What are some of the current issues facing the District Presidents Association (DPA)?

The District Presidents Association (DPA) changes every time a new district president is elected. Typically there is 1/3 turnover in DPs at every General Assembly (GA) meeting. Despite this turnover, the DPA has committed to carrying through on several key initiatives. Ongoing projects include the following:

• The DPA supported changes to the health benefits funding for the district co-employed staff.
   
• Revising the formulae for funding of district services. Legacy Financial Agreements between the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and Districts are neither fair nor understood. A task force including DPA leadership has been working on this issue for since 2003.
   
• Working to develop a clear understanding of the co-employment of district field staff including such issues as evaluation, goal setting, and incentive compensation.
   
• Creating an authentic relationship with the UUA. In the past, the DPA was perceived by many to be primarily a “support group” often spending meeting time complaining about “the UUA.” Since 2001 the DPA changed its focus to being more of a partnering organization with UUA board and staff. This has resulted in having a DPA representative participate in study and task force groups, being invited to sit in on interviews for key staff positions, and being considered a very important voice in our Association of Congregations.
   
• A DPA elected representative is the liaison to the Annual Program Fund (APF) Continental Committee.