 14 days before the start of the Convention.  If you have not already seen it, here is the official invitation with Zoom meeting link to the 2021 Annual Convention. We hope you have joined the association (deadline is this Monday, November 1) and made plans to participate and vote on where you want the DCFA to go in the future.

Please review the motions and resolutions carefully before the Convention begins and feel free to reach out directly to the authors if you have questions about the content within them. We will also be scheduling virtual RoundTable discussions if the authors of each submission are available and willing to host a session, and we will post those dates here on the Advance Blog when they are scheduled.

Please note that there are two remaining issues with this set of motions:

• The first is how to resolve competing constitutional amendments if both were to pass (which requires a 2/3 or greater margin achieved by both motions). Although unlikely, we want to be prepared, so this issue is being discussed with the parliamentarian and other experts. There is one resolution currently included in the provided PDF file above that may be considered. However, if a solution is identified by the parliamentarian, additional resolutions “from the floor” or simple discussions of the suggested outcome (if a resolution is not required to enact it) may also be offered to address this issue. Although resolutions do not require the 14-day advance notice, the Council will post a resolution to the Advance Blog as soon as possible if a potential solution is identified that can be enacted through resolution so members have time to consider it in advance. 
  
  
• The second is the question is whether either or both of these constitutional amendments, if accepted by the membership, would affect our non-profit (tax-exempt) status and if so, how.  A tax attorney is consulting with the Council on this question and we will share that information as soon as we have it.

 

DCFA Treasurer Posts Proposed 2021-2022 DCFA Budget

DCFA Treasurer has posted the proposed 2021-2022 fiscal year budget to this folder on the DCFA SharePoint site.

Thanks to the DCFA Budget and Finance Committee, and the Membership Committee, for their help in preparing the proposed budget.

Members will have an opportunity to vote to approve the proposed budget at the November 12, 2021 DCFA Convention.

Pre-Convention Update and DCCFA Budget for 2018-19

In accordance with the DCCFA Bylaws, designed in part to increase member participation in all facets of the governance of the association, the Faculty Council again this year undertook a process to accept budget requests from the seven standing committees that were developed during the Sept. 21 standing committee meetings. It should be noted that the DCCFA bylaws now stipulate that all seven college chapters must elect their representatives to each of the seven standing committees, a practice that previously was not uniformly followed in all seven college chapters. Several campuses, though, have not updated their constitutions/bylaws to accomplish this, which deprives those campuses of the opportunity to participate fully in this committee process.


The Welfare and Benefits Committee, chaired by MVCFA President Ryan Pettengill, submitted these minutes of their 9/21/18 meeting. The Welfare and Benefits Committee did not have any specific requests from the DCCFA budget.

The Instructional Goals and Academic Freedom Committee, chaired by RLCFA President Carlos Martinez, submitted these minutes of their 9/21/18 meeting. The Instructional Goals and Academic Freedom Committee did not have any specific requests from the DCCFA budget.

The Communications Committee, chaired by BHCFA President Scott Sires, submitted these minutes of their 9/21/18 meeting. The Communications Committee requests $2500 in the DCCFA budget for development of a new DCCFA website, to include a Blog, as well as portals for individual campus FA pages.

The Political Information Committee, chaired by EFCFA President Stacey Jurhree, submitted these minutes of their 9/21/18 meeting. The Political Information Committee did not have any specific requests from the DCCFA budget.

The Convention Planning Committee, chaired by CVCFA President Shaun Gilligan, submitted these minutes of their 9/21/18 meeting. The Convention Planning Committee requests $1500 in the DCCFA budget for the 2018 Convention and Reception.

The Membership Committee, chaired by ECCFA President Pam Crawford submitted these minutes of their 9/21/18 meeting. The Membership Committee did not have any specific requests from the DCCFA budget.

The Budget and Finance Committee, chaired by NLCFA President Brett Dyer, submitted these minutes of their 9/21/18 joint meeting, as well as this packet of priorities and goals for the committee.

The Faculty Council has reviewed the recommendations of the committees, and in accordance with the bylaws that require it to publish a proposed budget 30 days before the association convenes for the annual convention, hereby publishes this proposed budget for fiscal year 2018-2019.

The final budget is subject to change, per new information that may be received between now and the November 9 convention, the final membership totals to be tabulated at the convention, as well as pending a vote to approve by the members gathered at the convention. Questions about the process, the committee reports, or the convention, may be directed to your respective faculty association president, and/or your local college chapter representative on each standing committee.

DCCFA 40th Anniversary Convention a Great Success!

The DCCFA 40th Anniversary Convention, held on November 10, 2017, was a resounding success.

To kick off the festivities, Dr. Ken Alfers and Dr. Fred Newbury provided a presentation on the history and milestones of the DCCFA over the past 40 years. Ken and Fred stressed the importance of understanding the history of the Association and highlighted many of its key achievements of the past four decades.

The Convention also featured guest speaker Richard Moore, Executive Director of TCCTA, who discussed concerns regarding Guided Pathways, the THECB 60x30 plan, and Dual Credit enrollments, as well as the importance of membership in TCCTA and ongoing faculty involvement.

The proposed 2017-2018 DCCFA budget was passed by unanimous consent.

The proposed dues increase was also unanimously approved by the membership. Dues will be $90 per year, starting in Fall 2018. This change is reflected in the revised DCCFA Bylaws, located here: http://www.dccfa.info/constitution.html

Clarification note, April 9, 2018: The fall membership drive closes on the day of the convention, so the new dues structure would not apply to new faculty who had started and/or joined the association in the Fall of 2017. However, any changes to policies or procedures in the Constitution and Bylaws are in effect once approved at the convention, which means the new dues structure would be in effect for any faculty starting or joining in Spring of 2018; dues for those individuals would thus be $70. 

