MASA Completes Planning Effort
by Roger Kurtz
June 02, 2009
During this past year, MASA undertook a strategic planning process to review current association activities, committees, finances and relationships with other organizations. This planning process included a written and online survey which was completed by 156 MASA members. Bill Ray, a retired superintendent, served as a consultant to this process and conducted focus groups during the 2008 MSBA/MASA Fall Conference.
After compiling this information, MASA officers, executive committee members and district presidents met on March 24, 2009 at the Lodge of Four Seasons prior to the Spring Conference to review the data from the surveys and focus groups. As a result of discussions during this planning session, the group made the following recommendations which were approved by the MASA Executive Committee at their June 2 meeting.
Fall Conference: MASA will work with MSBA to develop superintendent-specific sessions at the fall conference.
MASA Districts: MASA will send a letter to all MASA members, informing them of the date and location of district meetings. MASA will make it clear that they may attend any district meetings and that members are not bound by district lines to attend any specific district meeting. However, each person may only be a voting member in one district and must declare the district in which they wish to be a voting member.
District Meetings: MASA will schedule a meeting with all incoming district presidents to discuss coordination of district meetings and share possible speakers and/or topics for district meetings. MSAPAC: MASA will discuss with other members of MSAPAC the possibility of holding regional meetings to discuss candidate endorsements and to provide greater member involvement in the process. Another option may be to use online tools to improve communication and member involvement in the endorsement process.
Company Endorsements: Beginning on July 1, 2009, MASA will no longer endorse any company or business. MASA will develop levels of sponsorship to recognize those businesses that support the association. Legal Services: MASA will work to more effectively communicate legal services which are available to members of the association.
Position Openings: MASA will begin posting administrative position openings on the MASA website for all members of the association. This includes superintendent positions and all other administrative positions within a school district. There will be no charge to post positions on the MASA website. This service will begin in July 1, 2009.
Public Relations: MASA will issue press releases on member involvement in committees and/or conferences. MASA will develop a column that will be shared with superintendents which they may localize for use in local newspapers and/or newsletters.
MASA Committees: MASA will discontinue the Federal Relations Committee and the White Paper Committee. MASA will develop a charter for each MASA committee and establish clear expectations for each committee and meeting dates. MASA will work with the Small Schools Committee to meet earlier in the year to provide input in the development of the MASA Legislative Platform.
The ultimate goal of this effort is to improve services and to meet the needs of MASA members. A special thanks to all the MASA members who completed surveys, to those who participated in focus group meetings and to the MASA district presidents and executive committee which spent considerable time reviewing data.
