GCDC Association

The general purpose of the NASA GCDC Association is to support the GCDC in all of its endeavors at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), located in Greenbelt, MD. The purpose of the Association is to:

Promote and enhance the education of GCDC students;
Promote open communication and cooperation between GCDC administration, GCDC parents, and the NASA GSFC Goddard Employees Welfare Association (GEWA);
Provide volunteer assistance to teachers and other staff members; and
Raise funds in support of the goals of the Association.

Furthermore, the purpose of the Association Board of Directors is to provide support and advice to the GEWA Operations Manager in overseeing the GCDC.

GCDC Association Structure

The business and affairs of the NASA GCDC Association shall be managed under the direction of the Board of Directors. Subject to Federal ethics laws and corresponding regulations, the Board of Directors consists of nine (9) voting members and the GCDC Director who serves as a non-voting ex-officio member. Four (4) of the voting members are NASA civil servants who are appointed by GSFC senior management. These four (4) positions consist of the President appointed by the GSFC Associate Director, the Treasurer appointed by the GSFC Chief Financial Officer, the Education Advisor appointed by GSFC Director of Education, and the Facilities Advisor/Facilities Operations Manager appointed by the GSFC Director of Management Operations. The remaining five (5) voting members on the Board of Directors are elected by the General Membership. These members are: Vice-President, Secretary, Registrar, and two (2) Members-at-Large. The five positions are elected from the General Membership and consist of civil servants serving in their personal capacity or active GSFC on-site contractors as defined by Article III of the GEWA Constitution.

Scope

The GCDC Board of Directors shall be responsible, among other duties, for the following:

Monitoring the proper running of GCDC on a monthly basis;
Ensure the proper administration of all GCDC policies, including financial, admissions, etc.
Preparing and recommending the proposed annual GCDC operating budget to the GEWA manager.
Reviewing the equipment needs of GCDC and recommending the purchase of new equipment within approved budgetary guidelines.
Supporting the GEWA Operations Manager when hiring a new Director is required.
Evaluating the performance of the GCDC Director and making a recommendation of the performance to the GEWA manager.

The Association shall not manage the operations of the GCDC or its staff.

GCDC Association's Board of Directors

General Powers: The property, business and affairs of the Association shall be regulated and managed by the Board of Directors, except as otherwise expressly provided by law, the Articles of Incorporation or these Bylaws, all the powers of the Association shall be vested in the Board of Directors.

Duties of the President (Appointed Civil Servant): The President shall be the chair of the GCDC Board of Directors and shall have the following duties:

Preside at all meetings of the Board of Directors or appoint a chair in the event of his/her absence at a meeting;
Serve as the primary point of contact between the GEWA Operations Manager and the Board of Directors;
Responsible for calling all meetings of the Board of Directors, the General Membership meeting, and ad-hoc meetings as necessary;
All duties incident to the office of President and such other duties as from time to time may be assigned to him/her by the Board of Directors, the GEWA Operations Manager, or the office of the GSFC Director.

Duties of the Facilities Representative (Appointed Civil Servant): The Facilities Representative shall have the following duties:

Serve as the GCDC Building 90 Facilities Operations Manager (FOM) with all the responsibilities inherent in that position as defined by GSFC policy;
Serve as the liaison to GSFC facilities management;
Ensure agreements between GCDC/GSFC/GEWA are upheld by all parties.

Duties of the Education Representative (Appointed Civil Servant): The Education Representative shall have the following duties:

Serve as the liaison to the GSFC Office of Education;
Seek opportunities to enhance the GCDC curriculum with GSFC resources;
Provide outreach to other NASA early childhood development centers;
Support the Director with GCDC partnerships with institutions of higher learning;
Support the Director with GCDC outreach to the GSFC community.

