March
10, 2008
Dear GASP members,
We have a
situation that needs your urgent attention. Some irregularities with
our elections process have occurred. First, ballots for all regions,
except region 2, stated the close of the election would be March 1.
Region 2 ballots stated March 10 would be the closing date.
Secondly, and most significant, ballots were mailed to the entire
GASP membership including student, affiliate, and retired members.
Professional members are the only members with voting privileges.
Since balloting is a confidential process, it is not possible to
ensure that only professional member ballots are counted.
Once these
irregularities were brought to my attention, I immediately consulted
with Michael Johnson (President Elect, Chair of Nominations and
Elections), Carol Kennon (Past President), and Steve Corkery
(Parliamentarian), on all options available. We all felt strongly,
in order to ensure the integrity of the election, that the process
will need to be redone. This was immediately brought to the
attention of the Board of Directors. They subsequently approved a
needed unbudgeted expense to cover this second balloting process.
Therefore, ballots
were mailed out on March 8, 2008 to all Professional Members of the
association. Ballots must be postmarked by April 10, 2008. GASP
by-laws stipulate that ballots must be mailed out in March and that
they will be received and tabulated prior to Spring Conference.
Measures have been
taken to keep this second election process completely separate such
as new ballots on colored paper, different font, stamped return
envelopes, different return address, etc. Ballots from the first
election will not be opened and will be shredded. As chair of
Nominations and Elections, Michael Johnson has called each nominee
to explain the change. Steve Corkery, as Parliamentarian, and I
assisted the Nominations and Elections Committee in the preparation
of ballots. Furthermore, I will be assisting the Nominations and
Elections Committee in the counting of ballots.
Please know the
GASP Board is dedicated to ensuring each professional member has the
opportunity to cast a vote. Please email or call me, if you are a
professional member and do not receive a ballot in the next week. I
will also be happy to answer any questions or comments you may have.
We apologize for any confusion these irregularities have caused.
Sincerely,
Tracy L. Boney,
PhD, NCSP
President
Georgia
Association of School Psychologists
