Unified
Staff Council
Constitution
& Bylaws
Alamo
Community College District
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Mission
Statement
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We, the Staff
councils of the Alamo Community College District, strive to enhance
professionalism of all staff members by increasing access to information,
participation, communication, and recognition.
ARTICLE
I NAME
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The
name of this organization shall be the Unified Staff Council of
the Alamo Community College District. The following locations
are members thereof: District Offices, Northwest Vista College,
Palo Alto College, St. Philip’s College, San Antonio College.
ARTICLE
II PURPOSE
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The purpose of this council shall be:
to be representative of classified and professional staff at the
Alamo Community College District, to include part-time temporary
employees of the Alamo Community College District:
to
discuss issues that concern the job welfare and job environment
of classified/professional personnel of the Alamo Community College
District for the development of job security:
to
appoint representatives to serve on committees and task forces:
to
serve as a communications link between classified/professional
staff, faculty, administrators and Alamo Community College District
personnel:
to
conduct studies or surveys regarding matters of concern:
to promote staff development activities, and
to have input in the Alamo Community College District’s
Administration policy and budget decision-making rules and regulations
for the benefit of classified/professional personnel of the Alamo
Community College District.
ARTICLE III UNIFIED STAFF COUNCIL
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Section 1 Composition
Membership
to this council is open to all Staff council members. However,
only the President (or proxy) of each Council shall be voting
members. It is the responsibility of the President to provide
the proxy’s name in writing.
E-mail is permissible.
Section
2 Monthly Meeting
The
Unified Staff council shall meet the second Thursday of each month
on a rotating basis at each campus. No vote should be taken if
not all presidents or proxy are present at a scheduled meeting.
Section
3 Unified Staff Council Year
The
Unified Staff council year shall coincide with the Alamo Community
College District fiscal year and will run from September 1 through
August 31.
ARTICLE
IV MEMBERSHIP
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Section
1 Composition
District
Offices
The District Offices Staff Council shall be composed of six (6)
full-time, permanent employees and one (1) full-time temporary
employee with benefits representing the offices on W. Houston
St. and W. Sheridan St. The council’s membership shall reflect
the ration of professional to classified employees at the location.
Northwest
Vista College
When established, the Northwest Vista College Staff Council shall
be composed of six (6) full-time, permanent employees with not
more than one (1) full-time temporary employee with benefits.
There shall be at least one (1) representative from each of the
following categories, classified, professional, and district employees
assigned to Northwest Vista College. The council’s membership
shall reflect the ration of each category at the location.
Palo
Alto College
The Palo Alto College Staff Council shall be composed of fifteen
(15) full-time employees with no more than two (2) full-time temporary
employees with benefits. There shall be a least one (1) representative
from each of the following categories: classified, professional,
and district employees assigned to Palo Alto College. The council’s
membership shall reflect the ration of each category at the location.
St.
Philip’s College
The St. Philip’s College Staff Council shall be composed
of fifteen (15) full-time employees with o more than two (2) full-time
temporary employees with benefits. There shall be at least one
(1) representative from each of the following categories: classified,
professional, and district employees assigned to St. Philip’s
College. The council’s membership shall reflect the ratio
of each category at the location.
San
Antonio College
The San Antonio College Staff Council shall be composed of fifteen
(15) full-time employees with no more than two (2) full-time temporary
employees with benefits. There shall be at least one (1) representative
from each of the following categories: classified, professional,
and district employees assigned to San Antonio College. The council’s
membership shall reflect the ratio of each category at the location.
Section
2 Term of Office
The
term of office for all Councils shall be two (2) years, except
when filling a vacancy. In that case, the person selected would
finish the term of the individual replaced. A Staff Council member
may serve two (2) consecutive terms, then must sit out one (1)
year. The person filling a vacancy may serve two (2) consecutive
terms in addition to time served for the vacancy.
Section
3 Minimum Participation
A
duly elected member of the Staff Council who fails to attend three
(3) scheduled meetings of the Staff Council without good cause,
or six (6) meetings with good cause within the calendar year shall
be removed from the Staff Council. For Councils that meet only
once a month, a duly elected member of the Staff Council who fails
to attend three (3) meetings with good cause within the calendar
year shall be removed from the Staff Council. Removal will be
by simple majority vote (50 percent plus one) of the remaining
membership. Replacement of said member will be in a like manner
to that of resignation.
