CALLED STAFF COUNCIL MEETING
Wednesday, October 30, 2002
A&S
2-51
Present: Barbara Monnett (presiding), Kenneth Manson, Cindy Diaz, Ann Portwood, Susan Demmon, Neil Jones, Rose Murner, Teri Hollar, Carol Brown, Kim Ireland, Jennifer Brooker, and Kathy Hill. Absent: Lynda Grable. Excused: Valerie Smykal.
Barbara called the meeting to order at 2:00. The only item on the agenda was allocation of staff development funds, and the meeting was called expressly for discussion of this item.
So far, we have processed 109 requests for staff development funds. For the entire year last year, we processed 60 requests. The jump in our requests this year is a direct result of our promoting these funds. However, after processing the huge amount of development requests and encumbering funds for two Staff Excellence Awards (fall and spring semesters) and our ice cream social (spring semester), our funds are extremely low for this period of the fiscal year.
At our September meeting, we discussed the need for guidelines to govern allocation of development funds. Rose Murner, Neil Jones, and Kathy Hill worked together to develop guidelines for allocation of staff development funds. A draft of these guidelines was distributed. We briefly looked over them and decided to add another guideline to the draft: we will not use staff development funds to pay professional dues. We did agree that we needed more time to consider the guidelines, so the group agreed to vote on them at the November meeting. In the meantime, Barbara has a meeting with President DePaolo on November 5, and she will share the draft of the guidelines with the president at that time. We will take into consideration any suggestions and/or comments the president may have and incorporate them into a final draft to be voted on at the November meeting. Any comments or suggestions delegates have should be sent to Neil, and he will revise the guidelines draft. When the proposed guidelines are finalized and approved, they will be posted on the Staff Council web site.
According to our bylaws, a majority of staff delegates must agree to waive the portion of the bylaw that states "no item of new business shall be voted on until the next regularly scheduled meeting." This item was waived, paving the way to vote on the topic of staff funds at this meeting.
A motion was made and seconded, to freeze all staff development fund allocations until March. After further discussion about our budget concerns, an amendment to the previous motion was made, seconded, and approved to freeze all spending of our entire budget until March (unless we get a request from the president to use Staff Council funds for a special purpose) due to the success of our Staff Council initiatives. We did agree to finish processing requests that Rose has already approved. Any requests for development funds that she receives after today or any requests she already has but are not completely approved will not be processed until after the freeze is lifted.
March is usually the time when we have already had other budget cuts or found out about funds pulled from budgets.
There was also a motion made, seconded, and approved to take no action on our Staff Appreciation Day until next year.
The meeting was adjourned at
2:25. The next regularly scheduled meeting will be Thursday, November
14 at 2:00 in Chappell 106. (Remaining meeting dates: January 16,
March 6, April 17, May 15, and June 5, 2003.)