Location: Prairie Meadows Conference Center/Bishop Ballroom A
Date: January 11, 2014
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Approve Proposed Rules for Organizational Meeting
- Discuss, Amend and Ratify By-Laws
- Name
- Mission Statement
- Vision Statement
- By-Laws
- Conduct Organizational District Meetings: Each District will -
- Elect an RSAI District Representative to serve a term as defined in the By-Laws
- Elect an RSAI Legislative Representative to present Legislative Priorities at "Annual" meeting
- Select their top 5 Legislative Priorities
- Convene Organizational RSAI "Annual" Meeting:
- Elect RSAI At-Large members to serve a term as defined in the By-Laws
- Select final top 5 priorities for the upcoming Legislative Session
- Authorize the RSAI Leadership Group to take all steps necessary to form an organization as outlined in the By-Laws
Adjourn
Supporting Documentation download links (Google Docs):
Board Members and Superintendents;
ReplyDeleteOn Wednesday, November 20th, over 100 School Board members and Superintendents from rural schools gathered to discuss our common concerns. After reviewing our notes and all of the comments that were made both during and after our gathering on Wednesday evening, the organizing group recognized the following:
We want to act as advocates for our rural students, championing quality education in Iowa and share a common desire to build and strengthen a foundation which grows rural opportunities. We further recognized immediately the need to educate others about the value of rural education as it relates to our state’s economy. Foundational to this effort will be our collaboration with other like minded groups, creating those all important personal relationships and the necessity of securing adequate resources, both academic and financial, for providing the first class education our kids deserve.
To achieve these ends, we are recommending that we once again gather. This time our conversation will focus on officially organizing into an advocacy group dedicated to the common, heightened and distinctly more urgent needs as expressed in our first meeting. We have tentatively named this effort “Rural Student Advocates of Iowa” and broadened it to include Districts with enrollments up to 1250.
At this gathering we will establish the guiding principles and methods around which we will operate including direct input in the expression of our concerns with our Legislators through a Professional Advocate at the Capitol with frequent updates for member Districts. We also believe that each District must reach out locally to establish personal relationships with other like-minded organizations and of course, their Legislators in order for the whole effort to be greater than the sum of isolated, distinct District efforts.
Once we reach a consensus on our guiding principles and organization, we will ask that each District consider joining the effort through action at their Board tables believing that together we can BE the difference. Our efforts to create an independent organization, tightly aligned with other Education Advocates, won Tom Down’s endorsement on Friday December the 6th. We are VERY grateful for his support and encouragement and look forward to IASB’s guidance and experience.
Please consider joining us on Saturday, January 11th from 10am to noon at the Prairie Meadows Conference Center in the Bishop Ballroom. Prairie Meadows will have a Breakfast Buffet from 7am to 2pm costing $11.95 per person should you like to dine before or after our gathering.
Sincerely,
Joel Davis
Board President
Coon Rapids-Bayard