2011 04 governance regionalism presentations - psd

Prairie Star District-UUA Annual Conference April 9, 2011

Topics
What is the Mid-America Region?
The Future of Districts
Regionalism in Mid-America Region
Key Issues for the Prairie Star District
Next Steps
Your Turn
Questions & Answers
Concerns & Hopes
Clip Art © Steve Bridenbaugh 05/20/11

Presenters
Kathy Burek, President, Prairie Star District
Amy Taylor, President, Heartland District
05/20/11 Clip Art © Steve Bridenbaugh

What is the Mid-America Region?
Heartland District
54 member congregations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio
7,500 UUs
Central Midwest District
80 member congregations in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri and Wisconsin
13,000 UUs
Prairie Star District
59 member congregations in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin
9,300 UUs

Current Status of Districts
19 Districts with governance role in addition to UUA Trustees
19 Boards, some Policy Governance, some not
19 Dues structures and financial arrangements with UUA
19 Budget and accounting systems
19 Personnel systems
19 IT systems
19 Staff groups with duplicate responsibilities
Some separate corporations, some not
Historically, little communication among boards

Governance Defined
Governance
Ensures the organization meets desired outcomes
Avoids unacceptable situations
Define expectations
Grants power
Verifies performance
From John Carver, developer of Policy Governance©

Governance Challenges
Do we need 19 governance entities in addition to our UUA Trustees?
Variations in mission and goals among districts and from UUA ENDS dilutes our efforts
Is there a better use of the volunteer time currently spent on district governance?
Board meetings for 19 districts
Budget development, audits for 19 districts
Monitoring for 19 districts

Service Challenges
Co-employed staff report to both UUA supervisors and their district boards
Difference between UUA and district ENDS, goals, and mission can lead to strains for staff
Compensation, performance reviews vary by district
Geographic and numerical size of districts varies greatly
Endowments and other resources vary greatly
Pres. Peter Morales is accountable to UUA Trustees
Does not fully control district staff
Creates accountability problems

Benefits of Districts
Governing boards are closer to the member congregations
Staff have developed close relationships with congregational leaders
Programming can reflect local culture and needs
Easier to make connections among lay leaders at district meetings

Why the Urgency?
UUA membership has declined past several years
Relatively static since merger
Not keeping pace with US population growth
At risk of dwindling away
Growing numbers of nontraditional religious attitudes
Atheists, agnostics, “spiritual but not religious”
What is keeping these people from joining UU congregations?

Recent Actions-UUA Level
UUA Trustees found co-employment to be in violation of their Policy on equitable treatment of staff
UUA Director of Congregational Life has proposed ending co-employment and suspending financial treaties
Each district board is wrestling with these questions
UUA Board considering
Downsizing to smaller number of Trustees
Elected at-large by GA delegates

Recent Actions- District Presidents
At request of UUA President Peter Morales
Established Task Force to
Examine equity in district funding
Devise a simpler, fairer system
One possibility is to eliminate district dues in favor of “One Ask”
At request of UUA Board of Trustees
Selected a representative for a Task Force on linkage

Who Needs Districts?
If:
District Boards don’t set Policy
District Boards don’t employ staff
District Delegates don’t elect UUA Trustees
District dues are merged with UUA dues
Do we need Districts as autonomous governance entities?

Recent Actions-District Level
Shared staffing at Northeast Region and Central East Regional Group
“ Orlando Platform” in South Region
Suspend district ENDS and recognize UUA Board as sole Policy-making body
Transition from co-employment to covenantal relationship among district board, UUA, and staff
Vision of district boards as “council of elders” to promote lateral relationships and accountability

Mid-America Region
Each district board has adopted a “Statement of Regional Collaboration”
All three statements commit to
Collaboration among district boards to advance our liberal faith
Exploring future role for district or regional board
Adopt UUA ENDs as district ENDs

Variations in Statements
Central Midwest will end co-employment in favor of UUA assuming supervision
Heartland will explore ending co-employment
PSD will begin with the covenant, and then decide on whether to end co-employment

Key Issues for the PSD
PSD Board will be researching these questions:
Is there an appropriate governance role at the district level?
Should there be a regional governance board?
What about Camp UniStar?
Do we need to remain incorporated?

Next Steps
Mid-America District Presidents will
Continue to be in conversation with one another
Continue to participate in one another’s board meetings
Attend each other’s district meetings this month
Begin planning together for new roles for district and regional boards
Keep congregational leaders informed about developments
Mid-America district boards beginning conversation about all-boards meeting in the fall

Opportunities
Once-in-a-Lifetime change to change how our UUA serves its member congregations
Unleash volunteers now engaged in governance to
Assist staff in serving congregations
Mentor congregational leaders
Foster cooperation among congregations
Whatever else we can imagine
We need your help to create a new future

Your Turn!
What questions about the changes can we answer?
What concerns do you have about these changes?
What are your hopes for the future?

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2011 04 governance regionalism presentations - psd

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