ARTICLE
V MEETINGS
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Section 1 Unified Staff Council Annual Retreat
All
incoming and outgoing Unified Staff Council members shall meet
once a year at an annual retreat to discuss and evaluate the current
year and to plan for the upcoming year.
Section
2 Monthly Meetings
The
individual councils shall meet at least once a month and determine
meeting dates at their annual meeting held in September.
Section
3 Annual Meeting
The
September meeting shall be known as the annual meeting and shall
be for the purpose of seating newly elected members and electing
officers.
Section
4 Special Meetings
Special
meetings may be called, if required, with two (2) days notice
where applicable.
Section
5 Robert’s Rule of Order
All
Staff Councils shall conduct their meetings according to Robert’s
Rules of Order.
ARTICLE
VI ELECTIONS
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Section 1 Time Frame
Elections
will be held in May of each year with installation of new members
taking place September 1. Newly elected members are encouraged
to attend meetings as non-voting members.
Section
2 The Election Process
Any
staff employee may nominate, from among those eligible, by submitting
a nomination form to the Staff Council by the last date established
for receiving nominations.
A.
Nominees must have been a full-time, permanent employee of the
Alamo Community College District or a full-time, temporary employee
of the Alamo Community College District for one (1) year.
B.
To be place on the ballot, a nominee must have at lest one (1)
nomination form submitted.
C.
Approximately one (1) week prior to the election, the sitting
Staff Council shall publish a list of nominations and the time
and place selected for voting. A list of those eligible to vote
will be made available for review in the office of the Council’s
election committee chairperson.
D.
All elections shall be made by secret ballot.
E.
To be elected a person must have a simple majority (50 percent
plus one) of the votes. If no one candidate has a simple majority,
then a run-off election must be held between the two (2) candidates
with the highest number of votes.
In
the event that there is than one (1) vacancy in a specific category
that has more than two (2) slots (e.g. classified), the candidates
must have a plurality of the votes to be elected (i.e., the candidates
with the highest number of votes will fill the vacant positions).
F.
A staff member may vote for one (1) candidate in each of the
Vacancies.
Section 3 Vacancies
Vacancies
that occur as the result of resignations or other unforeseen circumstances
shall be filled in the following manner: the person with next
highest number of votes will be appointed in the section in which
the vacancy occurred.
A.
In the event a Council member resigns, the Staff Council must
consider the nominees from the election results wherein the Council
member leaving was elected. If none of the nominees are available
to complete the tern, the Staff Council shall consider nominees
from the most recent election.
B.
In the event that there are no nominees available to complete
the term,
and there is a remainder of three (3) months or more in the vacated
position, then a special election will be held to fill the vacancy.
C.
In the event no person is available to fill the vacancy, then
at the time of the next regular election, in order to preserve
the staggered terms of service and provided that there is more
than one (1) year left in that term, the person elected to fill
the vacant position shall serve the remainder of the term. That
person shall be eligible to run for two (2) additional consecutive
terms as indicated in Article IV, Section 2.
ARTICLE
VII OFFICERS AT EACH LOCATION
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The officers of the Staff Council shall be President, President-Elect,
Secretary, Treasurer, Reporter/Historian, and Parliamentarian.
These officers shall perform the duties prescribed by these bylaws
and by the parliamentary authority by the Council.
Section
1 Duties of Officers
A.
To ensure that the Staff Council President is knowledgeable of
the Council, their respective college and district. The President
shall rise from the ranks of President-Elect and shall be in his/her
second term of service to the Staff Council. The President of
each Staff council shall be an official Alamo Community College
District employee in order to preserve the line of authority to
the President of the College. The President shall perform all
duties proper to the office. The President shall be an ex-officio
member of all committees with voting privileges. The President
shall authorize all formal communications and policy statements
in the name of the Staff Council. The President shall be the budget
manager and be the authorized signature for all expenditures.
The President shall share the responsibilities of attending college-wide
and district-wide committee meetings with the President-Elect.
