We’re not quite there yet, but LTA election season will upon us soon.  While the official “announcement of vacancies” isn’t scheduled until May 8, Rep Council approved the Election Timeline at the last Rep Council meeting so I thought I’d post it here a little early.  I’ll copy the most relevant parts of the timeline (positions, responsibilities, and dates) here and I’ll attach the full timeline as a pdf as well.

download the full Elections Timeline

You’ll notice there are a number of leadership positions that will be opening up (all of them, actually), so this is a great time for anyone who’s had an opinion about LTA’s direction in negotiations, IPD and Common Core, or community outreach to get involved and help lead the union.

The following positions will be up for election:

President – 2-year term [member of Executive Board]:

1. Is the official spokesperson for the Association;
2. Calls meetings of the Association, Representative Council, and Executive Board;
3. Prepares the agenda for the meetings of the Association, Representative Council, and Executive Board;
4. Presides at all meetings of the Association, Representative Council, and Executive Board;
5. Appoints all chairpersons and members of committees, with majority approval of the Executive Board;
6. Appoints the chairperson and members of the Bargaining Team with majority approval of the Executive Board;
7. Has to be familiar with the governance documents of the Association, CTA, and NEA;
8. Suggests policies, plans and activities for the Association, and is held responsible for the progress and work of the Association;
9. Proposes the procedures for grievance processing for ratification by the Executive Board and Representative Council;
10. Attends meetings of the Service Center Council of which the Association is a part;
11. Attends other CTA/NEA meetings as directed by the Representative Council; and
12. Attends all Lennox School District Board of Trustees meetings, or appoints proper representation.
13. Stipend = $2,500/yr.

Vice President of Contractual Affairs – 2-year term [member of Executive Board]:

1. Serves as assistant to the President in all duties of the President;
2. Assumes the duties of the President in the absence of the President (i.e., serve as “First” Vice President);
3. Serves as co-coordinator of committee activities as directed by the President;
4. Serves as Chairperson of the Grievance Committee and keep an accurate record of all grievances; and
5. Serves as Chairperson of the Professional Relations Committee, preparing the agenda for meetings, facilitating meetings, and distributing minutes from meetings to the general Membership.
6. Stipend = $500/yr.

Vice President of Curricular Affairs – 2-year term [member of the Executive Board]:

1. Serves as assistant to the President in all duties of the President;
2. Assumes the duties of the President in the absence of the President and the Vice President of Contractual Affairs (i.e., serve as “Second” Vice President);
3. Serves as co-coordinator of committee activities as directed by the President;
4. Serves as Chairperson of the Membership Committee and keep an accurate roster of the Membership; and
5. Serves as Chairperson of the Instruction and Professional Development Committee, preparing the agenda for meetings, facilitating meetings, and distributing minutes from meetings to the general Membership.
6. Stipend = $500/yr.

Secretary – 1-year term (fills vacancy for the remainder of a current 2-year term) [member of the Executive Board]:

1. Carries on the correspondence pertaining to the affairs of the Association as directed by the President;
2. Keeps a careful and accurate record of the proceedings of each meeting, regular or special, of the Association, Representative Council, and Executive Board;
3. Keeps a careful and accurate roster of meeting attendance and of the membership of all committees;
4. Is responsible for the distribution of minutes, notices of meetings, and agendas for all meetings to members of the Representative Council and Executive Board, and to the Membership when appropriate;
5. Is responsible for the formation and distribution of the Association’s calendar of activities; and
6. Maintains the Association’s webpage and monitors/moderates its social media presence.
7. Stipend = $500/yr.

Treasurer – 1-year term (normally a 2-term; this will stagger the position relative to the President and Vice President positions, as required by the LTA Bylaws) [member of the Executive Board]:

1. Receives all funds belonging to the Association and is responsible for their safekeeping and accounting;
2. Pays out such funds upon orders of the President;
3. Prepares a written financial report for each regular meeting of the Representative Council and Executive Board;
4. Is responsible for an annual audit of the books of the Association and distributing a summary of this audit to the Membership;
5. Is responsible for submitting membership and financial reports to CTA, NEA, and other agencies as required by law; and
6. Files state and federal tax returns for the Association.
7. Stipend = $500/yr.

Site Representatives – 1-year terms (based on formula in the LTA Bylaws, currently = 2 per elementary site, 1 at preschool, and 4 at LMS, for a total of 15 positions) [members of the Representative Council]:

1. Conduct constant and ongoing liaison between the Representative Council and Active members at the school site;
2. Serve as the official channel through which written communications and publications can be easily and quickly transmitted between the Association and the Active members;
3. Represent the views and the input of the Active membership in votes taken in the Representative Council, conducting frequent and regular polls of such membership for this purpose; and
4. Perform such additional duties as prescribed by the Executive Board.
5. Stipend = $150/yr.

