Minutes of first AGM
From Schoolforge-UK
The first Annual General Meeting of the Schoolforge-UK Association took place at 5:30pm on Thursday 14th July 2005 at Bolton Technical Innovation Centre, Minerva Road, Bolton, BL4 0HS.
Present:
Richard Rothwell, Chairman
Jo Harris, Vice Chair
Ian Lynch, Treasurer
John Ingleby, Secretary
Together with 10 Members of the Association.
Apologies were received from Tony Whitmore, Chris Puttick, PR and KyleWilliamson, Deputy Secretary.
Agenda
- Chairman's Report
- Adoption of Constitution
- Election of Officers
- Appointment of Auditor
- Any Other Business
1. Chairmans's report
The Chairman described the Association's achievements to date, which are covered in our submission for the CNET Technology Award for Open Source Initiative of the Year.
The Secretary noted that 203 people are now registered with email addresses and full names on the Schoolforge-UK website, which is now receiving over 1,000 page views per day.
2. Adoption of Constitution'
The Association's Constitution has been agreed by the Officers, based on the constitution of the AFFS, and is proposed for adoption by the Annual General Meeting.
It was agreed that the following clauses should be amended:
"5.2 The President and the Honorary Officers of the Association shall hold office until the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting of the Association next after their election but shall be eligible for re-election provided they are willing to stand. Should an Annual General Meeting not reach quorum, existing officers will stay in position until a Special General Meeting with a valid quorum is held."
"9.1 Quorum. The quorum at a meeting of the Association shall be [twelve] of the total actual membership of the Association"
A question was asked about the procedure for dissolving the Association, and the relevant clause is as follows:
"15. DISSOLUTION
If the Committee by a simple majority decide at any time that on the ground of expense or otherwise it is necessary or advisable to dissolve the Association, it shall call a meeting of all members of the Association who have the power to vote, of which meeting not less than 21 days' notice (stating the terms of the Resolution to be proposed) shall be given. If such decision shall be confirmed by a two-thirds majority of those present and voting at such meeting the Committee shall have power to realise any assets held by or on behalf of the Association. Any assets remaining after the satisfaction of any proper debts and liabilities shall be given or transferred to such other charitable institution or institutions having objects similar to the objects of the Association as the Committee may determine."
With these clarifications, it was agreed that the Constitution be adopted by the Association.
3. Election of Officers
The present Officers are all willing to stand, and were duly elected for a further year.
The Secretary noted the importance of having Deputies for each post, and the post of Deputy Treasurer is currently open.
4. Appointment of Auditors
As the Association has no funds, and we do not propose to charge for membership, no Auditor was appointed.
5. Any Other Business
5.1 Location for FLOSSIE 2006 Members had travelled to FLOSSIE 2005 from all over the UK, including the South East and South West of England, as well as the Isle of Man and Ireland. The facilities at Bolton TIC are excellent, and the air conditioned conference room can accomodate at least 150 people.
It was therefore agreed that FLOSSIE 2006 will again be held during early summer at Bolton TIC.
5.2 Training for Decision Makers Some members plan to develop training courses aimed at introducting FLOSS to school decision makers (see FLOSS for Decision Makers). It was agreed that the course materials will be available to anyone wishing to present such courses for a small fee, to be decided by application to the Treasurer.
5.3 Specialist Schools package The Treasurer stressed the urgency and importance of completing the proposal to put to the Specialist Schools Trust in time for the next bidding round in October. Several ideas were discussed, and development of the proposal will continue to take place via the wiki.
The meeting closed at 6:25pm