After a President’s term has been served, the individual
will be called upon to provide additional support to the Council
by serving another year as ex-officio member of the Council. The
ex-officio member will provide transition, insight, assistance,
guidance and moral support to the Staff Council in order to continue
business as usual.
B.
To be nominated a President-Elect, that individual shall be in
his/her first term of service. The President-Elect shall preside
and perform the duties of the President in the absence of the
President. The President-Elect shall share the responsibilities
of attending college-wide and district-wide committee meetings
with the President. The President-Elect shall become President
in his/her second year of service to the Staff Council.
C.
The Secretary shall keep an official record of the proceedings
at all Council meetings and conduct Council correspondences and
perform other assigned duties. The Secretary shall be responsible
for preparing and distributing the agenda for each meeting. The
Secretary shall take minutes at each meeting, file all documents
and correspondence belonging to the Council, notify members of
all meetings and provide copies of minutes to Council members.
The minutes of each meeting shall also include a record of motions
made, how each member voted and final outcome of motion. Minutes
of the meeting shall be kept in permanent minutes book for minimum
of three (3) years.
D.
The Treasure shall record and monitor the Staff Council budget
and any monies collected in extracurricular activities and perform
other assigned duties. The Treasurer shall work with the President
to prepare a budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The Treasure
shall prepare a treasurer’s report for each meeting. Treasurer’s
Reports and Account Summary Sheets shall be kept as permanent
records for minimum of three (3) years.
E.
The Reporter/Historian shall disseminate information to the staff
concerning Council business (including, but not limited to, meeting
dates and times, employee of the month announcements, elections,
events, etc.) The Reporter/Historian shall be responsible for
preparing a minimum of four (4) newsletters per year and shall
maintain historical records for the Council. The Historical Records
shall be kept as permanent records. The Reporter/Historian shall
also be the official contact to the campus newspaper.
F.
The Parliamentarian shall be responsible for calling each meeting
to order and for maintaining order during the meeting according
to Robert’s Rules of Order. The Parliamentarian embodies
the responsibilities usually reserved for adjudicator. The Parliamentarian
is the final arbitrator of disputes over constitutionality of
Staff Council Policies.
G.
Officers and Council representatives shall not serve special constituencies
during their term of office with regard to the Staff Council.
All published or printed information or statements made on behalf
of the Staff Council shall be non-partisan in nature. When representatives
speak on behalf of the Staff Council, or write memoranda, the
Council shall be consulted prior to release. Officers shall use
discretion when speaking to the press, in accordance with District
policies.
Section 2 Nomination of Officers
The
officers shall be nominated and elected at the annual meeting
held in September by current Staff Council members. To be nominated,
a member must be a full-time, permanent employee. To be elected,
a person must have a simple majority (50 percent plus one) of
the votes. If no one candidate has simple majority, then a run-off
will be held between the candidates with the two highest number
of votes.
Section
3 Term of Officers
The
term of office shall be for one (1) year beginning with the date
of the annual meeting in September.
Section
4 Officer Vacancies
If
a vacancy should occur during the year (other than the President).
A replacement will be selected by the Council vote according to
the terms described in Article VII, Section 2 and 3. The President-Elect
shall succeed the President in the event of a vacancy.
ARTICLE
VIII COMMITTEES
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Each
incoming Council member shall serve on minimum of two (2) committees.
Each committee shall its own chairperson.
There
shall be three (3) standing committees of the Staff Council. They
include the following: Elections Committee, Employee of the Month
Committee and special Event/Fundraising Committee, Each location
may create additional committees to address other issues. Examples
include: Scholarship, Grievance, Staff Development, Salary Study,
etc.
ARTICLE
IX AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION
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Amendment
to the Constitution shall first be presented to the Unified Staff
Council. The Council Presidents in turn shall report proposed
amendments to their respective councils. Each Council shall read
aloud said amendment(s) at two (2) consecutive meetings of inclusion.
Special care shall be given to each proposed amendment. The suggestions
of the President of the College are paramount as concerns the
Constitution, as the President of the College may have concerns
and items that need to be included or discussed and modified for
inclusion in the Constitution. Amendments(s) to the constitution
shall be ratified by each Council with a two-thirds (2/3) membership
vote.
As
Amended August 11, 2000
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