 

The official Elections Timeline must include the following dates and information:

1. Announcement of vacancy(ies) and term(s) of office using a method that will ensure each
member is aware of the opportunity to file a declaration of candidacy;

Announcement = Thursday, 5/8/14

1. At least fifteen (15) calendar days between the announcement date of the vacancy(ies) and the 
date of the election;

Election = Tuesday, 5/27/14 – Thursday, 5/29/14 (18 days after announcement)

1. Place, time and date of receipt (date received, not date postmarked) for declaration of 
candidacy forms;

Written declarations of candidacy must be received by Ann Chaffey at Jefferson Elementary by 4pm on Thursday, 5/22/14.

1. Final date to acknowledge candidates’ declaration of candidacy;

Candidates will be announced on Friday, 5/23/14, no later than 8pm, via the LTA website.

1. Date for preparation of ballots;

Ballots will be prepared on Saturday, 5/24/14.

1. Date on which ballots will be distributed;

Ballots will be distributed to non-running Site Reps and Professional Relations Reps on the morning of Tuesday, 5/27/14.

1. Date by which to request a ballot;

Written requests for mail-in ballots must be received either by Ann Chaffey at Jefferson Elementary or delivered to the Association post office box [Lennox Teachers Association, PO Box 2231, Hawthorne, CA 90251] by 4pm on Wednesday, 5/21/14.  Mail-in ballots will be sent via overnight mail on Saturday, 5/24/14, to those members on dues paying leave who request them by the above deadline.

1. Date(s) when voting will take place;

Voting will take place on Tuesday, 5/27/14 – Thursday, 5/29/14.

1. Deadline date (date received, not date postmarked), time and place for return of ballots;

Completed ballots must be must be received by Ann Chaffey at Jefferson Elementary by 4pm on Thursday, 5/29/14.  Mail-in ballots must be delivered to the Association post office box [Lennox Teachers Association, PO Box 2231, Hawthorne, CA 90251] by 4pm on Thursday, 5/29/14.

1. Date, time and place where ballots will be counted, which should be immediately following the 
deadline for receipt of voted ballots;

Ballots will be counted on Thursday, 5/29/14 at 4:30pm at Jefferson Elementary.

1. Date that announcement of results shall be made to leadership, candidates, members, and 
posted at each work site, which date shall be not later than five (5) calendar days following the 
counting of ballots;

Results will be posted on the LTA website on Thursday, 5/29/14, no later than 8pm, and posted at all school sites on LTA bulletin boards on Friday, 5/30/14.

1. Dates and timelines for run-off election, if necessary; and

Run-off election (if necessary) = Tuesday, 6/3/14 – Wednesday, 6/4/14

Ballots received/counted = Wednesday, 6/4/14, 4:30pm

Results announced = Wednesday, 6/4/14, no later than 8pm

1. Deadline for filing of challenges to initial election and run-off if held (date received, not date 
postmarked).

Written challenges must be filed by Tuesday, 6/10/14 at 8am with by Ann Chaffey at Jefferson Elementary.

 

The official Elections Timeline must also include the following procedures:

1. Method by which Declaration of Candidacy(ies) are submitted (mail, hand delivered, fax);

Declarations of candidacy must be received by Ann Chaffey at Jefferson Elementary by 4pm on Thursday, 5/22/14.  Declarations may be submitted via e-mail or hand delivery.

1. Procedure for distributing election guidelines/rules to candidates;

Election guidelines and rules will be posted on the LTA website and at all school sites on LTA bulletin boards.

1. Campaign statement of candidates (decide on limit of number of words, and what to do if limitation is exceeded);

Candidate statements will be limited to 50 words or less.  In case a candidate submits a statement exceeding 50 words, only the first 50 words will be included on the Candidates’ Statement sheet.

1. Method of distribution of ballots;

Ballots will be distributed to non-running Site Reps and Professional Relations Reps on the morning of Tuesday, 5/27/14.  Non-running Site Reps and Professional Relations Reps will make ballots available to members during non-contract hours before school, at lunch and after school on Tuesday, 5/27/14 – Thursday, 5/29/14.

Mail-in ballots will be sent via overnight mail on Saturday, 5/24/14, to those members on dues paying leave who request them by 4pm on Wednesday, 5/21/14.  Written requests for mail-in ballots must be received either by Ann Chaffey at Jefferson Elementary or delivered to the Association post office box [Lennox Teachers Association, PO Box 2231, Hawthorne, CA 90251].

1. Whether declarations of candidacy must be accompanied by a campaign statement, or whether the statement will be solicited later.  If later, a deadline date must be established;

Declarations of candidacy must be accompanied by a campaign statement of no more than 50 words, and submitted by the Thursday, 5/22/14, 4pm, deadline.

1. Provision for elections committee chairperson or designee to be present to receive declaration of candidacy by filing deadline;

Ann Chaffey will be available to receive declarations of candidacy 3:15pm – 4pm on Thursday, 5/22/14, at Jefferson Elementary.  Declarations may be submitted to Ann Chaffey prior to the deadline via e-mail or hand delivery.

1. Announce that the names are to be listed according to CTA alphabet;

Names will be listed according to CTA alphabet.

download the full Elections Timeline