SUBMITTED BY
Girl Scouts of the USA National Board of Directors on recommendation of the National Council Session Advisory Team
STATEMENT OF PROPOSAL
THAT Article IV (The National Council), Section 5 (Formula for Delegates) of the Constitution of Girl Scouts of the USA be amended by striking “of the year,” and inserting the words, “two years” before the word “preceding.” If approved, the text would read as follows:
Each local council to which a charter has been issued and remains in force shall be entitled to the following delegates based on the number of girls under its jurisdiction who are members of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America as of September 30, two years of the year preceding the regular session of the National Council:
a. two (2) delegates;
b. one (1) additional delegate for up to 3,500 girls;
c. one (1) additional delegate for every 3,500 girls thereafter.
REASONS
This proposal amends the Constitution to adjust the membership year on which delegate allotment is based. The change will allow GSUSA to confirm the number of delegates to which each council is entitled before any delegate election occurs, avoiding the need to conduct elections based on preliminary data and potentially adjust after receiving final numbers. The time when councils elect delegates is not affected by this proposal. In proposing this Constitutional amendment, it is the intent of the National Board to lessen the administrative burden on councils when selecting their National Council delegates.
Current Practices/Background
In 2020, the National Council amended the Constitution to require national delegates be elected in the calendar year preceding the National Council Session. Under the Constitution, the number of delegates to which each council is entitled is based on membership numbers as of September 30 of the calendar year preceding NCS. Those numbers are not finalized and released until November 30. Since many councils elect their delegates at annual meetings between January and April (e.g., for NCS 2023, January–April 2022), they must estimate how many delegates they will have and adjust if needed after receiving their official membership numbers.
Timeline for 2023 NCS:
- Councils elected their delegates in the calendar year 2022.
- However, official girl membership numbers for MY 2022, were not available until November 2022.
- The councils who elected delegates January 2022 through November 2022 estimated their delegate allotment and elected a ranked list of alternates.
- When final allocations were known, councils adjusted their data, if necessary.
This proposal eliminates the need for preliminary data. If approved, councils will know their delegate allotment number before any delegate elections occur.
FINANCIAL IMPACT STATEMENT
This proposal has a positive financial impact by allowing staff resources to be focused on other initiatives.
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