KABT Board Business

Randy has been getting ready for the winter board meeting. He asked me about a spreadsheet of potential KABT biology teachers based on the KSBOE’s data. I sent him one for 2006 and I’ve added the numbers of potential high school members (by region) to this map. Remember, this is not current membership just potential high school membership. It does not include community colleges, 4 year colleges or retired folks. Note that the data from the KSBOE is always somewhat suspect but I think the numbers give us something to work on…

Randy and Todd will be presenting a powerpoint demonstration to introduce the new KABT BioBlog. The newly renovated website is much more interactive for board members, KABT members and biology teachers in general. The powerpoint is available here: Bioblog PPT

I am calling on board members to assist me with the details of the fall meeting. Brad has reserved the meeting place at Kill Creek, Jo. Co. Parks.  http://www.jcprd.com/parks_facilities/kill_creek.cfm   I was looking into presentations in the morning, lunch provided with advanced registration, and outdoor instruction in fly-fishing , bird watching, hiking in the afternoon. What ideas do you have? Paula will send out a post card within the week.  So please give me some feed back.

Concerning our active members:

71% of them joined less than 5 years ago.  13% joined between 5 and 10 years ago.  6% joined  between 10 and 20 years ago and 10% joined more than 20 years ago.

KABT WINTER BOARD MINUTES
Camp Williamson January 20, 2007

Randy Dix called the Executive Council of KABT to order at 9:25 AM. Those in attendance were: Randy Dix, Todd Carter, Pat Lamb, J.R. Schrock, Bill Welsh, Brad Williamson and Pat Wakeman. Paula Donham arrived at 10:34.

The agenda was approved as well as the 2006 minutes.

STANDING REPORTS
A. President Report—Randy D. would like to see a greater effort to communicate within the organization. E-mails have been a problem in the past, with invalid e-mails or incomplete lists. Now with valid e-mails communication is important.
B. Treasurer’s Report—Randy D. handed out Paula’s report. After discussion Todd C. moved to accept with a second by Bill W. Passed. Paula reviewed the report and shared concerns that the paid members dropped from 95 to 62. Also, the OBTA amount was $500 not $750 which affected the recipient’s budgeting. The increased balance was due to no newsletter or journal expenses.
C. Newsletter Report—Pat W. reported that two newsletters were produced in 2006 and that the next will be produced early in 2007. Mailing cost was about $75 per issue. USD #464 will copy the newsletter and he will supply the paper. Articles, labs and reports are needed to complete each newsletter.
D. OBTA—Pat L. reported that awards to OBTA recipient cost about $200 to produce but he felt that they deserve a quality product. He was thankful for Glencoe/McGraw-Hill contribution of $500 to support the recipient to attend the NABT Convention. This amount was down from $750 the previous year. He needed to announce for 2007 nominees via the newsletter or journal. The process takes a lot of time and it’s hard to turn down good candidates if they weren’t chosen.

OLD BUSINESS
A. Review of Calendar Dates-
2007 Field Trip—June 2 It was suggested to plan a trip to the Roaring River State Park in Missouri. Pat W. made the motion and Paula D. second. Motion passed. Randy D. appointed Pat L. to contact Josie S. to help organize the trip.
2007 Fall Conference—September 22 Brad W. suggested that we coordinate with Susie Helwig and organize a regional NABT meeting. Randy D. suggested a Kansas City area share-a-thon. Kill Creek Park was mentioned as a meeting site with its outdoor shelter and meeting rooms. Brad W. is the contact man and Lisa V. will be in charge of organizing.
2008 Spring Field Trip—May 31 After a short discussion the Ash Falls trip was brought back by popular demand. Pat W. made the motion to return to Ash Falls; Paula D. seconded the motion. Motion passed.
2008 Fall Conference—September ?. Preliminary plans will be to coordinate the fall meeting with the Land Institute’s fall meeting. A specific date will be determined later.
B. By Laws Revisions—
The by laws were voted on and passed at the fall 2006 meeting.
C. Regional Map and Representation—
Randy D. proposed that a committee be formed to determine if realignment of the states KABT regions is needed. Todd C., Dettra C. and J.R. Schrock were appointed.

NEW BUSINESS
A. Membership– Randy D. stated the need to continue to provide services to the members and improve those services where possible. Provide useful fall conferences as well as interesting field trips.
Web site updated and concerns were discussed. No action taken.
B. 2007 Budget—A discussion of the budget, primarily concerning OBTA funds was held. The funds are unknown until outside contributions are received. Pat L. stated that he was not always sure when or how much money is contributed. Todd C. moved to accept the budget; seconded by Pat L. Passed unanimously.
C. KATS and KABT Presentations—Randy D. needed presenters with their proposals to contact him asap so that he could contact KATS. He also wanted to know who will be going to NABT in Atlanta with presentations.
Adjournment: Motion by Pat L., Second by Bill W. Passes

Board members:

Today, I turned on the web stats feature available from our hosting service. This service will allow us to get an idea of how often our site is accessed. I’ll periodically post the data for board members perusal, here.

BW

We’ve been taking a look at NABT membership data.  There has been a generalized statement made about the graying of NABT (and KABT) membership.  What we are finding out is that conventional wisdom is incorrect.  The largest membership group in NABT has between 1 and 5 years teaching experience.  Granted, some of these teachers may be gray.  The point is that there is a large gap in members with between 6 and 20 years experience.   In NABT (and likely, KABT) those with more than 20 years experience are doing the lions share of the organizational work and are the smallest subset of the organizational membership.  Questions arise about both marketing, services, and publications/resources.  Are we meeting the needs of that 1-5 year experience group?

This is where we will carry on various aspects of Board business. KABT members will be able to view the work but posting and posting comments will be restricted to board members. We can change that of course. I expect that early versions of minutes for approval, board agendas, etc. can fit in here.

BW