March 7, 2002, Monterey, CA

Monterey Marriott
APPROVED

I. Welcome and call to order: The meeting was called to order by President Irvin Coin at 3:37pm on Thursday, March 7, 2002.

II. Roll Call
Members present: Irvin Coin, Leonard Woods, Joy Brittain, Ling Yeh, Vanyel Lucas, Scott Thayer, Reginald Stewart, Lydia Perez, Kathryn Lomely, Rhonda Moses, Justine Bellock, James Oda, Samuel Cortez, Darlene Conwell, Heinrich Palik.

Members absent: Stephen Domingues

Guests: Emalyn Lapus, Felicia Nepomuceno, Matthew Benney, Romeo Garcia

III. Unfinished Business
President Coin reviewed action items that were raised at the Meeting of the Members on March 5, 2002. He read the motion that was passed regarding the Mathematica study, which charged the Board with obtaining the data from the study, securing educational researchers to analyze that data, and allocating necessary resources to support these efforts. He also reviewed a question that was raised regarding professional development and the TRIO Training Grants. A third item was brought up pertaining to the WESTOP scholarship funds that are being raised, and who would be responsible for their management. Finally, a request was made to provide additional travel money for Board members so they do not have to pay for extra costs out of their own pockets. This was an especially large concern for those coming from the Pacific Islands.

President Coin charged Rhonda Moses to work with Leonard Woods in beginning the process on obtaining the Mathematica data and identifying appropriate researchers. President Coin then indicated that he would be working with Lee Fulmer from the University of Arizona, who is considering writing a Distance Learning & Technology Training Grant. With regards to the WESHOP and Peggy Whitehead scholarship funds, President Coin stated that he would look into this to see what could be done. He directed the issue of Board travel funds to the FAC Committee Chair, who is to work with Chapter Presidents to find out what information is necessary for us to be able to respond to that request. He asked that she come to the May Board meeting with a strong recommendation or motion regarding this matter.

President Coin reviewed the last motion made at the Board meeting on March 2 (see minutes for details). It charged the new Board with developing a position paper addressing the Mathematica study, Reauthorization concerns, and the issue of Level Funding. President Coin directed Mr. Woods to work with those individuals whom he feels should be involved, to put together this position paper.

IV. Approval of election results
A motion was made to accept the election results from the 2002 Election (Motion #1). Motion passed.

President Coin read the list of Board Appointments:
Members at Large:
Kathryn Lomely ­ Professional Development Chair
Rhonda Moses ­ Research Committee Chair
Justine Bellock ­ Bylaw Committee Chair

Appointed Members:
James Oda ­ 2003 Conference Chair
Sam Cortez ­ COE Fund Development Chair
Stephen Dominguez ­ Legislation and Education Chair
Michael Tokuno ­ Public Relations Chair

A motion was made to approve the 2002 Board Appointments (Motion #2). Motion passed.

V. New Business
Lydia Perez, FAC Chair, brought up several action items that were discussed at the FAC meeting that morning. A motion was made to add the Chapter Treasurers to the Indemnification Policy (Motion #3). Discussion ­ Mr. Cortez inquired about the process for this action. Ms. Yeh indicated that she would need to call the insurance agency and add the names to the policy. Ms. Brittain added that the previous CFO said the cost would be nominal. Matthew Benney clarified that the Indemnification Policy may only be reserved for the 21 Board Members; we would need to reexamine the policy. However, the Chapter Treasurers should be bonded, which will cost an additional $150, approximately. Mr. Cortez suggested that we may need to refer it back to FAC, so they can investigate the need for indemnification versus bonding. Ms. Brittain added an amendment to the motion, stipulating that after investigating whether the Chapter Treasurers can be added to the Indemnification Policy, that the Board act upon the motion. Mr. Thayer made a point of clarification, stating that the purpose of the motion is to protect the people who are handling money. This issue should not have to wait until the May Board Meeting. Mr. Oda recommended that we refer the issue to the Executive Committee so someone can research and act upon it, and report back to the Board at next meeting. Greater clarification was made about motion procedures. Ms. Brittain removed her amendment. The original motion was also removed. A motion was made to refer the Chapter Treasurer Indemnification issue to the Executive Committee (Motion #4). Motion passed.

