Appendix II
Exhibit A
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THE FORMATION AND ROLE OF NPC SUBCOMMITTEES
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The following are subcommittees that the NPC, if approved by the NPC in the Spring, will include in their organization for the following year:
1. Executive Committee: The Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, and Secretary/Treasurer, elected pursuant to Section II of the Rules of Procedure of the Non-Partisan Committee (the “Rules”), comprise the Executive Committee. NPC officers meet regularly to coordinate subcommittees, ensure timetables are met, and relay information to members. Also, a brief outline of the Executive Committee discussion points shall be provided to all NPC members, and/or reviewed at a regular NPC meeting.
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2. Nominating Committee: In September, the Executive Committee with the concurrence of the majority of the NPC shall appoint no less than five members representing different election districts, the majority of whom shall be members retiring from the NPC, to serve on the Nominating Committee. (Requires amendment to Section II of the Rules, as set forth in Exhibit A hereto.)
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3. Recruitment Committee: The members of the Recruitment Committee (the “RC”) shall be appointed by the Executive Committee with the concurrence of the majority of the NPC. The RC shall be comprised of at least five members (both officers and non-officers). The RC begins work in September, by coordinating the recruitment of potential Trustee applicants and potential NPC members. (Further details are described in the proposed new Appendix II to the Rules, which is attached hereto as Exhibit B.)
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4. Application Administration Committee: Once the Trustee application deadline has passed, the Application Administration is nominated by the Nominating Committee in consultation with the Executive Committee and approved by a majority of the NPC. All information related to Trustee applicants (applications, recommendations, references, feedback, etc.) is processed within this subcommittee. (Further details are described in Exhibit B.)
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5. Policy and Procedures Committee: The Policy and Procedures Committee reviews complaints and members’ conflict of interest forms. (Further details are described in Exhibit B.)
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6. Technology Committee as defined below:
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Focuses on ensuring the NPC email distribution list is up-to-date.
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Updates the NPC website.
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Works with the Public Relations Committee to increase the visibility of the NPC, including through the use of Facebook and other outlets.
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Works with the Treasurer to raise funds for the NPC to cover operating costs.
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7. Public Relations Committee as defined below:
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Ensures press releases are sent to newspapers and other outlets in a timely fashion.
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Updates and monitors the NPC e mail address account.
Governance surrounding the above committees:
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Before September, a survey of interest in committees is sent by the Executive Committee to newly elected and returning members.
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Each Spring, the NPC meets to discuss and determine which subcommittees shall be necessary for the coming year. In September, the Executive Committee, with the concurrence of a majority of the NPC, shall appoint members to be included in each committee (other than the Application Administration Committee) that the NPC has decided to form for that year.
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Each subcommittee chair and/or co-chair shall invite all NPC members to every meeting, and shall provide a telephone conference call number for members that are unable to attend in person.
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Attendance at these subcommittee meetings are not mandatory for members who do not sit on the relevant subcommittees. Also, a brief outline of the meeting’s discussion points shall be provided to all NPC members, and/or reviewed at a regular NPC meeting. The Secretary will be responsible for ensuring subcommittee updates are submitted to the Chairman prior to regular NPC meetings in a timely fashion so as to be included in e mail distributions of weekly NPC meeting agendas.
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Exhibit B
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DESCRIPTION OF RECOMMENDED SUBCOMMITTEES OF THE NPC
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I. Recruitment Committee
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A. The Recruitment Committee (“RC”) shall be defined as follows:
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The role of the RC is to coordinate the recruitment of potential Trustee applicants and potential NPC members. The RC develops a long-term strategy of recruitment, with consultation from all members. Focus is not only on the year directly ahead, but several years into the future. For example, the recruitment process may begin three years ahead of time for a specific characteristic (i.e. accounting expertise is important for the BOE).
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RC members are the candidates’ NPC liaison to answer questions and/or provide information. The RC’s job is organizational in nature.
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All NPC members are encouraged to assist the RC in the recruitment of Trustee and NPC applicants, and to suggest desired applicant characteristics.
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All members are invited to RC meetings. These meetings are not mandatory for non-RC members. Notes of RC meetings shall be disseminated by the Chair or Co-Chairs of this subcommittee to the Committee as the next scheduled NPC meeting or sooner if appropriate.
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Soon after the Trustee application deadline, the RC Committee shall assist the Public Relations Committee in publicizing to the Bronxville Community all the Trustee applicants.
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Each September, the Executive Committee, with the concurrence of a majority of the Committee, shall appoint no less than five members to the RC. The RC shall be comprised of both officers and non-officers. They will encourage potential Board of Education Trustee applicants to attend BOE meetings, meet current and ex-Trustees, and any further information they may need to make a determination to become a Trustee.
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B. Introductory Letter and Meeting:
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An Introductory Letter detailing the process of due diligence that the NPC undertakes for all School Trustee applicants will be delivered by the RC to each applicant. It will be made clear in this letter that applicants have three opportunities to make their case to the NPC about the strength of their candidacy: written response in the application (plus any follow-up necessary), references, and interview. Each September, the Introductory Letter will be drafted by the RC and subject to the approval of a majority of the NPC.
