ATPE News

Summer 2016

ATPE News is the official publication of the Association of Texas Professional Educators, the largest educator association in Texas. The magazine addresses the most important issues affecting public education in the state. Learn more at ATPE.org.

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PROPOSED BYLAWS AMENDMENTS If approved by the HOD, these amendments will be made to the ATPE State Bylaws, the set of defnitions, rules, and procedures that guide ATPE operations. Proposed Amendment 1 Amend to Read: Article III: Membership Section 5: Dues Members must pay the prescribed state dues for each membership year. The annual dues for each class of membership shall be as follows: (a) Professional Membership: $145.00 $175.00 per year (b) Retired Membership: $10.00 $35.00 per year (c) Associate Membership: $70.00 $90.00 per year (d) Student Teacher Membership: $20.00 per year (e) Public Membership: $35.00 per year (f) College Student Membership: $12.00 per year The Board of Directors may prescribe lesser dues for terms of membership of up to one year. Any adjustment to the amounts of the foregoing annual dues shall require an amendment to these bylaws. *Proviso: If adopted, the new dues amounts for professional, retired, and associate members will be efective beginning with the 2017-18 ATPE membership year. Submitted by: ATPE Board of Directors, which recommends adoption Bylaws Committee Unanimously Recommends Adoption Rationale: The Board of Directors (BOD) is proposing a dues increase for professional, associate, and retired members that would take efect with the 2017-18 membership year. The most recent dues increase proposed by the BOD was in 2008-09. Through good stewardship and fscal responsibility— such as trimming operation costs, reducing staf, and eliminating underutilized programs—ATPE has managed to go almost nine years since its last dues increase, and the BOD assures members that the same level of stewardship and fscal responsibility will be applied should members approve this dues increase. The amount of increase proposed for professional members equates to just $2.50 per month, or less than 10 cents per day. The BOD believes that with the rising cost of programs such as our annual summit and our advocacy program, the proposed increase this year is justifed and reasonable. The proposed dues increase would also place ATPE in a solid position to continue to proactively provide the portfolio of outstanding services our members have come to expect, especially the state's best member legal protection program. It is ATPE's vision to support the education profession in the years to come, and the additional revenue will allow ATPE to further its eforts to provide an exemplary education for all Texas children. If adopted, it is projected that the increased revenue generated by the dues increase will sustain ATPE's operations for at least the next fve years. Throughout ATPE's 36-year history, the BOD has been committed to providing the most outstanding services available to our members. These services have made ATPE the top choice among professional associations for more than 103,000 Texas educators. The BOD is proposing this dues increase to allow ATPE to sustain the quality of our services into the future. Note: The dues amounts listed for student teacher and college student memberships are $20.00 and $12.00, respectively. Per the authority provided to the BOD by state bylaws Article III, Section 5, the BOD has prescribed lesser dues amount ($0.00) for the annual memberships for student teacher and college student members since 2004. Fiscal Impact: If adopted, and assuming no change in membership numbers once the dues increase is implemented in the 2017-18 membership year, this increase would generate approximately $2.76 million in additional annual revenue for the association.. Proposed Amendment 2 Amend to Read: Article III: Membership Section 4: Classes of Members ATPE shall have six (6) seven (7) classes of members. The classes and their qualifcations are: (b) Administrator Members. Those educators who are employed in Texas by a public school district as a principal, assistant/deputy/area superintendent, or superintendent, and whose position requires certifcation by the State Board for Educator Certifcation. *Proviso: If adopted, the implementation of an administrator member category will be efective beginning with the 2017- 18 ATPE membership year. Submitted by: ATPE Board of Directors, which recommends adoption Bylaws Committee Recommends Adoption Rationale: The Board of Directors is proposing that ATPE create an administrator membership category for educators employed as a principal, assistant/deputy/area superintendent, or superintendent, and whose position requires certifcation by the State Board for Educator Certifcation. This new membership category will not include assistant principals, who can continue to join ATPE in the professional member category. It is estimated that educators with administrator responsibilities, such as principals, deputy/area/assistant superintendents, and superintendents, make up approximately 1.3 percent of ATPE's more than 103,000 members. However, their impact on insurance claims costs is more than three times their percentage of our membership based on claims fled against ATPE's member employment rights defense and liability insurance beneft. Administrators—specifcally, those who are employed in the positions of principals, deputy/area/assistant superintendents, and superintendents—command higher pay than most members who join ATPE in our professional membership category. Precedence exists for distinguishing ATPE membership categories based on the members' professional responsibilities. Additionally, these administrators' job responsibilities expose them to a higher frequency of legal claims that is disproportionate to their share of our total membership. Legal/insurance claims generated from this group are also higher in per claim cost. Fiscal Impact: If adopted by the HOD, and assuming no drop in the number of administrator members, the creation of this category, with annual dues of $225 per year, would 28 | atpe.org atpe news 2016 HOUSE OF DELEGATES BUSINESS ATPE members representing local units from across the state will convene at the ATPE House of Delegates (HOD) on July 22, 2016, during the ATPE Summit. Delegates will vote on proposed bylaws amendments and resolutions as well as changes to the ATPE Legislative Program. AMENDMENT 1 QUICK LOOK: ATPE's insurance rates have gone up, but there hasn't been a dues increase for the past nine years. AMENDMENT 1 increases annual dues for professional, retired, and associate members starting with the 2017-18 membership year to make sure ATPE can still ofer the best benefts program in Texas.

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