Language of Proposed Amendments to DCFA Constitution and Bylaws Now Available, Meeting Requirement for At Least 14 Days Advance Publication Prior to Nov. 11 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 11, 1:30 – 5:00 p.m. can be accessed in this document.

This posting meets the requirements for public posting at least 14 days before the start of the Convention. We hope you have joined the association (deadline is Monday, November 7 at 11:59 pm) and have made plans to participate and vote.

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.

DCFA Announces Annual Convention on November 11, 2022

The DCFA 2022 Annual Convention will be held on Friday, November 11, 2022 at 1:30 pm in person at the Dallas County Commissioner’s Court at 411 Elm St. The Convention will be live-streamed for members to view remotely. Voting is in-person, but in accordance with the Bylaws, you may offer your proxy to someone who will be in attendance.

An invitation to join us for the Annual Convention will be posted at least two (2) weeks prior to the event, but we encourage you to block out the afternoon on your calendar now to ensure you are able to attend and participate fully. Per the change to the Bylaws through the August 2021 convention, voting is allowed by proxy (with strict rules for designating a proxy) and the details for how voting will be conducted will be shared in the invitation along with the agenda.

Per the DCFA Constitution and Bylaws, if you have a proposal to amend the Constitution or Bylaws that you would like considered at the 2022 Annual Convention, it must be received by the DCFA Council Secretary and President at least one (1) month prior to the scheduled convention. This means any proposals to amend the Constitution or Bylaws must be submitted in writing to the Secretary, Erin Kelley; the Convention Planning Chair, Denise Griffin; and the Council President, Andrew Tolle, by Tuesday, October 11. It is strongly recommended that any resolutions to be considered also be submitted by this date. For simplicity, you are welcome to email your proposed motions to amend or resolutions to dcfa@dcccd.edu (which sends a copy to all DCFA Council members).

Following submission, the DCFA Council will review the submissions with the parliamentarian and contact the authors if any changes are suggested before posting all proposed motions to amend by the required deadline of Friday, October 28 (two weeks prior to the Convention).

Link to DCFA Constitution last amended August 2021

Link to DCFA Bylaws last amended November 2021

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.

 

Updated Copies of DCFA Constitution and Bylaws Now Posted in SharePoint

The DCFA Constitution and Bylaws documents were amended during the August 2021 special convention.

The amended documents are now available in the appropriate folder on the DCFA SharePoint site.

The MS Word files are posted so as to allow ease of future amendments, without the entire document having to be re-typed.

The PDF files are the official documents.

Previous versions of the DCFA Constitution and Bylaws are now also located in a separate folder on the DCFA SharePoint site. This folder does not contain every previous version of the Constitution and Bylaws - only those version available to the current Council.

If any member has older previous versions of the Constitution and/or Bylaws, they may send them to Matt Hinckley to be filed into the appropriate folder of former Constitutions and Bylaws on the DCFA SharePoint site.

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.

Nov. 10 Pre-Convention Update 2: Council offers vision for the next 40 years, proposes Bylaws revision to increase Fall 2018 dues

DCCFA President Bill Hammerschlag has promulgated a proposed agenda to adopt at, and to guide, the Nov. 10 annual DCCFA convention. Having been founded in 1977, this year marks the 40th annual DCCFA convention.

Reflecting on 40 years of institutional memory, the Council has articulated a vision for the next 40 years, and wishes to share that vision with the members gathered at the Nov. 10 convention.

Included among the recommendations is a proposal to increase dues, beginning with the Fall 2018 membership drive, from the current $75 per year, to $90 per year.

Members are encouraged to review the proposed convention agenda, the proposed 2017-2018 budget (which was posted on Oct. 11), and the vision statement, which includes the proposed language to revise provisions of the bylaws governing the dues structure.

For additional context, please refer to the Oct. 11 Pre-Convention Update, with standing committee reports.

Faculty Council releases agenda for Nov. 11 convention, and menu for the post-convention reception

The Faculty Council has released the agenda for the Nov. 11 DCCFA Convention. The agenda is available at this link.

The convention will begin at 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11, at Dallas County Commissioners Court, 411 Elm Street, Dallas. (Please note that the building shows as "Dallas County Administration Building" on the map. Commissioners Court is on the first floor. The Sixth Floor Museum is in the same building; it is the former Texas School Book Depository Building.) Faculty who have paid their $75 annual DCCFA membership dues by the time the convention begins are welcome and invited to attend.

