ARTICLE I — NAME
The name of this association shall be the West Virginia Association of School Administrators.

ARTICLE II — PURPOSE
It shall be the purpose of the West Virginia Association of School Administrators to promote whatever in the judgment of a majority of its members will contribute to the best interest of public education.

ARTICLE III — AFFILIATION
The West Virginia Association of School Administrators shall be affiliated with the American Association of School Administrators.

ARTICLE IV — MEMBERSHIP
Section 1
Active and emeritus memberships and selection to the Hall of Thanks shall be available in the West Virginia Association of School Administrators.

Section 2
County superintendents, assistant county superintendents, county directors, chief administrators and assistant administrators of Education Service Cooperatives (ESC), the state superintendent, assistant state superintendents, state directors, professors of educational administration and any person employed at the county level or state level in a phase of administration or supervisory of fiscal capacity in West Virginia, not otherwise mentioned above, shall be eligible for active membership in the West Virginia Association of School Administrators.

Section 3
All active members of the West Virginia Association of School Administrators in Section 2 of this article may, upon retirement be emeritus members of the Association upon payment of $25.00 annually. Emeritus members shall receive all agendas minutes of membership meetings, and all conference/workshop announcements. Emeritus members shall not have voting rights, but shall be permitted and encouraged to attend association workshops and conferences for the price of meals and snacks. One emeritus member shall be elected as an ex-officio member of the Executive Committee. The emeritus member to the Executive Committee shall be elected annually by vote of the active members at the time association officers are elected. The emeritus member may not exceed two (2) years of total service on the Executive Committee.

Section 4
A Hall of Thanks shall exist in this organization for the express purpose of honoring those individuals and organizations which have been particularly supportive of the endeavors of WVASA in spite of the fact that they are not in the field of education leadership. The members of the Hall of Thanks shall be elected by the members in regular session upon recommendation of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall consider a candidate's contributions to education in general and this association in particular in making recommendations for the Hall of Thanks. No more than two (2) members to the Hall of Thanks may be selected in any one year. The honor of selection will be recognized at the annual banquet held in connection with the Summer Conference.

ARTICLE V — OFFICERS
Section 1
The officers of the West Virginia Association of School Administrators shall be president, vice president, secretary-treasurer, and members of the Executive Committee, as outlined in Article V, Section 4.

Section 2
The president, vice-president and secretary-treasurer shall be chosen for terms of one (1) year from the membership of the organization. In the event an officer is no longer eligible for membership in the organization, the position will be declared vacant.

Section 3
The president, vice-president and secretary-treasurer shall be elected at the May meeting of the Association. The installation of new officers shall be the last official action of the officers.

Section 4
The Executive Committee shall consist of the officers, the immediate past president, one (1) emeritus member (elected by the active members for a one-year term), and eight (8) other members (two representing each quadrant) of the West Virginia Association of School Administrators regularly elected to the Executive Committee. Additional members appointed to serve on Executive Committee may occur based on the recommendation of the Executive Committee and membership approval.

Section 5
The secretary-treasurer shall be secretary of the Executive Committee.

Section 6
The duties of the president and vice-president shall be those identified with these offices in Robert's Rules of Order. But in addition thereto, the president shall serve as Chairperson of the Executive committee and the vice-president shall service as chairperson of the Programs and Seminars Committee. In the absence of the president at the meetings of the Executive Committee, the vice-president shall serve as chairperson.

Section 7
Nomination of president, vice president, secretary-treasurer and emeritus member of the executive committee shall be made at the May meeting of the Association by a nominating committee, consisting of five (5) representative members from different positions as defined in Article IV, Section 2, appointed by the president of the Association. The president shall communicate with all members at least one (1) month in advance of this meeting identifying members of the nominating committee and inviting the membership to suggest names for consideration.

 

After receiving the report of the nominating committee, the president shall provide opportunity for nominations from the floor. In the election for each office, the candidate receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared elected.

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Each Superintendent’s Quadrant, as established in HB2711, shall have two (2) seats on the Executive Committee.

Section 8
Members of this Association, as defined in Article IV, Section 2, shall have the right to vote and hold office only after payment of dues in full or having signed payroll deductions of dues during the fiscal year of July 1 to June 30.

Section 9
President Expenses: preparation of the fiscal budget shall include a line item for expenses incurred by the President of the organization not to exceed $2,000.00. This will be a year to year line item and only earmarked if sufficient funds are available.

 

National Conference Expenses: preparation of the fiscal budget shall include a line item for expenses incurred by the current President and Superintendent of the Year to attend the national AASA conference. This will be a year to year line item and only earmarked if sufficient funds are available.

 

A member superintendent of the WVASA elected by the WVASA membership or appointed by the Executive Committee to serve on a committee for the AASA may be eligible for expenses incurred, not to exceed $2,000.00 annually, while serving as a committee member. This will be a year to year line item and only earmarked if sufficient funds are available.

ARTICLE VI — COMMITTEES
Section 1
Standing committees shall be appointed by the president; these shall include Finance, Legislative, Audit, State Board Policy Development and Review, Facilities and Instructional Leadership committees, Scholarship and WVSSAC.

Section 2
All standing committees shall be appointed by the president on an annual basis and shall report at the regular annual meetings or at called meetings if so desired by the president. Members of the Association may also voluntarily become a member of any committee.

