ARTICLE V – DIVISION ORGANIZATION & ADMINISTRATION
Division Designations
For organizational and administrative purposes the Commonwealth shall be divided into nine divisions to include all school committees, as follows*:
- Division I Northeast Division
- Division II Metropolitan Division
- Division III Southeast Division
- Division IV Central Division
- Division V Connecticut Valley Division
- Division VI Berkshire Division
- Division VII Cape & Islands Division
- Division VIII Vocational Technical School Districts Division
- Division IX Urban Division
- Division X Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Caucus Division
Committees in Division VIII, Division IX, and Division X shall also be members of the appropriate geographical division.
Division By-Laws
The active members belonging to each Division shall adopt by-laws which shall be consistent with the Association by-laws, for the regulation of the affairs and the conduct of the business of the Division. Upon determination by the Board of Directors that any provision of the by-laws of a Division is inconsistent with any provision of the Association by-laws, the Division by-laws shall be deemed to have been amended in such a manner as the Board of Directors may determine.
Adjustment in Division Assignment
Active members shall be assigned by the Board of Directors to membership in the various Divisions and the names of the active members in the various Divisions shall be published annually in an official publication of the Association.
Division Officers
Each Division shall elect such officers as its by-laws provide. The term of office of such officers shall be two years. Division officers shall take office on January 1 following election. The Division Meeting to elect officers shall be held at or in advance of the Annual Meeting of the Association, or, if a quorum cannot be reached, then as soon as is practical. The term of office of any Division chairman shall expire upon the Division Chairmans acceptance of any elected office of the Association. Any Division officer that ceases to be a member of a school committee shall be entitled to serve until the next June 30.
Division Meetings
Each Division shall hold a minimum of two meetings annually at least one of which must be a Division- wide meeting. At the discretion of the chairman, a series of regional meetings may be scheduled in order to satisfy the requirement for a second meeting. In any event, one of said meetings shall be held prior to January 1 of each school year and a second shall be held after January 1 of each school year. If there is only one Division-wide meeting, it shall be held after January 1 of each school year and shall be designated as the annual meeting for the election of officers.
Duties of Division Chairmen
Each Division chairman shall:
- be responsible for promoting the aims and purposes of the Association in the Division and shall preside at all Division meetings unless the chairman shall have made the appropriate arrangements for the Vice Chairman to preside;
- be a member of the Board of Directors of the Association. Whenever a Division chairman is unable to attend a meeting of the Board of Directors, he/she shall notify the Vice Chairman or such other Division officer as the Division by-laws may provide who may attend and act at such meetings with all the powers of the Division Chairman
- maintain and file with the Executive Director of the Association a copy of its by-laws with all amendments thereto and a list of the names and addresses of its current officers.
Failure to Discharge Duties
In the event of the failure or inability of any Division Chairman to discharge the duties required under these by-laws, the Board of Directors shall have the power to call such meetings, to appoint interim officers for the Division, which officers shall serve until their successors are duly elected and qualified, and to perform all acts necessary to effectuate the aims and purposes of the Association within such Division.