Actions of the Board of Directors at its January 28-31, 2000 meeting were as follows:

Actions Related to Members

• reviewed the mid-year membership statistics for 31 December 1999, noting that good-standing membership has declined 3,359 from the previous year and stands at 104,590.
• received a report on the direct membership project and the amendment that has been sent to chapters for ratification.
• reviewed the work of the Kappan Core and concurred with staff recommendations on future strategies.
• approved the requests for waivers of the 20-year membership requirement from the Genesee Valley/SUNY-Geneseo Chapter on behalf of Gordon H. Link and from the Central Connecticut State University Chapter on behalf of Robert Jack Silver and granted emeritus status.
  

Actions Related to Chapters

• approved the petition from the Fraser Valley British Columbia Club and authorized the executive director to proceed with the installation.
• approved permanent charter status for the Bridgewater State College Chapter with the presentation to be made at the District VI Conference.
• delayed consideration of permanent charter status for the City University-Cascades Chapter for up to 12 months.
• accepted the discontinuation of the Southwest Georgia Chapter and requested that the charter be surrendered.
• accepted the vote of the Kansas Prairie Kansas Chapter to disband and requested that the charter be surrendered.
• approved the request of the Greenville/Spartanburg South Carolina Chapter to change its name to Upstate South Carolina.
• commended the officers of the Walden University Cyberspace Chapter for their leadership in establishing Phi Delta Kappa's first cyberspace chapter.
• approved the recommendation of the executive director that the area coordinators of 14 inactive chapters produce complete reports on the condition of those chapters, that the reports be submitted to the executive director and the district representative no later than 15 June 2000, and that the reports include the coordinators' recommendations regarding the steps that should be taken to deal with those chapters.
  

Actions Related to Areas and Districts

• approved revised assignments for board and staff participation in the 2000 district conferences.
• set the per-chapter allocation for the 2000 district conferences at $40 with the number of chapters in each district determined by the number of chapters eligible to be represented.
• approved the transportation allowances for the officer leadership conferences in those areas where the staff recommendation is 100%.
• authorized staff to determine the transportation allowances as locations are provided for officer leadership conferences in those areas where a site has not yet been reported.
• asked that the officer leadership conferences be renamed as area leadership conferences, as passed by the legislative council, with the change to be effective at the end of the board meeting.
• approved the transportation allowance for the summer DR/AC meetings in Districts I, II, III, IV, V, VII, and VIII at 100%.
• authorized staff to determine the transportation allowances as information is available for the summer DR/AC meetings in Districts VI and IX.
  

Actions Related to Professional Program

• accepted staff reports on the following programs: student teacher awards, Future Educators of America, Frymier Institute for Ethical Leadership, forums, advocacy, FastFacts, PDK/Gallup Poll, Ohio urban initiative, outstanding doctoral dissertation awards, and curriculum management audits.
• authorized use of HighWired.com with FEA chapters.
• expressed appreciation to Jack Jennings and the staff of the Center on Education Policy for the support provided to Phi Delta Kappa International and its public school advocacy efforts.
• asked that the executive director explore with Jack Jennings his willingness to work with PDK as a consultant on the 2000 PDK/Gallup Poll press conference and on projects of mutual interest, especially those related to advocacy for public education.
• affirmed the board's commitment to the continuation of PDK's presence in Washington, DC, and asked staff to explore alternative options to replace the Center on Education Policy if it closes.
• approved the recommendations of the executive director with reference to the National Center for Effective Schools, its research project, and the proposed Fellows program.
• reviewed the progress being made on the various projects that comprise the Bessie F. Gabbard Initiative on Leadership in Education for the 21st Century.
  

Actions Related to Organizationally Focused Items

• reviewed the budget report for 31 December 1999, cost-cutting measures in effect for 1999-2000, and the biennium budget for 2000-2002.
• gave approval that the 2000-2001 district project funds be apportioned using a formula that provides $2,500 for each district and allocates the remaining funds among the districts on the basis of each district's percentage of membership in good standing; that 2000-2001 entitlements be based on a total allocation of $57,500; and that actual allocations be made by reducing each district's specific entitlement by the district's unexpended balance on 30 June 2000.
• received reports on the status of the 1999-2000 Educational Foundation Annual Fund, foundation-sponsored activities, and the winter 2000 meeting of the Board of Governors.
• received the report of the foundation's development officer and the "New Millennium Leadership Campaign."
• reappointed Bessie F. Gabbard to the Educational Foundation Board of Governors for a three-year term continuing through August 2003.
• received the financial report, the status of legislation passed, evaluations from participants, and a summary of the six leadership groups from the 2nd Legislative Council held in October 1999.
• accepted the recommended actions, as outlined and revised, concerning general legislation passed by the 2nd Legislative Council.
• received the report on the sunset review of four programs -- Future Educators of America, Outstanding Student Teacher Awards, Adopt-A-Scholar, and Foundation Lecturers -- and accepted the staff recommendation to continue all four.
• accepted the update on exhibiting at national conferences, noting that PDK will have exhibits at IRA in Indianapolis and ASCD in New Orleans in spring 2000.
• referred the national conference issue to the board's committee for discussion and recommendation.
• reviewed the report on collaboration efforts with other national professional associations and discussed the importance of these efforts for PDK.
• asked staff to investigate cost comparisons for using St. Louis, Missouri; Louisville, Kentucky; and Indianapolis, Indiana, as alternative sites to Bloomington, Indiana, for the 3rd Legislative Council.
  

