Actions of the Board of Directors at its July 23-25, 1999 meeting were as follows:

Items Related to Members

• reviewed the list of service key recipients, noting that both the number of chapters using the award and the number of keys awarded were down for the second straight year.
• reviewed the membership statistics for June 30, 1998, and took note of the fact that good-standing membership has declined to 112,680, a drop of 4,169 from the previous year.
• accepted the report on the Achieve 80 Membership Awards program, noting that awards for 1997-98 will be recognized at the 1998 district conferences.
• approved that any chapter receiving a membership development award must, as a minimum criterion, show a net increase in good-standing membership for the year.
• reviewed the status of the two-year direct membership project and the initiatives underway to monitor and analyze the data.
• accepted the report on the Kappan Core and reviewed membership development materials distributed to Core members.

Items Related to Chapters

• took note of the progress made by the Douglas County Colorado Chapter and changed the charter from conditional to permanent.
• accepted charter surrenders from the Colorado River Region-Arizona Chapter, Merced County California Chapter, and Decatur Alabama Chapter.
• approved requests from the Georgia College Chapter that its name be changed to Georgia College and State University Chapter; the Kean College of New Jersey Chapter that its name be changed to the Kean University Chapter; the Jersey City State College Chapter that its name be changed to New Jersey State University Chapter, the Central Maine Chapter that its name be changed to University of Maine Chapter, the University of St. Thomas Chapter that its name be changed to University of St. Thomas-Augsburg College Chapter, and the Lewis University/Will County Chapter that its name be changed to Will County Illinois Chapter.
• referred an inquiry from the Iberia Spain Chapter regarding establishment of a chapter in Turkey to the District IX Conference for discussion and recommendation.

Items Related to Areas and Districts

• reviewed the reports on the 1998 officer leadership conferences.
• reviewed the items to be referred by the Board of Directors to the 1998 district conferences.
• approved that transportation allowances for the winter 1999 DR/AC meetings be fixed by the staff as locations are provided by the district representatives.

Items Related to Professional Program

• approved that the Excellence in Student Teaching Awards program be continued in 1998-99 and provided funding from the Contingency Fund in the amount of $15,000.
• approved funding for the Future Educators of America program in the amount of $25,000.
• asked that staff study options available to PDK on ways to provide future supplemental funding and other support systems for the FEA program.
• accepted the report on the Center on Education Policy and commended Jack Jennings for his independent work and collaboration with PDK on support for public schools.
• approved continuation of the League of Values-Driven Schools for 1998-99 and named Herbert Heger as the director of the project.
• accepted the report on the district project program and allocated $25,000 to rebuild the program line for 1998-99.
• accepted the report on the National Center for Effective Schools and took note of a grant from the Olin Foundation to fund the center in 1998-99.
• approved continuation of the FastFacts series in 1998-99 with $5,000 to be provided from the Contingency Fund.
• approved continuation of the public school forums project for 1998-99.
• recognized Shirley Igo of the National PTA for her contributions to the Forum Planning Committee and asked the executive director to send a letter of appreciation on behalf of Phi Delta Kappa International.
• accepted the report on the International Curriculum Management Audit Center.
• approved contract negotiations with the Gallup Organization for the 31st Annual PDK/Gallup Poll and asked Lowell Rose to serve as director.
• accepted a report from Jack Frymier on phase one of the urban and suburban schools project.
• accepted the report from the year 2000-2001 planning committee and approved $75,000 for program activities to be designated as the Phi Delta Kappa Bessie F. Gabbard Initiative on Leadership in Education for the 21st Century.

Items Related to Organizationally Focused Items

• approved that a maximum of $440,000 of the unused spending authority from the 1997-98 budget be used to provide for previously approved expenditures and to rebuild program lines as recommended; that $60,000 be set aside for transfer to the Reserve Fund to pay the costs of the 1998 PDK/Gallup Poll; and that any remaining unused funds be transferred to the Board Reserve Fund as unallocated money to be used to meet future needs.
• approved that expenditure-reducing measures remain in effect for the 1998-99 fiscal year.
• approved that a development officer for special gifts and planned giving be employed with funding provided by the Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation.
• approved revisions of the Statement of Purpose and Future Directions as presented by the Future Planning Committee and referred the document to the 1998 district conferences.
• affirmed the vision, mission, and goals of Phi Delta Kappa International.
• approved jewelry and accessories prices for 1998-99 as presented.
• -approved the schedule and recommendations for implementation of a sunset review of PDK programs.
• re-appointed Arliss Roaden to the Board of Governors of the Educational Foundation for a three-year term from August 1998 through August 2001.
• approved the timeline, screening committee guidelines and procedures, job description, and application form to be used in the search for the next executive director.
• approved that an eight-person screening committee be appointed by the president, and that the committee be comprised of the six members currently serving on the search committee, a member of the PDK Educational Foundation Board of Governors, and a member of the PDK professional staff.
• approved new area coordinator orientation to be held at the PDK international office on November 20-22, 1998, at an estimated cost of $24,000.
• -asked the executive director to continue discussions with the Association for the Advancement of International Education and to report back to the board at the January 1999 meeting.
• approved the proposal from the Bloomington Convention Center and Marriott Courtyard Hotel in Bloomington, Indiana, for the 2nd Legislative Council to be held on October 21-24, 1999.

Items Related to International Office and Board Operation

• approved that an AS/400 model 170 computer and additional expansion systems be purchased with funds to come from 1997-98 unused spending authority, and that attempts be made to sell the existing system.
• approved that the executive director enact with the Board of Directors of All Ways Travel, Inc., the requirement of two signatures for all future financial transactions involving the agency.
• approved revisions to Board Policy as recommended by the Board Policy Committee.
• received a report from the Constitution and Bylaws Committee.
• accepted the bid of Phillips Brothers Printing of Springfield, Illinois, for the 1998-99 issues of News, Notes, and Quotes.
• approved that $19,000 be made available from the unused spending authority for 1997-98 to purchase three new Power Macintosh computers for the Kappan department and two new Macintosh G3-233 computers with full-page color monitors and associated input/output equipment for Special Publications.
• approved that $30,000 from the unused spending authority for 1997-98 be placed in the Board Reserve Fund to be used for future major purchases of the heating and cooling systems.
• received a report on the progress made by the PDK in-house web-site committee and on the upgrades that have been made to the PDK web site.
• gave approval, contingent upon funding from the Olin Foundation, to contract with Gibraltar Design for completion of the third floor of the Phi Delta Kappa Lowell C. Rose International Conference Center, with the project to include both the construction and technology components of the proposal.
• asked that each issue of NN&Q include a new CEDR research bulletin, and that each CEDR research bulletin be placed on the PDK web site.
• reviewed the lease on the PDK van and approved the purchase of the van at the proposed price.
• fixed the dates of July 23-25, 1999, for the next summer meeting of the Board of Directors.