Delegates

If you’re serving as your board’s delegate at the WSSDA General Assembly, use the information below to prepare and participate as effectively as possible.

Delegates need to use Zoom to speak and a web browser to request to speak, vote, or other actions.

Technical Support and Tips

Questions or help requests should go to assembly@wssda.org. If during the assembly, include your phone number so staff can resolve your question promptly.

Prior to the event, make sure you have the latest version of Zoom and a web browser installed. General recommendations include:

  1. Use a laptop or desktop. A larger screen makes it much easier to manage
    the Zoom window (for viewing and addressing the assembly) and the
    browser window (for voting, requesting to speak, and other actions).
  2. Use the Google Chrome web browser, if possible. In testing, the voting
    platform seemed to perform best in Chrome or Safari. Microsoft Edge did
    not work as smoothly.
  3. In the voting platform, selecting an action twice, like “Request to Speak,”
    deactivates your first request. Think of it like a power switch. Click once to
    switch on and click again to switch off.

Login Links

Every school board chair/president and legislative representative on record with WSSDA will receive an email with two links for their board’s participation in the assembly. The links will automatically log the delegate into the assembly:

  1. a unique delegate Zoom link for addressing the assembly*
  2. a unique voting platform link

The links are unique for each board, but they can be shared within a board so different members can take turns acting as the delegate.

*For delegates at a meetup, only the host district will receive the unique Zoom link.

Sharing the Login Links

Before giving the delegate role to another member of your board, do this:

  1. Leave/close the Zoom webinar/app. If you don’t, the next person won’t be
    able to sign in as a delegate.
  2. Close your browser window so that you don’t stay in the voting platform.

In Zoom Webinar

After submitting your request to speak in the voting platform, Zoom is where you’ll address the assembly when your turn comes. Delegates must be in the Zoom webinar to speak. Also, viewing the broadcast any other way will have a time delay that could impeded voting. You must use the Zoom link provided to your board chair and legislative representative.

  1. When you request to speak, you’ll be promoted to “panelist.” (This may cause the Zoom window to momentarily vanish and reappear.)
  2. Once promoted, you can unmute and turn on your camera.
  3. When finished speaking, moderators will demote you back to “viewer.”

In Your Web Browser

Voting will happen in the web-based platform, called VVoter. Also, here are the actions you can select after clicking the Speak button:

  • Speak Pro
  • Move to Call the Question
  • Speak Con
  • Other Motion
  • Point of Order
  • Move to Withdraw my Motion
  • Move to Reconsider
  • 2nd Current Motion

Assembly Meetups

Some boards may elect to host an assembly “meetup.” This is when a board hosts other boards in the same room or onsite with them to participate in General Assembly together. Meetups have significant implications for participating boards and for WSSDA’s support of the technology that powers the virtual assembly.

Important Considerations

Before choosing to host or attend a meetup, boards should give serious attention to these considerations:

  1. August 30 is the deadline for boards to ask WSSDA to accommodate a meetup OR to change your mind about hosting or attending a meetup. This is because delegate access settings must be configured in advance by our staff.
  2. If your board’s delegate must leave the meetup, the ability to address the assembly cannot be transferred to a delegate at another location. Only the ability to vote can be transferred to a delegate not at the meetup. This is to avoid logistical operations that would halt assembly proceedings. Therefore, your board may want to ensure it has someone able to attend the meetup throughout the assembly.
  3. Only one computer at the meetup can be used to address the assembly via Zoom. This is necessary to give multiple districts at one location the ability to speak without causing audio feedback that would halt the proceedings. In contrast, each delegate at a meetup can use their own device to vote because it occurs on a separate platform.