Realignment History

Who decided that we were going to merge councils?
Who drew the map?

Who decided we were going to merge councils?

The Board of Directors of Girl Scouts of the USA has the sole authority to determine council jurisdictions and issue charters.

	Discussion and research regarding the status of Girl Scouting and the need for change officially began in 2004 following the hiring of our new National CEO Kathy Cloninger, but it has been a topic of informal discussion in the organization for several years.
	The alert that a national transformation was on the way was given to us in early 2005 at a meeting with all council CEOs. Introductory information was released about a new Core Business Strategy which included all facets of the Girl Scout organization.
	In July 2005, councils were alerted that jurisdictional changes would be made. Councils were also asked at that time not to begin major capital campaigns or significant development projects.
	In March 2006, the new jurisdiction map was released to councils and discussion among council leadership began to agree upon new council jurisdictions and to set dates when official merger discussions would begin.
	In August 2006, the National Board of Directors approved the new national council map which reduced the number of councils in the United States from 310 to 109 and approved the cycle of start-up dates for council merger discussions.

Who drew the map?

Girl Scouts of the USA hired two independent demographers who studied demographic trends across the United States and developed recommendations for new council borders. Some of the criteria included:

	must have a minimum available girl population of at least 100,000
	must have a minimum of $15 billion in family income
	must have at least one major city of 50,000 or more
	transportation and economic development patterns

For several years, there have been nine councils in Missouri. Now there will be three. Midland Empire, MidContinent, and Kaw Valley councils have merged to form Girl Scouts of NW Missouri and NE Kansas. Girl Scouts of Greater St. Louis and Becky Thatcher councils have combined to form Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri. In fall 2008, the remaining five councils will combine to form a new council serving girls in central and southern Missouri.

Back to Top

[ Home ] [ Up ]