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In October and/or November, an Introductory Meeting may be held by the RC with potential Trustee candidates to review the NPC process. Ex-Trustees and/or all NPC members may attend this RC sponsored meeting.
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C. Trustee Application:
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Each year, a comprehensive Trustee application shall be drafted by the Recruitment subcommittee, and approved by a majority vote of the NPC.
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Includes a survey of conflicts of interest with NPC members, school board officials, political parties, and/or employees of the Bronxville Schools. This survey will inquire as to the specific nature of these relationships, if any.
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Includes approvals of compliance, if required, from the applicant’s professional, charitable and civic organizations.
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Questions may be asked, such as the following: If there is a contested election, will you be open to a debate? Do you believe you would be interested in running again in three years, if you are nominated and elected this year?
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Once the Trustee application deadline has passed, a candidate is prohibited from contacting any member about their candidacy. Only in extraordinary circumstances may a Trustee applicant contact a member of the NPC to discuss his/her application or the NPC process. Any such instances must be reviewed by the Policy and Procedures Committee. ANY VIOLATION OF THE ABOVE MAY RESULT, upon a majority NPC vote, IN SANCTIONS to be determined.
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D. NPC Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form:
For information purposes, all conflicts of interest with Trustee applicants shall be disclosed by NPC members on the Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form, which will be created by the RC and subject to the approval of a majority of the NPC. These conflicts may include personal friendships, professional relationships, and/or other areas the RC believes could pose issue in the NPC process. This form will be completed by each NPC member within 48 hours of the application deadline. The Disclosure Form shall be reviewed by the Policy and Procedures Committee. Conflicts of interest will be disseminated to all members at the first NPC meeting to be convened after the application deadline. If any such conflict of interest shall arise after the submission by a member of his/her Disclosure Form, that member shall promptly notify the Policy and Procedures Committee within 48 hours of such conflict of interest. These conflicts of interest will be reviewed again by the NPC 48 hours prior to Deliberations Night and Vote Night.
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FAILURE TO DISCLOSE A CONFLICT OF INTEREST MAY, upon a majority NPC vote, RESULT IN SANCTIONS to be determined.
II. Application Administration Committee
A. The Application Administration Committee shall be defined as follows:
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The Nominating Committee nominates members on the Application Administration Committee, in consultation with the Executive Committee, soon after the Trustee application deadline. Preferably, these members are not on the RC, nor have any conflicts of interests with the applicants. Members of this committee may be officers. This subcommittee shall be approved by a majority vote of the NPC.
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Once the Trustee application deadline has passed, all information related to Trustee applicants is processed within the Application Administration Committee. Each Trustee candidate’s application, recommendations, feedback, references and other material deemed relevant is delivered to all members, preferably by a secure electronic mechanism that is accessible only to members of the NPC, prior to such applicant’s Interview Night.
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The role of the Application Administration Committee is to organize a focused, systematic, uniform, thorough yet considerate process of gathering information on Trustee candidates. The Application Administration Committee replaces the role of Candidate Coordinators, defined in previous guidelines.
B. References and Community Feedback:
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References and Community Feedback should be consistent for all applicants.
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A maximum of 3 references provided by the applicant: All verbal interviews of references shall be conducted with at least two members of the Application Administration Committee. After verbal interviews, references may wish to give further information about the applicant in writing to the committee.
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A maximum of 4 supplemental references shall be identified by the Application Administration Committee from other sources: These references shall be derived from the applicant’s involvement with civic, charitable, and community involvement. With consultation from the Policy and Procedures Committee, the Application Administration Committee suggests supplemental references. Any member may suggest supplemental references. Supplemental references must be approved by a majority vote of the NPC.
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Notes of all phone interviews shall be made in writing and transmitted to members prior to applicant’s Interview Night.
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Phone interviewers delineate their calls. For example, one member pairing could call all the professional references of all applicants. Another member pairing calls all the civic and charitable references of all applicants.
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Community Feedback: All members are encouraged to gather information on applicants, and pass this information to the members of the Application Administration Committee. All community feedback is transmitted to members prior to applicant’s Interview Night, in writing. No anonymous feedback is allowed. Any information that is shared with the NPC’s officers and/or members up until the vote night should be shared with all members if deemed relevant by the Application Administration Committee, but any information received after the vote night shall be discarded and not shared with any member of the NPC.
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Members may vet applicants with the Bronxville Community, but campaigning on behalf of an applicant (s) is prohibited. For example, when Bronxville residents have opinions about Trustee applicants, they are directed to write a letter to the NPC e mail address. Except as set forth in paragraph 3 above, NPC members shall not solicit reference letters for any particular applicant. The Policy and Procedures Committee reviews proper conduct for all NPC members throughout the year.
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III. Policy and Procedures Committee
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A. The Policy and Procedure Committee shall be defined as follows:
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Each year, the Executive Committee, with the concurrence of the NPC, shall appoint no less than five members of the Policy and Procedures Committee members. The majority of the subcommittee members must be retiring third year NPC members.
