SCA has three governing bodies, each with its own responsibilities:
house governments, the General Membership, and the SCA Board of
Directors. We are an egalitarian community, which means that each
member has equal voice. So, if you feel something in the co-op should
be changed, feel free to speak your mind and know which group to
address. All meetings (with the exception of the Harassment Committee
meetings) are open to all members and anyone may speak at a meeting.
HOUSE GOVERNMENT
Each house has its own government to deal with house issues and
coordinate house meetings. The structure of the house meetings is left
up to the membership of the individual house. House issues are
typically rules of the house, how to spend house budgets, and what type
of social activities to undertake. Each house elects house officers to
perform the many administrative duties of the house; officer jobs
include president, secretary, SCA representative, building czar, house
treasurer, and job coordinators.
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP
General Membership is the ultimate governing body of our
corporation. General Membership meetings are forums to elect corporate
positions, make major policy decisions, and distribute information to
the membership. Subjects such as by-law changes, major capital
purchases and instructions to the Board of Directors can be decided by
the SCA membership at a General Membership meeting. All corporate
officers are answerable for their conduct to the general membership.
Everyone in the co-op has an equal voice at General Membership
meetings, which usually occur once or twice a term, often following a
big dinner.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The SCA Board focuses its attention on policy, planning, financial
and administrative matters of the co-op. All employees of SCA are
hired, supervised, and if necessary, fired by the Board. The SCA staff
may attend meetings to advise the Board but do not take part in the
actual decision. Excluding advisors, the Board consists of 13 members:
Chair, Speaker, Treasurer, Secretary, SCA Maintenance Coordinator, SCA
Membership Coordinator, SCA Harassment Coordinator, House Presidents
(3), and House Representatives (3). Board members elected at General
Membership meetings serve one-year terms and Board members elected by
the houses (House Reps and House Presidents) serve until the house
elections the following term. Issues that affect the corporation or
entire membership should be brought before the Board. The Board may
also refer issues to committees to increase efficiency and flexibility.
The following are brief descriptions of corporate positions:
for more details see the complete job descriptions at the back of the
SCA Policy Books and the Job Descriptions Page.
- Chairperson: responsible for monitoring corporate
activities and supervising and coordinating board members in their
tasks. As part of these duties, s/he also attends Organizational
Committee meetings as well as any other committee meetings as directed
by the Board.
- Speaker: responsible for the education of the
membership and the community about SCA's activities, about co-ops in
general, and about issues of general interest. The speaker chairs the
Educational Committee and serves as chair when the chairperson is not
able to do so, and prepares the weekly agenda.
- Secretary: records minutes of all board and general membership meetings. S/he also serves on the Organizational Committee.
- Treasurer: oversees the financial systems and
collections within the co-op. S/he chairs the Financial Committee and
is responsible for representing the Financial Committee to the Board,
as well as being familiar with corporation finances and being able to
discuss these on the Board.
- Membership Coordinator: in conjunction with House
Membership Coordinators, is responsible for recruitment of new members
and their orientation. S/he chairs the Membership Committee.
- Maintenance Coordinator: works with the Maintenance Committee to oversee both the short-term and long-term health of SCA's properties.
- Harassment Coordinator: works closely with all house Harassment Advisors to implement the SCA Harassment Policy. S/he chairs the Harassment Committee.
- House Presidents: supervise the proper workings of their house governments. They serve on the Organizational Committee.
- House Representatives: keep house members informed
about board activities and relay opinions of their house's members to
the Board concerning SCA issues. They also serve on the Education
Committee.
In addition to the members of the Board of Directors, we also elect
other corporate officers at the General Membership meetings. These
officers can be from any house, and have SCA-wide responsibilities.
They include:
-
SCA Facilitator: facilitates at all Board meetings and
is responsible for preparing the agenda along with the Speaker. S/he
chairs the Organizational Committee. This is the only non-board
corporate position that must attend every board meeting. Position eliminated Spring 2003. Duties moved to Chairperson and Speaker.
-
Community Affairs Representative (CAR Rep): facilitates
communication between community organizations, such as the WUN
Association and CCRTF, and SCA. S/he serves on the Education Committee. Position eliminated Spring 2003. Duties moved to Chairperson and Speaker.
-
Purchasing Accountant: generates the house food
purchasing budgets, keeps financial records of food and supplies
expenditures, keeps food personnel informed about budget compliance,
oversees purchasing systems, facilitates Food Committee meetings, and
serves on the Financial Committee. Position eliminated Fall 2002. Duties moved to House Food Coordinators, Corp. Treasurer, and Business Manager.
- Historian/Archivists: delve into SCA's past in order to
compile a more accurate picture of the history of SCA. They keep track
of SCA alumni, organize reunions, and put out the "Porch Couch Review,"
our co-op newsletter. The Historian/Archivists also serve on the
Educational Committee. There is usually one Historian/Archivist from
each house.
- SCA Office Helper: assists the office staff with
photocopying, filing, cleaning, and recycling. S/he also copies and
distributes the Board Packet each week.
STANDING COMMITTEES
Committees are composed of at-large members and SCA Board members
whose participation is part of their job. Anyone can be an at-large
member and may receive work-party credit for regular attendance. The
present committees are:
- EDUCATION COMMITTEE: educates the membership about
cooperatives, handles SCA's relations with the media and other
cooperatives, and coordinates relations with the North American
Students Cooperative Organization (NASCO). Speaker chairs this
committee.
- MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE: coordinates membership
recruitment, acceptance and placement, develops membership policy, and
monitors vacancy levels. Corporate Membership Coordinator chairs this
committee.
- FINANCIAL COMMITTEE: reviews and monitors financial
statements, designs the budget for the fiscal year, reviews budget
compliance, processes member fee extension requests, develops financial
policy and long-range financial scenarios. Corporate Treasurer chairs
this committee.
- ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITTEE: develops or revises job
descriptions for any position in the co-op, monitors the efficiency of
SCA's organizational structure and proposes changes if necessary,
recruits SCA Board and committee members, and coordinates the hiring
process of SCA staff. SCA Facilitator chairs this committee.
- MAINTENANCE COMMITTEE: monitors the long-term viability
of SCA and its property, makes recommendations for major investments
and structural changes. Maintenance Coordinator chairs this committee.
- FOOD COMMITTEE: maintains and improves SCA food system, and exchanges ideas, menus, and recipes. Purchasing Accountant chairs this committee.
SCA EMPLOYEES
The SCA has two part time office staff, who attend
to most of the accounting and paperwork, handle membership applicaitons, and advise members and the Board concerning finances and
business of SCA. In the past we have also had a paid
Collections Agent (to collect member debts); paid House Guardians (who
acted as summer house managers); and paid Work Crews (who did
maintenance work on the houses during the summer). While the office staff are an integral part of the smooth functioning of the SCA, they are not voting members.
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