Ms. Perez then inquired about the previous Board's progress on developing a set of contract templates. Ms. Yeh indicated that she has several contract templates on file. Ms. Brittain shared that the FAC would like consistent templates for everyone to use, and asked for these templates to be sent to each FAC member. Ms. Conwell also stated that a contract template was created for this conference, that could be modified for entertainers, decorators, speakers, DJ's etc. Further discussion took place about what other areas we would need contracts for. Ms. Yeh requested that everyone send their sample contracts to her and she would assemble a contract template booklet.

Ms. Perez raised the issue of the likely budget constraints in the 2002-2003 approved budget. More specifically, the FAC discussed the impact of the Fiscal Year dates. They would like to research the possibility of changing our fiscal dates to better accommodate the expenditures and income of our largest fundraising activity, which is the WESTOP Conference. President Coin requested that they come to the May Board Meeting with a recommendation regarding this issue.

Ms. Brittain brought up a question about the 2002 budget, and the fact that a major portion of our income comes from the WESTOP Conference. Referring to the Fiscal Reference Packet, she clarified that we are operating on a zero budget. Moreover, due to the fact that the majority of conference registration fees were collected in 2001, we are going to have a major shortfall in that line item for the 2002 fiscal year. Therefore, we need to raise our income or lower our expenditures this year, in order to address this issue. Ms. Conwell also raised a concern about the 2003 conference fees being collected in January 2003, which would create a large deficit for the 2002 fiscal year. President Coin asked whether Ms. Brittain had a recommendation to make. She suggested looking at another income source, or reducing our expenditures for the year. At this point, Ms. Conwell reported on another issue that recently arose. Specifically, it appeared that the 2001 line item for WESTOP Fund Development would need to be increased to cover expenses that were incurred from the WESHOP sales for the scholarship fund. The expenses were incurred unbeknownst to the Conference Chair and CFO, and thus there was no line item established for it. Mr. Woods suggested that the Board consider establishing a line item for WESHOP, and then referring the issue to FAC. However, this was not a viable option, because a more immediate solution was necessary. Discussion took place regarding the $3000 line item for WESTOP Fund Development, and how much of that was left. Ms. Conwell indicated that an exact number would not be available until all invoices and receipts were submitted. Additionally, we do not currently have an invoice from the wood carvers to allow Mr. Palik to go back and pay them. The money is supposed to be deposited in the WESTOP account first, before we can write a check to pay the carvers; however, it will be difficult to do this without an invoice. Further discussion addressed various solutions, as well as the issue of the total amount raised being earmarked for scholarships. While sale of the items brought in $1566, only $360 was actually profited because $1206 would need to be paid to the artisans. A five-minute recess was called, in order to address this issue. Upon return from recess, Mr. Oda reported that an invoice would be generated for the items and WESTOP would pay for them. All expenditures would be taken from the Fund Development line item and all income would be put into the Scholarship line item.

Ms. Brittain made a recommendation regarding the charge to sponsor research on the Mathematica data, as well as other projects that will cost money. She proposed making a one- time withdrawal from the reserves, in order to cover all these costs. While she is aware that we are not supposed to touch the reserves, we may have to do this once, due to our current financial situation and the specific requests of the membership. Mr. Lucas commented that we may also need to inform the membership about the reasons for keeping reserve funds, rather than spending them. An inquiry was made about the required percentage of funds that should be in reserve. Ms. Perez assured everyone that we are currently at a level of stable reserves. Moreover, the FAC is working on a position statement about the purpose of a reserve. Mr. Thayer also asked about what he should report back to his Chapter regarding the Mathematica issue. President Coin stated that since Ms. Moses has been charged to work on this project, he would also ask her to document her actions; he can also refer to the minutes from this Board Meeting for detailed information. President Coin added that we should tell members that the 30-day time line for assembling a research team may be beyond our control. Ms. Brittain requested that a cost recommendation be presented before the May meeting, in order to avoid making two transfers of reserve monies if possible. President Coin referred this issue to Ms. Moses, asking that she present information before the next Board Meeting.

