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MMEA BYLAWS

BY-LAWS

Last Revised October, 2002

Section 1.

The executive authority for the administration of the affairs of the state Association shall be vested in the president who, with the president-elect, first vice-president, secretary, treasurer, five second vice-presidents, CMENC-MMEA advisor, chair of the Council of Festivals and Assemblies, and MHSA representative shall have the status of the Executive Board.

Section 2.

The president shall preside or designate a chairperson of all meetings of the Association and of the Executive Board, shall appoint the secretary, CMENC advisor, and all committees with the ratification of the Executive Board (except such committees as are specifically provided for in the constitution and by-laws), shall in consultation with the Executive Board prepare the program for the annual inservice conference (convention) of the Association, and shall perform all other duties customarily pertaining to his/her office. It shall be the duty of the first vice-president to assume the duties of the president in the case of the disability of the president, and in the event the first vice-president is unable to do so it shall then be the duty of the president-elect to assume such duties. The president, together with the president-elect, treasurer, and editor, shall constitute a fiscal oversight committee for the Cadenza.

Section 3.

The secretary shall take accurate minutes of the Association when it meets (general meetings), as well as of all Executive Board meetings. These minutes shall be made available to the mem-bership, and a synopsis of these minutes, including but not necessarily restricted to all official actions, shall be submitted to the Cadenza editor for publication.

Section 4.

The treasurer/state manager shall be the custodian of all funds of the Association. He/she shall present, at each annual meeting of the Association, an audited account of all monies received and disbursed of the preceding fiscal year. He/she shall also provide an up-to-date financial report at each meeting of the Executive Board, and shall deposit the funds of the Association in a depository approved by the president and vice-president (who, together with the treasurer/state manager, shall constitute the financial committee of the Association and its Executive Board). The treasurer/state manager shall pay all bills as they become due if properly authorized according to the by-laws of this Association, such authorization to become part of his/her records. The membership dues and convention expenses (registration, mileage, food, and lodging) of the state treasurer will be paid by the Association.

Section 5.

The Executive Board shall annually, in January, authorize a budget for the following fiscal year of July 1 - June 30, setting up specific amounts for operating, travel, and convention expenses based on the previous year’s income, and not to be exceeded without prior approval of two-thirds (2/3) of the Executive Board.

(A) Operating expenditures, covering stationery and office supplies, postage, phone calls, telegrams, bank charges, and secretarial fees, shall be authorized by the president.

(B) Travel expenditures by state officers, those deemed necessary to enable MMEA to be represented at Northwest Division and MENC meetings, shall be authorized by the president.

(C) Convention expenditures for meeting places, fees and expenses of speakers and clinic directors, advertising, badges, and printing shall be authorized by the convention committee in session.

(D) All expenditures not specifically included above must have prior approval by two-thirds (2/3) of the Executive Board.

(E) In the possibility of MMEA dissolvement, any funds shall be dispersed to MENC.

Section 6.

Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern the conduct of all business meetings.

Section 7.

A copy of the constitution and by-laws, if changed, will be published in the MMEA official magazine, the Cadenza.

MONTANA MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION
POLICY STATEMENT

Revised Oct. 2002

These policies are extracted from the MMEA Executive Board Meeting, and MHSA Music Committee, dating from January 1974 through October 2000. This embraces the period of time of the present format of concurrent MHSA All-State Festivals and MMEA Conventions. The date following each statement indicates the date of the minutes that the policy was established.

A. PRESIDENTS - AFFILIATE ORGANIZATIONS

1. Current presidents of affiliate organizations (MBA, MT-ASTA, MCDA) will be the state screening chairs for the respective MENC All-Northwest groups. (1/06/01)

2. The MMEA treasurer will inform affiliate presidents of proper procedures to follow for paying convention clinicians. (9/18/89)

3. Affiliate presidents must have written contractual agreements with their convention clinicians and copies of same must be forwarded to the MMEA president. (1/05/79)

4. The MGMTA vice-president will also be the appointed MENC Society for General Music chair. (1/06/01)

B. MONTANA HIGH SCHOOL ASSOCIATION

1. The MHSA will provide certificates for All-State participants. (MHSA policy 1/14/77)

2. Complimentary tickets will be issued to instructors and administrators of the schools that have students participating in any one of the All-State groups. (MHSA policy)

