CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE FACULTY ASSOCIATION
ARTICLE I NAME, PURPOSE, GOALS, AND GOVERNING BODY
Section 1 The name of the Association is Johnson County Community College Faculty Association/KNEA/NEA.
Section 2 Purpose and Goals
- To work for the educational welfare of all students at JCCC.
- To work for the professional and personal welfare of the faculty and staff at JCCC.
- To develop and promote the adoption of such ethical practices, personnel policies, standards of preparation, and performance as mark a profession.
- To promote and develop a continuing program to improve instruction, to upgrade professional preparation, and to improve working conditions, fringe benefits and salaries, through formal negotiations with the Board of Trustees.
- To enable members to speak with a common voice on matters pertaining to the teaching profession, and to present their individual and common professional interests before the Board of Trustees.
- To hold property and funds for the attainment of these purposes.
Section 3 Governing Body
- The general membership, in meeting, shall constitute the governing body of the Association.
- At other times the governing body of the Association shall be the “Executive Council” as described and defined in Article VII.
ARTICLE II MEMBERSHIP AND FISCAL YEAR
Section 1 The official membership year of the Association shall be September 1 through August 31.
Section 2 The official fiscal year of the Association shall be July 1 through June 30.
ARTICLE III MEETINGS
Section 1 General membership meetings shall be held monthly. Special meetings may be called by the President.
Section 2 Officers shall be elected in April.
Section 3 The yearly local membership dues shall be established at the May general meeting.
Section 4 Special meetings may be called by the president or by 2/3 of the Executive Council or by petition of 20% of the membership.
Section 5 All members shall be notified in writing of each special meeting at least 48 hours prior to such meeting.
Section 6 Meetings of the Executive Council are described in Article VII.
ARTICLE IV AFFILIATION
The Association shall be affiliated with the Kansas-National Education Association, and with the National Education Association, and shall comply with their standards for affiliation.
ARTICLE V MEMBERSHIP
Section 1 Two types of membership are available in the Association: Active and Retired
a. Active membership shall be open only to members of the bargaining unit who are engaged in or who are on limited leaves of absence from professional educational work at Johnson County Community College and who maintain membership in KNEA and NEA.
Active membership shall be continuous until the member leaves the College, resigns from the Association, or fails to pay membership dues.
1) To become a member of the Association, contact one of the Executive Council officers or visit the Association’s Web site at www.jccc.edu/fa for the required application form and payroll deduction form. Return completed forms to any Executive Council officer for processing.
2) To withdraw your membership from the Association, submit a written statement with an effective date to the Association’s Vice President. The Vice President will then submit the statement to the Payroll office to discontinue the salary deduction with the next pay period.
b. Retired membership shall be open to any person who held active membership at the College immediately prior to retirement, including the totally disabled. Retired members shall have all the rights and privileges of active members except the right to vote and hold office. Lifetime retired membership dues for the local Faculty Association will be the same amount as the annual membership dues for that year. This will be a one-time payment.
Section 2 Membership provisions and limitations.
- The Association shall not deny membership to individuals on the basis of race, color, age, sex, religion, marital status, national origin, disability, veteran’s status, sexual orientation or other factors which cannot be lawfully considered, to the extent specified by applicable federal and state laws.
- No member of the Association may be censured, suspended or expelled without a due process hearing which shall include appropriate appellate procedures.
Section 3 Due Process Procedures
The Executive Council shall have the authority to censure, suspend, or expel members. Charged members shall have the right to a hearing affording procedural due process by the Executive Council and the right to appeal its decision to the general membership. The Executive Council shall adopt and publish procedural rules for such hearings and appeals. An affirmative vote of the majority of members present shall be necessary to affirm or reverse the Executive Council’s decision.
Section 4 Voting Privileges
Every member entitled to vote in general meetings shall have the right to do so in person, or by proxy, and/or by absentee ballot. The proxy must be brought to the meeting by a person authorized by the absent member; a member may bring no more than three (3) proxies per meeting. Proxies will be valid for only one meeting; absentee and proxy ballots will be made available by the Secretary and/or designee.
ARTICLE VI EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
Section 1 The executive officers of the Association shall be:
- President
- Vice President
- Secretary
- Treasurer
- UniServ District Representative
- Immediate Past President
Section 2 Terms of Office
The executive officers shall serve a term of one year, assuming office at the May meeting.
Section 3 Qualifications
A candidate for President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and UniServ District Representative shall be an active member of the bargaining unit.
Section 4 Duties and Powers
- The President shall have the following powers and duties:
- Preside at all meetings of the Association and the Executive Council.
- Be an ex-officio member of all committees.
- Appoint all special committees deemed necessary or desirable to implement the purposes and program of the Association subject to the approval of the Executive Council.
- Serve as a member of the Executive Council.
- Monitor activity of the board of trustees.
- The Vice President shall have the following powers and
duties:
- Preside in the absence of the President.
- Succeed to the Presidency for the unexpired term of the
President in the event of a vacancy. - Manage the membership roster in conjunction with the
Treasurer. - Recruit new members
- Performs other duties as requested by the President.
- The Secretary shall perform the following duties:
- Keep a record of the proceedings of all meetings of the Executive Council.
- Carry on correspondence as directed by the President.
- Serve as Secretary to the Executive Council, and prepare a copy of minutes to be distributed to each member.
- Preserve in a permanent file all records and letters of value to the Association.
- The Treasurer shall perform the following duties:
- Keep financial records of the Association.
- Pay all bills authorized by the President and/or the Executive Council.
- Manage the membership roster in conjunction with the Vice President.
- The UniServ District Representative shall perform the following duty:
- Represent the Association at meetings of external governing units, such as the UniServ, KNEA, and NEA.
