K. Committees of NLTA
The appointment of Association committees is governed by the NLTA By-Laws. The following additional guidelines apply.
1. General
a) All committees are appointed by the Executive Council and are responsible to the Executive unless there is a specific direction to the contrary from BGM.
b) Except as otherwise required or directed by the Constitution, the Executive Council or By-Laws, committees consist of a chairperson, appointed by the President from among the members of the Executive Council and up to six members, appointed by the committee chairperson, representative of the Association. Where the chairperson feels there are special circumstances Executive may approve additional members. There must be prior approval of Executive before the appointment of an additional member is made.
c) In general, committee meetings may be held in person and/or virtually. All committees are encouraged to hold at least one virtual meeting per school year. [Mar/3/22]
d) i) Where it has been determined by the chairperson that a committee shall hold in person meetings, the members of that committee shall be selected from among teachers located in the same general locality as the chair. With the prior permission of Executive, one committee member may be chosen from outside the “general locality” provided that expenses incurred are kept within reasonable limits. [June/6/97] [JC Feb/98] [Mar/3/22]
The base point for “general locality” shall be the school where the Executive member is employed, and the locality will include the area contained within a driving distance radius of 100 kilometres from the base point. Meetings of the committee, unless otherwise approved by Executive, shall take place in the community in which the Executive member’s employing school is located. [Mar/3/22]
ii) Where it has been determined by the chairperson that a committee shall hold in person meetings, Executive may establish the committee in an area of the province other than that of the chair and, subject to section 1(c) above, the chair will travel to meet with the committee. Criteria stated in i) above shall apply to all other committee members. [June/6/97] [JC Feb/98] [Mar/3/22]
iii) Where it has been determined by the chairperson that a committee shall hold all of its meetings virtually, section 1(d) above shall not apply and, subject to section 1(f) below, there shall be no geographical restrictions on committee membership. [Mar/3/22]
e) NLTA members will be given an opportunity to indicate their interest in serving on committees. Information will be provided on how committees operate, the provisions that are made for dependent care, transportation, etc., and the time commitment and workload which committee members can expect. Because the Group Insurance Managers are chosen in June rather than September each year, during the spring of each year, teachers will be invited to indicate their interest in serving on the Managers. [Sept/23/16] [JC Oct/16] [2017 BGM] [Mar/3/22]
f) Every effort will be made to achieve representational balance and equity in committee membership. Depending on the terms of reference of the committee, every effort should also be made to include members with responsibilities in various areas of the teaching profession. [June/6/97] [JC Feb/98] [Mar/3/22]
g) Administrative staff are assigned to committees by the Executive Director.
h) In the Fall of the fiscal year following an election year all committees are to submit to Executive an operating budget for both the current and next fiscal year. No expense claims will be processed for committee members if the committee budget is not submitted by October 31st. Any committee must make a presentation to Executive for expenditure of any funds additional to the allocated budget amount. [Aug/23-24/00] [Feb/13-14&15/13] [JC Feb/13] [2013 BGM]
i) As a general rule, committee chairpersons should invite spokespersons from NLTA subgroups to attend committee meetings dealing with recommendations from the subgroups.
j) Ad hoc committees may be established from time to time by the Executive Council for the purpose of undertaking specific tasks as required by Executive. Such committees will be provided with the specific terms of reference and timelines for completion of assigned tasks and will disband upon completion of these tasks. [June/6/97] [JC Feb/98]
k) With the approval of the Executive Council, standing committees of the Executive may establish “ad hoc” groups as required and may delegate specific tasks which are properly the responsibility of the committee. The committee will be responsible for appointing members to the ad hoc groups and specifying their terms of reference. Ad hoc groups will report only to the committee and will disband on the completion of their assigned tasks.
l) Where possible, standing committees chairpersons appointed to future committees will be invited to the last meeting of the current committee. [Aug/25-27/15] [JC Nov/15] [2017 BGM]
m) Membership engagement will be considered for inclusion in the mandate of every standing committee of the NLTA. [2019 BGM]
2. Meetings
a) Whenever possible, committees should schedule regular meetings sufficiently in advance of Executive Meetings to allow for preparation of documentation and reports. [Mar/3/22]
b) i) Each standing committee should meet no more than four times per year. Additional meetings will require the prior approval of the Executive Council if additional cost would be incurred. [June/6/97] [JC Feb/98] [Nov/5-6/98] [Mar/3/22]
ii) In person meetings of committees which are comprised only of members of the Executive Council should be scheduled to occur immediately prior to meetings of the Executive Council so that additional travel expenses are not incurred. [June/6/97] [JC Feb/98] [Mar/3/22]
3. Reporting
a) All committees will be on the agenda for each Executive meeting. However, committees will report to Executive only if there is business to be attended to.
b) Committee reports not dealt with by Executive at the time of submission will be carried forward to subsequent meetings as business arising.
c) i) Committee reports shall consist of written minutes and pertinent documentation with written recommendations requiring Executive action presented on a sheet attached to the front of the minutes. The Chair will permit discussion on the recommendations only. Questions for information will be entertained.
ii) Committee decisions which do not require the approval of Executive will not be included as recommendations to Executive but will appear on a summary sheet attached to the front of the minutes, following the recommendation sheet. [June/6/97] [JC Feb/98]
d) When possible, committee reports should be provided to Executive members at least ten days before the appropriate Executive meeting. [Mar/3/22]
e) Committees chaired by Executive members shall provide updates of their committee work on a regular basis. [2011 BGM]