Duties of the Treasurer (Appointed Civil Servant): The Treasurer shall have charge of and be responsible for all funds, securities, receipts and disbursements of the Association, and shall be responsible for deposit of all monies, securities and other valuable effects in the name and to the credit of the Association in such banks and depositories as shall be designated by the Board of Directors. He/She shall be responsible for:

Maintaining adequate financial accounts and records in accordance with generally accepted accounting practices;
Preparation and filing of all tax returns and audit/financial statements of the Association required by law;
Disbursing the funds of the Association as may be ordered by the Board of Directors, taking proper vouchers for such disbursement;
Reviewing the financial affairs of GCDC and reporting status to the GEWA Operations Manager;
Acting as the liaison between GCDC and the GSFC Chief Financial Office;
Coordinating the development of the GCDC Annual budget and review of the operating budgets; and
The performance of all duties incident to the office of Treasurer and such other duties as may from time to time be assigned to him/her by the Board of Directors or the President.

He/She shall render to the Board of Directors and to the members at the annual meeting of members an account of all his/her transactions as Treasurer and of the financial condition of the Association.

Duties of the Vice President (elected): The Vice President shall have such powers and duties as may from time to time be assigned to him/her by the President or the Board of Directors. The Vice President shall also preside over the Parent Committee.

Duties of the Secretary (elected): The Secretary shall act as secretary of all meetings of the Board of Directors, subcommittees and of the members as requested. He/She shall keep and preserve the record of all votes and the minutes of all such meetings in permanent books and provide content to the GCDC webmaster. This content as a minimum must edit out sensitive information before the Minutes are posted to the website. He/She shall have responsibility for the Articles of Incorporation, these Bylaws, and the books, records, and papers of the Association relating to its organization and management as an Association. He/She shall give or cause to be given notice of all meetings of the members and all meetings of the Board of Directors, and he/she shall see that all other notices required to be given by the Association are duly given and served, and shall in general perform all the duties incident to the office of Secretary and such other duties as may from time to time be assigned to him/her by the Board of Directors or the President.

In the absence of the Secretary, the minutes of all meetings of the Board of Directors and of the members shall be recorded by such person as designated by the President or the Board of Directors.

Duties of the Registrar (elected): The Registrar shall be responsible for the membership list and the GCDC waiting list according to the priorities as established in section 1.1 of these Bylaws. He/She shall send and process membership renewal notices for each school year. The Registrar is responsible for providing a list of members who are eligible to vote and certifying a quorum at meetings of the membership.

Duties of the Members-at-Large (elected): The Members-at-Large are required to attend meetings, interviews, and perform “other duties as assigned.” They have no signature authority. Member-at-large responsibilities may include:

Assisting with the Public Relations needs of the GCDC such as advertising when there are enrollment vacancies
Assisting with employee relations such as staff survey
Coordinating fundraising activities such as book fair
Property custodian for government tagged item
Providing or coordinating computer support

Election and Removal of Voting Officers; Quorum.

Elected Members: The following officers shall be elected from the General Membership at each annual meeting of members to succeed those voting Officers whose terms are expiring and to fill any vacancies then existing: Vice President, Secretary, Registrar, Member-At-Large 1 and Member-At-Large 2.

The terms of elected voting Officers are as follows: (1) the elected voting Officers holding the offices of Vice-President and Registrar shall be elected in odd-numbered calendar years and shall serve two-year terms as Officers and in those offices; (2) the elected voting Officers holding the office of Secretary shall be elected in even-numbered calendar years and shall serve a two-year term as Officer and in that office; and (3) all other elected voting Officers (also known as the Members-at-Large) shall be elected each calendar year.

Appointed Members: The following officers shall be appointed by Goddard Space Flight Center management and need not be from the General Membership: President, Treasurer, Education Advisor and Facilities Advisor/FOM.

Appointed Officers serve three-year terms. The initial appointment of President shall be interim for two years followed by appointments for three-year terms. The initial appointment of the Education Representative shall be one-year followed by appointments for three-year terms. The initial appointment for the Facilities Representative and Treasurer shall be three years and continue with appointments for three-year terms.

Terms: All voting Officers shall assume their positions on the Board of Directors on September 1 of the calendar year in which they are elected or appointed and shall serve until their successors are elected or appointed and qualify. The first Board of Directors shall serve until their successors are elected or appointed and qualify. All voting Officers shall receive annual Board training.