Section 3
It shall be the duty of the Legislative Committee to develop and promote desirable school legislation. In developing a program of legislation, the committee shall seek the guidance and approval of the complete membership of the Association. The committee shall cooperate, insofar as possible, with the corresponding committees of the West Virginia School Boards Association, the State Department of Education, the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission, the West Virginia Association of Elementary School Principals, the West Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals, the West Virginia Association of School Business Officials, the West Virginia Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the West Virginia Council of Vocational Administrators, the West Virginia Council of Administrators of Special Education, the West Virginia Council of Parents and Teachers and the West Virginia Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.

Section 4
Special committees shall be created by the president at such times and in such manner as the Association may direct.

Section 5
For emergency service, the president shall appoint such committees, upon approval of the Executive committee, as needs may determine.

Section 6
Members of each standing committee, except the audit committee, shall each year, prior to the installation of officers, elect one of its members to serve a two-year term as co-chairperson. During the first year as co-chairperson, the committee officer shall be considered the junior chair and will be responsible for committee functions in the absence of the senior chair. During the second year as co-chairperson, the committee officer shall be considered the senior chair and will be responsible for calling and chairing committee meetings, selecting the sub-committee chairpersons, assigning sub-committee responsibilities and serving as a member of the Executive Committee. Nothing herein prevents committee chairpersons from being elected to successive terms.

ARTICLE VII — DUTIES - EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 
Section 1
The Executive Committee shall elect the time and place for the meetings as deemed essential to the best interest of the Association. An annual calendar of meetings with times and places shall be prepared and distributed in August for the approval by the membership. Special meetings may be called by the president with the approval of the majority of the Executive Committee. A change in the regular meeting schedule constitutes the call for the special meeting. The Executive Committee shall have the power to act for the Association between dates on which meetings are held; provided, however, that on issues of primary importance in the judgment of the Executive committee, a canvas of opinion by letter or questionnaire shall be made of the members if a meeting is impractical, provided that time will permit.

Section 2
The Executive Committee shall annually prepare an operational budget to be submitted to the membership for approval at the September meeting of the Association. The president, with assistance from the executive director and the treasurer, shall prepare a tentative budget for consideration by the Executive Committee.

Section 3
The Executive Committee shall perform duties as described in other articles of this constitution.

ARTICLE VIII — STAFF
Section 1
The West Virginia Association of School Administrators may employ, or contact for the services of, an executive director to manage the day-to-day operation of the Association and other staff as deemed necessary by the Executive Committee.

Section 2
The Executive Committee shall annually prepare an operational budget to be submitted to the membership for approval at the September meeting of the Association. The president, with assistance from the executive director and the treasurer, shall prepare a tentative budget for consideration by the Executive Committee.

Section 3
Changes in the terms and/or conditions of employment for the Executive Director shall be recommended by the Executive Committee and approved by the membership. The Executive Committee shall annually provide the Executive Director with a formal evaluation. The evaluation will be designed to assess the comprehensive performance of the Executive Director. The evaluation is to be completed by the Executive Committee and a conference held with the Executive Director sixty days prior to the end of the fiscal year. The evaluation Instrument shall be created by the Executive Committee and approved by the general membership. Annual goals for the Executive Director will be established by the Executive committee prior to September 1st of each year. The Executive Director serves at the will and pleasure of the Executive committee representing the general membership.

Section 4

When a vacancy in the position of executive director occurs, the following procedure shall be followed in filling the position:

• The president, on behalf of the Executive Committee, shall advertise the position and solicit applications. The advertisement will consist of a job description with duties, responsibilities, salary, and other conditions of employment. The advertisement shall be made in Charleston Gazette, on the WV Department of Education Website and be distributed to county boards of education for a period of 10 work days;

• The Executive Committee shall review all applications and select persons to be interviewed;

• The Executive Committee shall interview all persons selected for interviews;

• The Executive committee shall prepare a recommendation to the membership on the selection of an executive director; and

• The executive director shall be approved by a majority vote of the membership present at an announced meeting of the membership.

Section 5
In the event of a vacancy in the Executive Director position, or in the event that the Executive Director is incapacitated and unable to temporarily fulfill the duties of the office, the Executive Committee shall be vested with the authority to appoint an Interim Executive Director to allow for efficient operation of the Association. This appointment shall span no more than 90 days unless approved by the WVASA Membership. The rate of compensation for an Interim Executive Director will be set by the Executive Committee and shall not exceed the rate established for the position of Executive Director.

ARTICLE IX — REPRESENTATIVE TO THE WEST VIRGINIA SSAC BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
One member of the West Virginia Association of School Administrators shall be elected to serve on the West Virginia SSAC Board of Directors for a period of four (4) years. The procedure for the election is to notify the membership of the availability of a seat on the Board, allowing any member to declare their candidacy for said seat. At a regular meeting of the Association each candidate will be allowed two (2) minutes for a presentation of their qualifications for the position. Following the presentations, the members present at the meeting will vote by secret ballot. The candidate with the greatest number of votes will serve on the Board of Directors for a period of four (4) years unless they resign or are otherwise unable to serve. In the event the representative to the SSAC Board of Directors is no longer eligible for membership in WVASA, the position will be declared vacant. Elections will be held every four (4) years or whenever the position is vacant.

ARTICLE X — AMENDMENTS
Amendments to this constitution may be made at any regular or regularly called meeting of the Association by two-thirds vote of the members present.

ARTICLE XI — DUES
The annual membership dues shall be established by the membership at any regular meeting.

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AMENDED: February 12, 2004
AMENDED: May 4, 2010
AMENDED: January 26, 2012
AMENDED: April 23, 2015
AMENDED: June 22, 2018

AMENDED: September 24, 2021

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