B. The Policy and Procedures Committee shall focus on the following:
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Conflict Resolution: The Policy and Procedures Committee reviews all complaints regarding the NPC, its members, and/or its processes from any source, such as NPC members, Trustee and/or NPC member applicants, and public criticism. Within 48 hours of receiving a complaint, no fewer than 3 members of the Policy and Procedures Committee meet to review the situation. After the Policy and Procedures Committee meets and reviews a complaint, the Committee shall make a verbal briefing at the next occurring NPC meeting.
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Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form: The Policy and Procedures Committee reviews all members’ disclosure forms, and relays to the full NPC a summary. The committee reminds all members of any conflicts of interest on Deliberations and Vote Nights.
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Supplemental References: The Policy and Procedures Committee assists the Application Administration Committee in identifying supplemental references to be called for Trustee applicants.
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Conduct of NPC members: The Policy and Procedures Committee reviews members’ conduct throughout the year. For example, members may vet applicants with the Bronxville Community, but campaigning for an individual applicant is prohibited. The Policy and Procedures Committee may give examples to the NPC that will assist the NPC to safeguard its impartiality and/or ensure collegial behavior.
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NPC Plan, Rules, and/or Guidelines Review: Any member may bring forth to the Policy and Procedures Committee a potential rule change, modification, and/or elimination. Preferably, these potential changes would be reviewed at the end of the NPC year. After reviewing, the Policy and Procedures Committee shall brief the full NPC.
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Overseer of Deliberations Night and Vote Night: One member is chosen from the Policy and Procedures Committee to oversee these two nights, the procedures for which are suggested below. This member is approved by the NPC. (Further details in Appendix II to the Rules)
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Transitional Meeting: In May or June, the Policy and Procedures Committee engages the current officers, 3rd year members, and future officers in an end-of-the year meeting to assess the past year and to discuss potential changes to procedures and policies to help the NPC function better into the future.
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Confidentiality: Each year, the Policy and Procedures Committee ensures that each member signs an approved NPC confidentiality agreement. Violating the confidentiality agreement undermines the NPC process and candidates. A potential breach of the confidentiality agreement should be discussed with the Policy and Procedures Committee.
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AN ABROGRATION OF A MEMBER CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT, IF DETERMINED BY A MAJORITY OF THE NPC, MAY RESULT IN SANCTIONS to be determined.
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9. If a member of the Policy and Procedures Committee is the subject of a complaint and/or allegation, then he/she shall consider recusing himself/herself from the discussion of the subcommittee. Also, a Policy and Procedure member may be recused by a majority vote of the Policy and Procedures Committee.
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Interview Night (s):
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Mandatory Questions: Each year, mandatory questions may be approved by a majority vote of the NPC. These questions are asked to each applicant.
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Open Forum Questions: Any member may ask questions during this period of the Interview Night.
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Interview Nights are mandatory meetings for members; provided, that in the event that a member is unable to attend an Interview Night due to circumstances beyond such member’s control, such member may satisfy his/her obligation to attend an Interview Night if such member views recording of the interviews held that night as permitted by paragraph 5 below. Supplemental meetings with applicants are allowed, if approved by the NPC.
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More than one Interview Night per applicant may occur, if approved by the NPC.
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Interviews may be videotaped, if approved by a majority vote of the NPC and consented to by the applicant. One member, approved by a majority vote of the NPC, is tasked to ensure that the videotape is safeguarded, and discarded once NPC nominees have been chosen. An interview will only be videotaped in the event that all members are not present for that interview. The sole purpose of the videotape is to allow absent members to view the interviews.
Deliberations Night and Vote Night:
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Both nights’ agendas shall be approved by a majority vote of the NPC. These agendas include minutes allowed for each member to discuss the qualifications for candidates. During Vote Night--between voting rounds--there will be an open forum, as required by Appendix I in the Rules of Procedures. Each member’s allotted time during this open forum will be approved by the full NPC.
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Both these meetings are overseen by a member chosen by a majority vote of the NPC. This member is preferably a 3rd year member from the Policy and Procedures Committee. Also, a first alternate shall be chosen as back-up.
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The overseer ensures these meetings follow NPC rules, such as minutes required for discussion, and each member’s allocated speaking time. The overseer is prohibited from counting votes.
IV. Technology Committee
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The Technology Committee is defined as follows:
In September, the Executive Committee with the consent of the NPC shall appoint members to the Technology Committee.
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B. The role of this subcommittee is to do the following:
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Focus on ensuring the NPC e mail distribution list is up-to-date.
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Update the NPC website.
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Work with the Public Relations Committee to increase the visibility of the NPC, including through the use of Facebook and other outlets.
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Work with the Treasurer to raise funds for the NPC to cover operating costs.
V. Public Relations Committee
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A. The Public Relations Committee is defined as follows:
1. In September, the Executive Committee with the consent of the NPC shall appoint members to
the Public Relations Committee.
2. The role of this subcommittee is to (a) ensure press releases are sent to newspapers and other
outlets in a timely fashion and (b) update and monitor the NPC e mail address account.