BYLAW OVERHAUL

Aftyn I.

MSBA Board of Directors revises Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws

By Kirk Schneidawind, MSBA Executive Director

Your Minnesota School Boards Association Board of Directors has undertaken a review of the Association’s Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws over the last year. Each nonprofit in the state of Minnesota is required to adopt Articles and Bylaws to establish their core purpose, governance structure, and membership. In short, our Articles of Incorporation establish the blueprint for the organization, while the Bylaws help shape and define what the structure of the organization will look like. The goal of the Ad Hoc Bylaws and Policy Committee was to review each of the documents, the Articles of Incorporation and the Bylaws, with the goal of preparing MSBA for today and the future. Before the MSBA Board acted on the changes, they sought legal review of both documents. Because MSBA is an Association whose authority comes from and through its members and Board of Directors, it is important that we inform you of these changes. Not only is this a good thing to do, but an essential thing to do since you, as a representative of the Association, will vote on the proposed changes at the MSBA Business Meeting, which will be held during the 2021 Leadership Conference. Like any vote that you take, you should be informed of the topics and issues. A summary of the changes accompanies this article, including a number of amendments to the language. Some sections have simply been moved to enhance the flow of each document. We have included a link to the red-lined version of the documents so that the membership can view the changes that have been approved by the committee