Thoughts on a Virtual National Council Session

The other day, GSUSA announced:

First, we are pleased that the National Board made a necessary decision about the National Council Session (NCS) and accompanying G.I.R.L event and that it made it now.  Many medical authorities and epidemiologists believe there’s a good chance this COVID virus will still be with us in Fall 2020, given that there is not yet a vaccine nor are there effective treatments.  With some of the earlier countries in the world-wide pandemic now getting another spike in case numbers, it is reasonable to expect that the same could happen in the United States as well (although we hope it does not!).  And, with all the work and economic disruptions this COVID disease has already caused in our country, it’s easy to predict that a significant number of people who expected to attend some or all of the NCS and Convention this fall would be changing their minds due to economic necessity and job responsibilities.  A decision made now by the National Board means that, no matter how disappointed our membership may be (and there is a LOT of disappointment!), there is time for individuals, councils, and GSUSA to adjust plans and to the extent possible, avoid making additional costly commitments.

Second, although we’re not quite sure where the National Board found the authority to make this decision, we suspect the National Board invoked the “emergency powers” clause in the GSUSA Constitution.  Article X/National Board of Directors/6. Emergency Powers states:

In the event of an emergency which makes it impossible for the National Council to meet, all the powers of the National Council, except the conducting of elections, shall, to the extent permissible by law, be automatically conferred on the National Board of Directors until such time as a session of the National Council can be held. Action taken by the National Board of Directors under these emergency powers shall be reported to the National Council at its next session. In such an emergency, the term of office of all members of the National Board of Directors and National Board Development Committee shall be extended until elections are held and successors installed at the next regular session of the National Council. Such an extended term shall be considered to be one term of office.

Surely this COVID crisis, recognized by the whole world as an emergency of an unprecedented nature, qualifies as a reason to invoke the emergency powers clause!  So, we believe that the National Board likely decided, on behalf of the NCS, to make a one-time exception to the usual constitutional requirement for the NCS to meet in person.  Although we are not lawyers, we think this is likely to be the legal basis for the decision to cancel the convention activities and decide to go with a virtual meeting of the NCS, since nonprofit law in the District of Columbia (GSUSA’s corporate home base) allows for electronic meetings.

It’s also very important to note that, under the emergency powers clause, the National Board could have decided, on behalf of the NCS, to adopt all the proposals on the agenda rather than hold a virtual NCS.  Given that several of the proposals on the agenda deal with the controversial issue of who has authority to set membership dues and that GSUSA lost a case in Alaska (where the highest state court decided that only the National Council had authority to set dues), using the emergency powers clause to adopt Proposal C, which would clearly give the National Board authority to set dues, must have been very, very tempting!  Instead, the National Board decided to have a virtual meeting of the NCS to debate and decide on this and other agenda items by using the democratic processes which have been at the heart of this organization for most of its existence.  Given the controversial nature of the dues proposals, we applaud the National Board for doing the right thing to decide to hold the NCS virtually.  Only the entire National Council should make far-reaching decisions of this nature, and such decisions should only be made through our democratic processes at the National Council level.  The board recognized this, saying in the FAQ about their decision:  “The board discussed various options and decided this was the best way to enable the business of Girl Scouting to continue in a timely manner and honor the significant business that was brought to the National Council, including four proposals initiated by councils and two that were co-created by councils and recommended to the board, as well as the business of electing the new board.”

All of us who hold Girl Scouting dear to our hearts know that the pandemic has created issues which will require us to re-think some of our ways of work and find ways to meet financial challenges our Movement will be facing.  Based on some of the statements in the announcement, it is also possible that some of the discussion parts of the agenda will change focus to address these new issues.  In its communications about their decisions, the National Board said its decision “allows us to honor the intent to bring the Movement together to address important business which will shape our future.”  In the FAQ, it also said, “Given how this pandemic has created disruption within our Movement, presenting both challenges and opportunities, gathering delegates virtually during the originally planned timeframe to discuss and debate topics about the future direction of Girl Scouts will be critical to creating a strong and vibrant future for our organization and the girls we serve.”  We look forward to those discussions, and we believe that, for the health of our Movement, the National Board should take steps to ensure that interested Girl Scouts who are not voting members can observe the virtual NCS, just as official visitors can observe the debates and discussion in person.  Options to consider include, but are not limited to, using YouTube Live, Facebook Live, or even a recording of the NCS sessions which could be made accessible to interested members.

Coincidentally, in preparation for this year’s NCS, two proposals for constitutional amendments to allow for electronic meetings for special sessions of the NCS were submitted to the National Board for consideration for the 2020 NCS agenda.  Neither one was selected to be on the agenda, despite one of the proposals getting significant support from other councils.  In the rationale released at the same time as the Early Alert, the National Board said it had determined that virtual meetings were not practical and were not possible to implement.  Now it seems that the COVID emergency made a virtual regular session a necessity! One factor working in favor of the board’s reversal of their views on the practicality of virtual meetings is that the COVID crisis is creating a lot of change and innovation in technical aspects of virtual meetings.  Girl Scouting has always been a learning organization, and it takes courage to reverse a decision made just a few months ago in light of changing circumstances.   We recommend that the National Board reconsider its actions related to constitutional amendments and support amendments that would allow for virtual meetings when emergencies dictate, rather than finding itself in some future situation where another virtual meeting is wise.

One thing is certain:  We as Girl Scouts are finding that we have to navigate a very different world than we lived in just a few short months ago.  We are confident that together, our organization can rise to these new challenges and face our future with courage and confidence.  Our girls depend on us to do just that.  Let’s use the virtual National Council Session as a way to demonstrate our character, a way to make the world a better place, and a way to demonstrate how we can and do advocate for girls of all ages.