Virginia Professional Educators

“Does the organization have members or stockholders? Yes. VPE members include any K-12 educator - classroom teacher, administrator, or support staff. In addition, VPE accepts members from both community colleges and universities, as well. Other membership classes include student teachers, retired educators, and associate members.”

“Does the Organization have members, stockholders, or other persons who may elect one or more members of the governing body? Yes. Election of Local Chapter Presidents: Local chapter presidents are elected and confirmed by the VPE members in those school divisions where VPE has local chapters. These individuals are eligible for election after meeting basic eligibility and experience criteria to serve as a local officer. Election of VPE Board members: The members of the VPE governing body - our Board of Directors - are then selected from this pool of local VPE chapter presidents, who have first been elected as local officers by their peer educators, as described above. Candidates for the governing body may be suggested by general members or by the Board of Directors, and are then reviewed and vetted by the nominating committee. The VPE Board of Directors must then vote for any additions or replacements to the governing body. The VPE Board may choose to elect one or two "at-large" directors who are not current or former presidents of a local chapter, but the majority of VPE Board members must always be selected from local leadership. (Currently, 4 out of the 5 VPE Board members with full voting rights have been selected as described above, from the pool of local presidents.) All members of the VPE Board of Directors must first be members of the association, of course.”

“Process Used by Organization to Review the 990 The 990 should be reviewed by each staff member who holds responsibility for a program area or service, such as Finance/Accounting, Membership, and/or Grant Programs. A draft copy of the organization's 990 should then be reviewed by the State Director and/or Board Members. Any comments, questions, or corrections can then be addressed and incorporated.”

“Monitoring Compliance with the Conflict of Interest Policy: The organization's officers and board members are subject to a conflict of interest policy. If any officer or board member has a material interest or financial conflict, they are removed from the discussion and the voting that takes place with regard to that conflicted issue or interest. If questions arise as to whether or not a conflict exists on a particular issue, that decision will be made by a vote of the other Board members.”

“Part VI line 15a - Process Used to Determine Compensation - CEO, Executive Director, Senior Manager and Part VI line 15b - Process Used to Determine Compensation for other Officers or Key Employees Virginia Professional Educators serves and represents educators across the Commonwealth of Virginia. We were created as a non-profit organization by educators, for educators. Because of that commitment, we made the decision that our employee's salaries should be comparable to the established salary scales of the Teachers and Administrators whom we serve. VPE endeavors to maintain this commitment and follow this guideline even for the Executive Director's salary and other Senior Managers/Directors. Therefore, the salary scale for all full-time officers, senior managers, and key employees (including the Executive Director's) should be comparable (and in many cases identical) to the salary scale of the local school division/region in which that employee primarily serves and works. Each employee's position on the salary scale and the amount of their subsequent step increases are determined similarly to the teachers and administrators in the local school division(s) which they serve. This is usually dictated by the employee's number of years of service/experience in education and the highest academic degree obtained by that individual. (For example, a VPE employee with 30 years of experience in education and a master's degree would qualify for a "Masters STEP 30" on the salary scale in most school divisions.) One common adjustment or modification to this formula is both allowable and recommended, since most classroom teachers work on a 10-month schedule (with two months off for the summer), yet most VPE employees work on a full 12-month schedule. Therefore, a full-time VPE employee may have their "teacher salary scale" of the local school division pro-rated as follows: A VPE employee working on an 11-month or a 12-month contract may have their "10-month teacher base salary" pro-rated up to their actual number of working days, based on the average daily rate of a 10-month teacher in the local school system to which they are primarily assigned. These salary scales are confirmed annually with the finance directors or the payroll offices in each local school system that is used as a baseline for comparison. Furthermore, in order to obtain comparisons with salaries and responsibilities for similar positions outside of education, VPE leadership salaries are compared annually to the salaries of directors and CEO's leading similar-sized associations in Virginia. This data is usually obtained from the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and from the Guidestar annual Non-Profit Compensation Report. Finally, VPE salaries for Directors and Managers will also be compared with the salaries for similar leadership positions within public education. These comparable positions include High School principals and Central Office directors. Upon request of the Board, this salary data may be submitted to an outside party for independent review.”

“How does the Organization make its governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements available to the public? Some of the Organization's governing documents are publicly available on the Virginia State Corporation Commission's website - including the Annual Report and the current list of Board members. Some financial statements, such as the IRS form 990, are available to the public through Guidestar's website: Guidestar.org All of the Organization's governing documents - including the Articles of Incorporation, By-Laws, Conflict of Interest Policy, and publicly-filed financial statements like the IRS Form 990 - are also available upon request.”

“Other changes in net assets or fund balances includes an end-of-year reconciliation for encumbered expenses in the amount of ($1,979) which had not yet been cleared by the bank at the end of the 2020 fiscal year.”