The minutes of the Convention, the President's State of the Association address, and the Standing Committe reports are all posted on the DCCFA website: http://www.dccfa.info/DCCFA_Minutes_2017.html

Once again, the Convention ended with a wonderful reception hosted by the El Centro Food and Hospitality Institute, which featured delicious hors d'oeuvres, hot foods, desserts, and drinks.

Pre-Convention Update

In accordance with bylaws approved at the 2016 DCCFA convention, designed in part to increase member participation in all facets of the governance of the association, the Faculty Council this year undertook a process to accept budget requests from the seven standing committees that were developed during the Sept. 22 standing committee meetings. It should be noted that the DCCFA bylaws now stipulate that all seven college chapters must elect their representatives to each of the seven standing committees, a practice that previously was not uniformly followed in all seven college chapters.

The Welfare and Benefits committee, chaired by CVCFA President Shaun Gilligan, submitted these minutes of their 9/22/17 meeting, as well as this list of compensation priorities for 2017-2018, and a longer compendium of compensation concerns. The Welfare and Benefits committee did not have any specific requests from the DCCFA budget.

The Instructional Goals and Academic Freedom committee, chaired by MVCFA President Margo Silva, submitted these minutes of their 9/22/17 meeting. The Instructional Goals and Academic Freedom Committee did not have any specific requests from the DCCFA budget.

The Communications committee, chaired by RLCFA President Matt Henry, submitted these minutes of their 9/22/17 meeting.

The Political Information committee, chaired by EFCFA President Matt Hinckley, submitted these minutes of their 9/22/17 meeting.

The Convention Planning committee, chaired by BHCFA President Bill Hammerschlag, submitted these minutes of their 9/22/17 meeting.

The Membership committee, chaired by ECCFA President Pam Crawford, and the Budget and Finance committee, chaired by NLCFA President Brett Dyer, submitted these minutes of their 9/22/17 joint meeting.

The Faculty Council has reviewed the recommendations of the committees, and in accordance with the bylaws that require it to publish a proposed budget 30 days before the association convenes for the annual convention, hereby publishes this proposed budget for fiscal year 2017-2018.

The final budget is subject to change, per new information that may be received between now and the November 10 convention, the final membership totals to be tabulated at the convention, as well as pending a vote to approve by the members gathered at the convention. Questions about the process, the committee reports, or the convention, may be directed to your respective faculty association president, and/or your local college chapter representative on each standing committee.

Faculty Council proposes 2017-2018 compensation adjustment for preliminary budget building process

The DCCFA Faculty Council has submitted to District Talent Central, its preliminary proposal for faculty compensation adjustments for the 2017-2018 fiscal year. That document is available at this link. All faculty are encouraged and invited to review it. DCCFA members are invited to ask questions of their Welfare and Benefits representative and/or their Faculty Association president.

The first draft of the preliminary proposal was developed by the DCCFA Welfare and Benefits Committee, and then refined by the Council.

The proposal only addresses the 2017-2018 budget. The Welfare and Benefits Committee, and the Council, continue to work on a document that would address more long-term, structural issues in faculty compensation. 

Compression has been a problem 30+ years in the making, and it cannot be solved in one or two years.

In addition, our research has revealed, and Chancellor May reported to the Board last summer, that compression has been a significant drag on our efforts to increase diversity in the faculty ranks. While we have done a good job hiring diverse faculty, Board agendas/minutes back to 2006 revealed faculty resignations during that time disproportionately have been African-American and Latino faculty members.

This proposal again seeks to ameliorate compression in the 2017-2018 compensation adjustment through an across-the-board flat dollar increase, and a second flat-dollar increase for those whose salaries are compressed and who never will be able to benefit from the new three-year milestone increase. We also hope to realize an increase in the premium pay rate and hours.

The Council looks forward to productive and constructive dialogue as the 2017-2018 budget is built and figures evolve from theoretical to ballpark to actual.

All faculty should understand that state appropriations (as determined by the Texas Legislature), the local Taxable Assessed Value (as determined by the Dallas County Tax Assessor), and the DCCCD property tax rate (as determined by the DCCCD Board of Trustees), will determine the 2017-2018 DCCCD revenue and thus the DCCCD budget, and consequently the dollars available for compensation adjustments.

2016 DCCFA Convention Summary

The Nov. 11, 2016 annual convention of the DCCFA was a success. Faculty are invited and encouraged to peruse these linked documents:

Agenda of the Convention

Minutes of the Convention

State of the Association Address

Communications Committee Report

Political Information Committee Report

Welfare and Benefits Committee Report

Instructional Goals and Academic Freedom Committee Report

Membership Committee Report and Approved Addendum Introduced by Elizabeth Huston


DCCFA Fiscal Year 2016-2017 Budget, Adopted by majority vote

Newly revised DCCFA Bylaws, Adopted by unanimous consent


In addition to voting to approve the motions adopting the agenda and convention rules for debate, adopting the annual DCCFA budget, and adopting the Bylaws revisions, the convention unanimously approved the following motions:

To charge Faculty Association officers at all DCCCD Colleges to review and revise their Constitutions and By-Laws to ensure compliance with the DCCFA Constitution and By-Laws.

To express the DCCFA’s sympathy to the DCCCD Community, especially the DCCCD Police, related to the tragic events of July 7, 2016.

To thank Chancellor Joe May for changing his travel plans specifically to address the DCCFA convention.