CONSTITUTION AND AMENDMENTS

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The Heads and Principals Association

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 Constitution 

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I.          Name: This Association shall be called “The Heads and Principals Association.”

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II.         Purpose: Its object shall be to increase the opportunities for mutual acquaintance among Headmasters and for the interchange of views of matters of common interest to secondary schools.

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III.       Officers: The officers shall be a President, a Vice President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and an Executive Committee to be composed of the officers already named and three additional members.

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The officers shall be elected annually, but the three members of the Executive Committee shall serve for three years, one member retiring each year.

 The Executive Committee has the right to hire an Executive Secretary whose primary job is to ensure a successful Annual Meeting, the fiscal health of the Association and the execution of the Membership process. 

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IV.       Meetings: The meetings shall be held annually at such places and such times as the Executive Committee shall appoint.

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V.        Membership:

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(a)         Active Members: Heads of Secondary Schools of all types who have completed at least one full year as Head may be eligible for membership. A Head is that person who, regardless of title, has been designated by the governing board of his or her school as chief executive officer of that school. Those superintendents of public schools who have previously served in the capacity of high school principal for at least one year may be elected to Active membership.

Any member may at any time propose in writing to the Executive Committee the name of any candidate; such candidate must be seconded by another member. Early in the fall, the names of all candidates so proposed shall be sent to all members of the Association for a preferential vote. Members are urged to write specifically concerning names on the list and no person shall be elected whose name has not been sent to all members.

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New members shall be elected by the Executive Committee at their autumn meeting, and these people shall then be notified of their election and invited to attend the winter meeting of the Association.

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Membership shall be limited to one person from each school and shall not-exceed one hundred in the aggregate, twenty-five from public schools and seventy-five from nonpublic schools

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(b)        Honorary Members: Members who are no longer serving as head of school and who have reached the age of sixty (as of August 31 of the year prior to the Annual Meeting) may, by vote of the Executive Committee, be given Honorary status, which includes all privileges of the Association except the right to vote. 

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(c)        Associate Members: When an Active member leaves Active membership before becoming eligible to become an Honorary member, he or she may resign or, by vote of the Executive Committee, become an Associate member. An Associate member has the same obligation to pay dues and attend meetings as an Active Member and shall have all privileges of the Association, including the right to nominate candidates for membership and to vote.

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Associate members who have reached the age of sixty (as of August 31 of the year prior to the Annual Meeting) may, by vote of the Executive Committee, be given Honorary status, which includes all privileges of the Association except the right to vote. Honoraries do not pay dues.

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VI        Attendance Expectations for Active Members: Members of the Association are expected to attend every annual meeting.  An unavoidable absence should be explained in a letter to the President or Executive Secretary of the Association. Only a personal crisis or emergency qualifies as a legitimate excuse for an absence. Members should schedule all professional appointments around the dates of the annual meeting, which are announced a year in advance. Since participation is essential to membership, an unexplained absence from two successive annual meetings shall result in the member being dropped from membership unless the Executive Committee sees cause to vote to continue the individual in membership. Any unexplained absence will be interpreted as a decision on the part of the member to resign from the Association and will be confirmed as such at the first meeting of the Executive Committee following the annual meeting.

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VII       Dues: Dues and occasional assessments shall be levied, as need may require, by the Treasurer at the direction of the Executive Committee.

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VIII.     Understandings: The deliberations and resolutions of the Association shall be considered private, unless the Executive Committee directs otherwise. A motion to print a speech delivered at any meeting of the Association is out of order.

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Members may, by permission of the Executive Committee, invite guests to attend meetings, except that no person who is a present or prospective candidate for membership shall be invited

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IX.       Amendments: Amendments may be made at any meeting by unanimous consent, provided that not less than twenty-five are present; or by a two-thirds vote of those present, if the amendment has been presented at a previous meeting.

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As amended and ratified by the membership February 4, 1994

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As amended and ratified by the membership February 5, 2016

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As amended and ratified by the membership February 8, 2019

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As amended and ratified by the membership February 3, 2022

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ADDENDUM 

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RESPONSIBILITIES OF OFFICERS and EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

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Executive Secretary

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The Executive Committee appoints the Executive Secretary, whose duties and responsibilities are approved by Executive Committee. The Executive Secretary attends and participates in all standing and special committees and meetings of Executive Committee, except when it enters executive session. The Executive Secretary has no voting powers. The Executive Committee evaluates the Executive Secretary on an annual basis and approves her/his annual salary. The Executive Secretary primary responsibilities include: the smooth running of the Annual Meeting in February, the process for nominating members, the collection of dues, the fiscal health of the Association, and clear communication to the entire Membership about Mission, policies and program. The Executive Secretary has the right to hire an executive assistant to support the operational aspects of the Association.

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President (one-year term)

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The President of HPA is the Chair of the Executive Committee and presides at all meetings of the Executive Committee and the Annual Meeting in February. Selected by the Nominating Committee, the President works closely with the Executive Secretary in planning the Annual Meeting and all meetings related to HA.

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Vice-President (one-year term)

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The Vice-President of HPA is responsible for convening and presiding over Executive Committee meetings and the Annual Meeting if the President is unable to perform those duties.

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Secretary (three-year term)

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The Secretary of HPA supports the Executive Secretary and the Executive Assistant as needed to ensure that clear records are kept of Executive Committee meetings, the Annual Meeting, and other procedures and communicates appropriately to the Association membership.

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Treasurer (six-year term as long as s/he remains as head of a secondary school)

The Treasurer of HPA works closely with the Executive Secretary to see that all dues and conference fees are collected from the members and accounted for in reports to the Executive Committee and to the membership. The Treasurer prepares periodically the following: The Report of cash receipts and disbursements, showing beginning and ending cash balances; reports of all invested resources; Annual Meeting Income and expense reports; and an analysis of HA dues with yearly comparisons.

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Executive Committee Members by Class

The three additional members of the Executive Committee are elected for three-year terms and are responsible for giving input to the Executive Committee and the Executive Director on matters related to the Associations welfare. Providing an assessment of the Annual Meeting, assisting in securing speakers, and introducing speakers as needed are key roles of these members. Other responsibilities include assisting with the Annual Meeting registration.

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Responsibilities of the Executive Committee

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The Executive Committee is charged with the selection of the new members of the Association, the dismissal of a member, the program at the Annual meeting, and other matters as may come before the Association from time to time. The employment of the Executive Secretary is another responsibility. Association officers are nominated by a Nominating Committee, chaired by the previous President and comprised of the ex-Presidents and confirmed by the membership at the Annual Meeting. The Association President and the Executive Secretary will provide suggestions for the officer slots to the Nominating Committee for their review after the fall Executive Committee meeting. 

As ratified by the membership February 8, 2019