Ms. Bellock asked about open committee positions and for clarification about the election. President Coin is consulting with the Conference Registration Chair for a list of members who attended the conference. He will then print new ballots and send them out. He will also send an email to the listserv and post information on the website to inform people about this process, sometime within the next 30 days.

Mr. Cortez expressed the need for follow-up discussion regarding the Central California pilot chapter. He would like some direction on how to proceed and how to develop some guidelines. President Coin agreed that there would need to be guidelines, as well as reference to the Bylaws. Mr. Lucas asked about activities that will generate or use money, and whether they would be operated through the NorCal or SoCal Chapter. Mr. Cortez informed the Board that the Central California members met informally yesterday, and they are planning to have another meeting on March 29th. He suggested that a task force be developed to oversee the operation of the pilot chapter, consisting of both Board members and Central Cal members. Kathryn Lomely was invited to sit in on FAC meetings as a Central Cal representative, just to observe how they operate. Ms. Brittain indicated that the pilot chapter is going to hold a PDS in September or October, and they are in the process of planning other activities as well; however, they need to have their finances set in order for this to happen. They are hoping to be fiscally sound by the end of the year. Further discussion took place regarding whether the chapter would operate out of NorCal or SoCal, and about detailed fiscal operating procedures. A motion was made to establish a task force consisting of the Financial Affairs Committee and the Bylaws Committee Chair, to monitor the progress of the Central California pilot chapter (Motion #5). Discussion was held about whether a representative from Central California should sit on the task force or not. Mr. Lucas pointed out that it might be necessary to assign them to a chapter in the interim, in order to allow them to operate financially. Mr. Woods suggested choosing a neutral solution by having them report directly to the Board. Mr. Stewart recommended choosing someone to serve as the pilot president, so they can bring information back to the membership. Mr. Oda made a friendly amendment to include Kathryn Lomely on the task force, rather than the Bylaws Chair. Motion passed. Mr. Cortez added that the Central Cal chapter already has a task force that he has been working with, and he would be happy to continue communicating with them. Mr. Oda clarified that this was the purpose of having Ms. Lomely on the task force.

Mr. Oda reported that the PI chapter is closing their University of Hawaii foundation account because noone else here can be a signatory. They will expand their Bank of Hawaii account to include checking. A motion was made to make this the permanent Pacific Islands Chapter account (Motion #6). Motion passed.

Motion to adjourn (Motion #7). Meeting adjourned at 5:51 pm
Motions

Motion #1: Motion to accept the election results from the 2002 WESTOP Election.
Move: Vanyel Lucas
Second: Leonard Woods
Vote: Passed unanimous

Motion #2: Motion to approve the 2002 Board Appointments.
Move: Leonard Woods
Second: Scott Thayer
Vote: Passed unanimous

Motion #3: Motion to add the Chapter Treasurers to the WESTOP Indemnification Policy.
Move: Lydia Perez
Second: Scott Thayer
Vote: Motion retracted

Motion #4: Motion to refer the issue of Chapter Treasurer indemnification to the Executive Board for research and action, to reported on at the May 2002 Board Meeting.
Move: Justine Bellock
Second: Leonard Woods
Vote: 11 yes, 0 no, 1 abstention

Motion #5: Motion to establish a task force consisting of the Financial Affairs Committee and Kathryn Lomely, to establish guidelines for monitoring the progress of the Central California pilot chapter.
Move: Lydia Perez
Second: James Oda
Vote: Passed unanimous

Motion #6: Motion for the Board to allow the establishment of a permanent bank account at the Bank of Hawaii for the Pacific Islands Chapter.
Move: James Oda
Second: Leonard Woods
Vote: Passed unanimous

Motion #7: Motion to adjourn
Move: James Oda
Second: Reginald Steward
Vote: Passed unanimous

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