Board of Trustees
Qualifications and Composition

3.1 Board of Trustees

3.1.1 Composition

1. The Board of Trustees shall consist of 18 Trustees composed of the following:

• President
• President-Elect
• Immediate Past President
• 12 Trustees, 3 elected from each of 4 territorial regions
• 1 Trustee elected at large to represent diverse cultures
• 2 Trustees elected to represent middle-level teachers: 1 elected from the east or south region, and 1 elected from the west or north region

2. The territorial regions established in Article V, Section 2, of the Constitution shall be designated as the East, North, South, and West Regions, each of which shall be comprised of the following:

East	North	South	West
Maine Vermont Massachusetts Connecticut New Hampshire Rhode Island New York New Jersey Pennsylvania Delaware Maryland Virginia West Virginia Washington D.C. Europe Ontario Quebec Maritime Province Africa	Ohio Michigan Indiana Illinois Wisconsin Minnesota Iowa North Dakota South Dakota Nebraska Kansas Missouri Manitoba Southeast Asia Asia	Kentucky Tennessee North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Florida Mississippi Alabama Louisiana Arkansas Oklahoma Texas S. America Puerto Rico C. America Mexico Bahamas Bermuda Caribbean	California Oregon Washington Alaska Hawaii Nevada Idaho Montana Wyoming Utah Colorado New Mexico Arizona British Col. Alberta Saskatchewan Australia New Zealand Guam

3. The term of office for all trustees and officers shall expire at the beginning of the last regular meeting of the Board of Trustees prior to commencement of the annual conference.

Revised: 1/02; 1/03; 11/08; 1/10
 

3.1.2 Qualifications

1. Trustees must:

• Be a member in good standing of any membership category for at least one year prior to slating. 
• Obtain an individual membership prior to their slating.
• Maintain an individual membership during their term of office.
• Maintain an individual membership during their term of office.
• Except for the President, President-Elect and Past President, Trustees may not work within the same school district, college or university of that of any other Trustee.
• Except as hereafter provided, no Trustee may serve more than 2 consecutive terms. A "term" means holding office, whether by election or appointment, for a duration of 18 months or more. "Consecutive terms" mans 2 consecutive terms in which a Trustee was elected or appointed. A Trustee may, after having served 2 consecutive terms, serve as an officer and succeed in the rotation from President-Elect to President and then Past President. (Adopted 2-1-97)

2. The President:

• Shall have served one membership year as President-Elect (see Constitution, Article V).
• May be a resident of any territorial region. 
• Shall not be a consultant, an Executive Director, or an employee of an affiliate organization. (See Constitution, Article V; See consultant definition, Section 3.1.9 of Policy).

3. The President-Elect:

• Shall have served at least one membership year as a voting member of the Board of Trustees (Constitution, Article V)
• May be a resident of any territorial region.
• Shall not be a consultant, an Executive Director, or an employee of an affiliate organization. (See Constitution, Article V).

4. Immediate Past President:

• Shall have served the prior year as President (see Constitution, Article V).
• Shall not be a consultant, an Executive Director, or an employee of an affiliate organization. (See Constitution, Article V).

5. The 12 Trustees, 3 elected from each of the 4 territorial regions:

• Shall, at the time of their nomination, reside in a different state, province or territory from each other.
• Shall reside, and throughout the term of their office, continue to reside in the region from which they were nominated and elected.
• May move to another state, province or territory within the region they were elected to represent without it affecting their tenure.
• May not be succeeded by a resident of the same state, province or territory as that which the Trustee resided at the time of his or her nomination.

6. One Trustee elected at-large to represent diverse cultures:

• Must be a member of a diverse culture or belong to an under-represented minority group.
• May be a resident of any territorial region.
• May reside in the same state, province or territory as that of another Trustee.
• May not be succeeded by a resident of the same state, province or territory as that in which the Trustee resided at the time of his or her nomination.

7. Two Trustees elected to represent middle-level teachers:

• Shall be full-time teachers of 10- to 15-year-olds at the time of their election, and continue to be throughout the term of their office.
• Shall reside, and throughout the term of their office, continue to reside in 1 of the 2 regions from which elected.
• May reside in the same state, province or territory as that of another Trustee.
• May not be succeeded by a resident of the same state, province or territory as that in which the Trustee resided at the time of his or her nomination.

8. School Districts of elected Trustees may be reimbursed for the cost of a substitute necessitated by the Trustees attending Board meetings at the pay rate of a substitute teacher. Additionally, school districts may be similarly reimbursed for other official meetings attended by a Trustee as approved by the President.

Revised: 1/02; 1/10; 9/10