Major topics for the April Board meeting include the pre-GA meeting with District boards, a discussion with UUA Director of Communications John Hurley on board communication, the role of committees and task forces in future governance, the President's interpretation of the UUA "Ends", the approval of next year's budget, and learnings from conversations with congregations across the US. The April Board packet can be found here.
As part of our continued effort to be more transparent, and allow more access by more people, parts of the Saturday Board meeting, dealing with the Commission on Appraisal and Commission on Social Witness, will be online. The Board held a highly successful online board meeting in February, with 100% of 49 people who responded to the survey saying that based on that experience, they would do it again. Contact Nancy Lawrence if you would like to participate in the online portion.
A number of Board members have been contacted by advocates of the Commission on Appraisal, asking that we restore their budget, which was cut significantly. These are not isolated cuts, as the COA's budget is mostly travel. Travel is being severely cut throughout the UUA budget, as we are attempting to rely more on access through technology in these very difficult times. Are our congregations better served by face to face or electronic hearings? This also raises questions about role, as the President sets the budget within the constraints given by the Board, and about the ongoing role of many UUA Committees and Task Forces.