3. MMEA Convention and MHSA All-State are separate but cooperative and concurrent activities structurally, administratively, and financially. (MHSA policy)

4. All-State is administratively and financially accountable to the MHSA. (MHSA policy)

5. The MHSA Music Committee and/or local administrators are the avenues through which changes in MHSA activities and rules occur. (MHSA policy)

6. The MMEA shall request of the MHSA host chairperson time on the All-State program to present MMEA’s Distinguished Service, Leadership, and Retirement Awards. All other awards will be presented at an appropriate time during the Convention. (1/06/01)

C. CADENZA

1. A synopsis of the October minutes will be published in the January issue of the Cadenza and a synopsis of the January minutes will be published in the April issue of the Cadenza. (1/09/87)

2. The constitution will be published in the April issue, only when changed. (10/87)

3. The president will provide the Cadenza a grid of the schedule for the October convention no later than August 1, so it may be included in the September issue of the Cadenza. (1/07/83)

4. The MMEA president will appoint an editorial board of four upon the recommendation of the editor. (10/19/96)

5. The presidents of each affiliate organization will be the contributing editors to the Cadenza. (10/04/87)

6. The MMEA president, MMEA president-elect, Cadenza editor, and MMEA treasurer will meet prior to the Winter Planning Meeting each year to discuss the costs and budget for the current volume and the following year. (1/03/86)

7. The MMEA president will recommend annually to the MMEA Executive Board at the Winter Planning Meeting the continuance or non-continuance of a contract for services with the Cadenza editor. The president will also recommend the terms of the agreement for the ensuing volume of three issues. (1/03/86)

8. The Cadenza editor should be informed by January 20 whether he/she will be contracted for an ensuing year. (1/03/86)

9. The Cadenza shall solicit copy-ready advertising and shall not bear any expenses for advertising set-up costs. (1/03/86)

10. See Section D, Number 12.

11.The convention advance registration form shall be printed in the fall Cadenza, thus necessitating earlier deadlines for submission of all materials in order to enable the editor to timely print and circulate the Cadenza in September. (1/07/89)

12. The MMEA treasurer shall annually remit to the Cadenza editor the approved MMEA subsidy by September 30. (1/07/89)

13. The Cadenza Fiscal Oversight Committee shall annually determine that there is anticipated to be approximately enough cash on hand (in the Cadenza accounts) at the end of the each fiscal year to cover the costs of one edition. The current contract with the editor will suggest what this sum should be. (1/07/89)

D. CONVENTION, REGISTRATION, FEES, and EXHIBITS

1. Montana school music educators who are exhibitors must join the MMEA to attend sessions. (1/10/81)

2. High school student groups will not perform at functions that include an open bar. (10/92)

3. Individuals who are not public, private or parochial school or college/university music teachers must pay the MMEA Convention registration fee to attend MMEA sessions. (10/22/93)

4. Retired MMEA members will be provided badges at no charge. (1/14/77)

5. The MMEA Executive Board is delegated the authority to review the price structure of exhibits and to make changes in the same. (1/06/01)

6. Security will be provided in the exhibit area and will be the responsibility of the Exhibit chairman. (1/06/01)

7. Clinicians need not be members of MENC-MMEA. (1/05/79)

8. In-state clinician’s honorarium will be $50.00 per full session presented. Expenses may be negotiated for non-members of MMEA (1/06/01)

9. All clinicians will be given badges — regardless of their affiliation with MMEA. (1/13/78)

10. MMEA funds allotted to affiliate organizations must be used annually. These funds will not accumulate. (1/14/77)

11. On site MMEA Convention registration will be $35.00. Preregistration fee and registration fee for those attending for the first time will be $25.00. (1/06/01)

12. MMEA will accept, as valid for registration at any of its annual conferences, membership cards dated January 1 through October of the year following the actual convention. Members without a current valid membership card as well as members whose cards may elapse within the months of October through December of the current year must renew at convention. If a member claims to have paid MENC, but has not yet received a valid membership card, it shall be the duty of the treasurer to immediately check with the MENC director of membership and finance. If membership is verified by MENC, admission will be assured; if a member is not verified, the member must make payment at the registration site and a stop-pay at MENC will be issued. This policy shall be printed in the fall issue of the Cadenza each year and any other information used to advertise the convention. (1/09/87)

13. The MMEA will offer Montana college and universities exhibitors table space for 50% of the current rate, but collegiate faculty should not use exhibitor badges to attend MMEA sessions. (1/02)

14. Membership dues and convention expenses (registration, mileage, food, and lodging) of the state treasurer will be paid by the state association. (10/15/86)

15. Only one exhibitor may be represented per single table. Two or more separate companies may not use the same single table (8ft space).

