Final Plan of Area Realignment Commission
The final board approved plan of the Area Realignment Commission is now posted below.
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History and Overview
Area associations are described in the association's documents as administrative subdivisions. Prior to 1985, each area represented a service territory for Texas Education Agency supervisors who provided oversight and support for local programs. Texas has had as many as 12 of these areas in the past, as staffing patterns within the agency changed. The current area alignment has been in place since the mid-1950's, and were, at some point in the past, incorporated into the bylaws of the state association, after the Texas Legislature eliminated the area supervisor positions in 1985.
The Commission on Area Realignment is formed pursuant to Texas FFA Policy Handbook Section 33, which is the enabling policy language for Article IV, Section B, Texas FFA Association Bylaws, which prescribes the consideration of area realignments every ten years. This language in the bylaws was first adopted in 2003, but it lacked the companion policy language required for enactment until September, 2013, when the Texas FFA Board of Directors adopted Section 33, the policy document that describes how realignment is done.
In 2014, the Texas FFA Association Board of Directors convened a focus group of stakeholders to study the issue of realignment and to make a recommendation as to whether the board should consider initiating the process outside of the ten-year cycle described in the policy. In January, 2015, the focus group recommended that the Board of Directors undertake an area realignment. The board adopted the report's recommendation and initiated an area realignment.
In accordance with the policy, the delegates to the 87th Texas FFA Convention were notified by board chairman Charles Prause, representatives were elected by respective stakeholder groups and the board elected Jerome Tymrak of Bishop to chair the commission. Jack Winterrowd, Agricultural Science Teacher at Cedar Park High School, Leander I.S.D. serves as vice chair. The commission has adopted a timeline for the process, which includes a meeting in Austin, December 10-11. That meeting produced a preliminary report that was approved for release by the Board of Directors on January 11, 2016.
January 15, 2016 begins the official 60-day comment period required by policy. During this time, all stakeholders are encouraged to review the preliminary report and provide input to the commission. Comments will remain public, as have been all documents related to the proceedings of the commission. Following the close of the comment period on March 15, the commission will reconvene to develop a final proposal via conference call on March 22. The final report will be presented to the Texas FFA Board of Directors at its third quarter meeting in Austin on April 4. The response of the board to the commission will be presented to the commission via conference call on April 5.
The resulting proposal will be presented to the delegate assembled at the 88th Texas FFA Convention in Dallas as an amendment to the bylaws.
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