The agenda PDF document includes links to supporting documents including proposed revisions to the DCCFA Bylaws that are described here and here, the proposed budget for the 2016-2017 fiscal year, and the reports from the five standing committees of the DCCFA.

Chancellor Joe May will be the featured guest speaker, and he is looking forward to answering questions from faculty.

All members attending the convention are then invited to attend a reception hosted by the El Centro College Food and Hospitality Institute, at which this menu will be served:

Shrimp Cocktail

Fresh Fruit and Cheese

Chicken Wings (Honey BBQ, Spicy, and “Really Spicy”)

Tossed Salad

Penne Pasta with Herbed Tomato Sauce and Meatballs

Grilled Seasonal Vegetables

Assorted Breads with Butter

Homemade Chocolate Brownies

Beer and Wine (donated by private individuals – alcohol service exemption has been granted by El Centro College administration as a training opportunity for El Centro FHI students who are TABC certified)

We hope to see you there!

Revision to DCCFA Bylaws to be voted on at Convention

As noted in this previous blog post, the Faculty Council is proposing a revision of the DCCFA Bylaws, which will be voted on at the General Convention on Friday, Nov. 11, 2016.

A preliminary revision of the Bylaws was presented to the standing committees of the DCCFA at their meeting on October 7, 2016. Committee members were asked to review the proposed revisions, provide feedback, and suggest further changes. A revised draft version of the Bylaws was then presented, via the Advance blog, for the entire membership of the DCCFA to review. Feedback was solicited between October 24 and 28, 2016. The final draft of the proposed changes to the Bylaws is now presented here for everyone to review in advance of the General Convention.

In the interest of transparency, the Faculty Council is posting the following three documents:

·         The 2007 version of the Bylaws

·         The 10/19/16 draft version posted for membership feedback (showing all edits and changes, with commentary)

·         The 10/31/16 final draft to be voted on at the Convention (clean copy)

DCCFA Bylaws proposed for revisions

At the Nov. 11, 2016 General Convention, the DCCFA will consider a comprehensive revision to its Bylaws. This is necessitated by the most recent revision, from 2007, not referencing a 2005 revision of the Bylaws, and the 2005 revision not referencing several previous revisions. In addition, 2004, 2005, and 2006 Convention minutes, that might explain the changes made in 2005, are not available. Finally, numerous current DCCFA practices are not reflected in the Bylaws. Consequently, the Faculty Council offered, and various standing committees of the DCCFA reviewed, preliminary revisions to the DCCFA Bylaws on Oct. 7, and suggested further changes. These and additional revisions are now presented for all members to consider and suggest additional changes between Oct. 24 and 28. A final set of proposed Bylaws - for consideration at the Nov. 11 General Convention - will be posted to the DCCFA Advance Blog on Oct. 31.  Please thoroughly read this link to the proposed revisions to the Bylaws, and submit your comments, questions, and suggestions, to the online feedback forum at this link. Your comments do not require a login, and remain anonymous.

RATIONALE FOR CHANGING THE DCCFA FISCAL YEAR:

Traditionally, the fiscal year has been aligned with the election of the Faculty Council officers. Unfortunately, this creates an unnecessary fiscal complication as well as a tax issue. For example, the budget for the 2015-2016 academic year ran from June 1, 2015 to May 31, 2016.  However, that budget was not approved until November 2015, which means that for 6 months checks were being written on an unapproved budget.  This year, we have similarly been issuing checks against the 2016-2017 budget, which has not yet been developed or approved.  

For fiscal responsibility, it makes more sense for the fiscal year to run from September 1 of one year to August 31 of the next year. This way, money collected in the fall would fund the academic year in which it was collected and the year in which the budget for those dollars was created and approved.  Ideally, the Faculty Association would be able to complete all business within the fiscal year and fund the expenses incurred for that particular budget.  

Moreover, changing the fiscal year would make filing our tax information with the IRS much simpler. The process for changing our fiscal year is relatively simple and does not incur any cost above our normal costs of working with a CPA to file our information. We are waiting for final recommendations from our CPA on whether to begin the fiscal year on Sept. 1, Oct. 1, or Nov. 1. Feedback from members on this issue is welcome in the comments submitted via the online feeback forum.