Actions Related to International Office and Board Operation

• received the executive director's report on staff changes at the international office.
• accepted the report and attended a departmental presentation of the special publications area.
• discussed the reports on information technology from the board technology committee and the information technology staff at PDK, and thanked Jim Fogarty, Doug Bedient, and Bill Dugger for their thorough review and recommendations.
• concurred with the executive director's plan to reestablish a building-wide staff advisory committee on technology.
• authorized expenditures of $26,400 for the construction of a technology firewall, the purchase of software to insure compliance with licensing agreements, and the purchase of credit card verification software.
• authorized expenditures of $73,100 to replace computers (PC and Mac) at the international office that will allow PDK to upgrade its e-mail system by using software that was previously purchased but not able to be utilized on current equipment.
• concurred with the recommendations of the executive director relative to PDK's relationship with All Ways Travel, including efforts to identify a travel agency and explore options for arranging staff and non-staff travel by 1 May 2000.
• approved the firm of Olive and Company to conduct the 1999-2000 audit of Phi Delta Kappa International's fiscal records at a cost of $18,500.
• approved increases of the subscription and single-copy rates for the Phi Delta Kappan as follows: domestic $44/year, foreign $47.50/year, domestic library/institution $51/year, foreign library/institution $54.40/year, single copy $5.50 plus $3 shipping.
• received information on the printing bid for the Phi Delta Kappan in 2000-2001, with a contract decision to await a recommendation from the Kappan staff.
• approved equipment requests for the purchase of a HP Color Laser Jet 8500N with 32 MB Ram printer for the Phi Delta Kappan at $7,000 and for the purchase of a replacement compressor for the chiller at the international office at $22,000.
• approved salaries and benefits for hourly employees at the international office in 2000-2001 as proposed by the executive director.
• approved salaries and benefits for mid-level and senior/professional level staff at the international office in 2000-2001 as proposed by the executive director.
• received board and staff committee assignments and charges from International President Rick Kolowski.
• approved an extension with Anthem Blue Cross for employee health insurance through February 2001.
• set the dates for the winter 2001 meeting of the Board of Directors for January 26-28.
  

Items Raised by the Executive Director

• accepted the international office reconceptualization plan presented by the executive director with the understanding that the structure is a fluid one.
• asked the executive director to move forward with drafting an announcement for the position of associate executive director for leadership and development.
• concurred in the executive director's recommendation that the title of acting associate executive director be changed to associate executive director.
• concurred in the executive director's recommendation that the title of editor, Special Publications be changed to director, Publications and Research.

Items Raised by the Board of Directors

• considered the request of the Italia Chapter to divide into three separate chapters and referred the issue to the board governance and international committees for further study; also advised the district representative that petitions for two new chapters would be required.
• directed staff to undertake a study that would result in the inclusion of the Center for Evaluation, Development, and Research and the Center for Professional Development and Services in the General Fund budget of Phi Delta Kappa International.
• approved the request of the district representatives from Districts I, II, III, and IV to explore the possibility of a combined district conference in 2002 at a cost-effective location.
• accepted the recommendation of the board's leadership committee that the Chapter Officers' Handbook be retitled, Leadership Development: Resource Guide for PDK Leaders, beginning in 2000-2001, and that the committee thoroughly review the handbook's content and format at the July 2000 meeting.
• accepted the recommendations of the board's future conferences committee that PDK begin planning for an international education conference to be held in June 2002.
• accepted the recommendation from the board's membership committee asking the director of membership development to construct a matrix grid showing the targeted groups for all PDK programs.
• received a report from the board's international development committee indicating that additional information would be provided at the July 2000 meeting regarding legislative referrals from the 2nd Legislative Council.
• gave approval to the District VI Representative to explore the possibility of a PDK collaboration on the Issues 2000 Project in Pennsylvania.