- The Immediate Past President shall perform the following duties:
- Serve as counsel to the new President.
- Insure a smooth transition between administrations.
- Perform other duties as requested by the President.
Section 5 Elections
Elections for the Association’s executive officers shall be conducted in April position-by-position, with open nominations and secret electronic ballot, and with results determined by majority vote of the voting members. Terms of elected officers shall be for one year and shall begin at the May meeting. Exiting officers’ duties include effecting a smooth transfer of materials and information to the newly elected officers. Election challenges must be made within two weeks of the election to the Executive Council. Results of the electronic ballots shall be retained by the Secretary for that period or until any challenge is resolved.
Section 6 Vacancies
- A vacancy shall be considered to exist upon the resignation or removal from office of an executive council officer except the Immediate Past President. Removal of any executive council officer except the Immediate Past President requires a majority vote of the voting members.
- Should a vacancy occur among any of the executive officers except the President and the Immediate Past President, the Executive Council shall call a special meeting for the purpose of electing a new officer.
- Should a vacancy occur in the Presidency, the Vice President shall assume the Presidency, and an election shall be held to determine a new Vice President to complete the term.
- Should a vacancy occur in the Immediate Past President position, the Executive Council shall appoint a former president to complete the term.
- The same procedure shall govern the election to fill a vacancy as was used in the original election.
- The newly elected officer shall assume the duties of office immediately.
ARTICLE VII GOVERNANCE OF THE ASSOCIATION
Section 1 General
- The general membership shall constitute the governing body of the Association at general and/or special meetings.
- At all other times the Executive Council shall constitute the governing body of the Association.
Section 2 Composition of the Executive Council
The Executive Council shall consist of the six (6) executive officers of the Association
Section 3 Qualifications
Candidates for Executive Council shall be active members of the bargaining unit.
Section 4 Terms of Office
Members of the Executive Council shall serve for a term of one year.
Section 5 Duties and Responsibilities
The Executive Council shall be responsible for setting policy, determining meeting agendas, setting local dues, adopting the budget, and effecting a smooth transition of materials and information to the newly elected officers.
Section 6 Quorum
A majority of the Executive Council shall constitute a quorum.
Section 7 Meetings
The Executive Council meetings shall be held monthly or at the call of the President and be open to all members—active and retired.
Section 8 Division Advocates
The Faculty Association members in each of the following divisions shall select one Faculty Association member from their division to serve as their Division Advocate and another Faculty Association member from their division to serve as the Alternate for a one-year term beginning May 1st each year. The following divisions have been identified: Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; Business; Communication; English and Journalism; Health Care and Wellness; Mathematics; Science; Technology; and Counseling. The Faculty Association Executive Committee will assign any program or group not identified by one of the above listed divisions to a division for the purpose of representation. In the event of future reorganization, Division Advocates shall be reassigned to reflect the changes. Division Advocates or their Alternates shall attend all Faculty Association meetings to speak on behalf of their division and advocate for their group’s interests in discussions. These advocates shall communicate information back to their divisions.
ARTICLE VIII DELEGATES TO STATE AND NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES
Section 1 Delegates
- The Association shall elect its delegate(s) and successor delegate(s) to the KNEA Uniserv District and State representative assemblies based on open nomination secret ballot and majority vote by position, with proportional representation for active Association members. The Association also shall encourage ethnic minority representation membership. KNEA shall establish procedures for the election of delegates to the state and national assemblies. Sufficient time must be allowed for reporting to KNEA.
- The number of delegates and successor delegates shall be determined by the KNEA in compliance with the one-person, one-vote principle, and shall be based on the active Association membership as of January 15.
Section 2 Successor Delegates
Successor delegates shall serve in the absence of the regular delegate upon certification by the Association.
Section 3 Term of Office
Delegates and successor delegates shall serve for a term of one year.
Section 4 Qualifications
Requirements are active membership in the Association, KNEA, and NEA.
ARTICLE IX COMMITTEES
Section 1 General
The standing committees shall be, but are not limited to, negotiations, constitution and bylaws, nominations and elections, and social. Ad hoc, joint committees, and other committees will be created by the Association president, subject to approval by the Executive Council.
Section 2 Appointments
All committee appointments shall be made and terminated by the
President as needed.
Section 3 Terms of Office
All standing, ad hoc, and joint committee appointments shall serve until task completion or termination by the President.
Section 4 Qualifications
Committee members shall be active members of the Association.
Section 5 Ex-Officio Committee Members
The President may appoint ex-officio committee members to serve on committees as non-voting members at the discretion of the Executive Council.
Section 6 Vacancies
Should a committee vacancy occur, the President shall appoint a replacement.
Section 7 A majority of the committee members shall constitute a quorum of the committee.
Section 8 Joint Committees
Joint committees, which are those committees made up of members appointed by the College President and members appointed by the Association President, shall operate within the following framework:
Members of a joint committee appointed by the Association President shall report to the Association President and to the Executive Council, as necessary, all issues related to negotiation issues or the Master Agreement between the Johnson County Community College Board of Trustees and the Johnson County Community College Faculty Association.
The Association President shall apprise the members of the Negotiations Committee of all issues addressed in joint committees related to negotiations and the Master Agreement.
No member of a joint committee is empowered to enter into any binding decision that would impact the Master Agreement or negotiation issues or process without the express approval of the Executive Council.
ARTICLE X AMENDMENT OF CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS
Proposed amendments of the constitution and bylaws must be presented at least one regular meeting prior to the proposed amendment. Passage of suchamendments requires a two-thirds majority of the active membership voting.
ARTICLE XI PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE
The rules contained in Roberts’ Rules of Order, revised edition, shall govern the Association, except where otherwise specified by the constitution and bylaws.