16. Procedures for MMEA Treasurer/Manager to follow in case of non-payments or non-sufficient funds (N.S.F.) registrations is a three-tiered process:

a) A courtesy letter and/phone call is sent from the MMEA Treasurer/Manager informing the conference registrant (individual or exhibitor) of N.S.F. status. If no satisfactory reply is made within 30 days, then:

b) A letter from the MMEA President with a 30-day resolution limit on response from N.S.F. party. The MMEA President will explain that the association must mail in their state and national membership fees, which must be forwarded to national MENC in a timely manner. The President will include in the letter “Your membership will be canceled in 30 days if receipt of funds is not completed to (Treasure/State Manager) by (date).”

c) After 30 days have passed, if the bill is not paid, membership will be canceled at the state and national levels. In the future, in order to rejoin, any expenses incurred by the MMEA must be reimbursed prior to acceptance of registration. (10/2)

E. GENERAL POLICY

1. MMEA is in cooperation with, but not affiliated with the MEA. (1/10/81)

2. It is the duty of the Council of Past-Presidents to keep the policy statement current. (9/87)

3. The MMEA president shall encourage appointed chairs to attend all Executive Board meetings, especially the one which occurs in conjunction with and follows the fall convention. (1/07/89)

4. The MMEA president shall encourage appointed chairs to submit their reports in advance by a date to be established annually by the president in order that the reports can be reprinted and circulated to the general meeting of the membership. Appointed chairs shall therefore not make specific reports to the Executive Board, although any appointed chair can, of course, request of the MMEA president that an issue be placed on the agenda for discussion. (1/07/89)

5. In accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order, it shall not be deemed necessary for the general membership of MMEA to again ratify by vote the election of the MMEA president assuming that it is in the normal succession from president-elect to president. (1/07/89)

6. The MMEA historian shall keep the archival collection organized by year, and shall retain no more than the last two years of material before submitting additions to the archival collections to the University of Montana Archives. (1/05/91)

F. TRAVEL POLICY

1. Members of the Executive Board, as defined in the MMEA constitution, plus the president-elect-elect, the immediate past host chairper-son, and the upcoming host chairperson will be reimbursed for expenses to the January Executive Board meeting as outlined below. The treasurer-elect will be reimburrsed for expenses to the January Executive Board meeting on odd numbered years at which the budget he or she will administer is adopted. (10/96)

2. The presiding officer of the January Executive Board meeting will extend invitations to officers-elect of the affiliate organizations who will serve on the following year’s Executive Board. No expenses will be paid by the MMEA to these invited officials. It is recommended that affiliate organizations pay expenses for their officers-elect. (1/85)

3. Travel expenses will be based on the most recent revision of the MCA (Montana Code Annotated). (1/85)

a. Air travel will be based on the least expensive service available. (1/85)

b. Automobile mileage allowed will be the current IRS approved rate per mile. (1/85)

c. Individuals will be allotted the cost of lodging and meals based on current state rate. Receipts are not re-quired for meals. Receipts are required for lodging.
(1/85)

4. Out-of-state travel expenses by the president for National meetings will be covered by the provisions listed in #3. (1/85)

5. The treasurer-elect’s expenses will be paid to the January Board meeting at which the budget he or she will ad-minister as treasurer is discussed and adopted. (1/06/96)

G. AWARDS

1. Awards should not be presented at the social hour if other arrangements are possible. (10/20/78)

2. The immediate past-president will arrange to present (or have presented) the Distinguished Service Awards, retirement plaques, and leadership awards at an appropriate time and place during the state convention. (10/92)

3. Distinguished Service Award recipients will be allowed up to $100.00 to cover travel expenses to receive their award. (1/14/77)

4. History of awards: See below.

5. The Council of Past Presidents shall devise an appropriate time, place, and way to recognize each new MMEA president as well as each outgoing MMEA president. 10/21/88)

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