Board Policy 1510

^{REGULAR BOARD MEETINGS AND RULES (QUORUM AND PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE)}

All Board meetings will be open to the public except those portions that are executive sessions. The Board will make reasonable efforts to ensure that all meetings are held in an appropriate facility that can adequately accommodate all members of the public who wish to attend. The Superintendent will attend all Board meetings. Members of the Superintendent's staff may attend Board meetings at the Superintendent's discretion. The Board may also request that additional people attend.

Regular Board meetings will take place on the day and time designated by the Board at the Annual Organizational Meeting, except as modified. Any Board meeting may be adjourned to a future date and time if approved by a majority of the Board present. Further, if a meeting date falls on a legal holiday, interferes with other area meetings, or Board member attendance will be less than a quorum, the Board will select a date for a postponed meeting at the prior regular meeting, and it will direct the Clerk to notify all members. The District Clerk will provide the Board members written notice of the time of and agenda for each regular meeting before the meeting.

When the Board schedules a meeting on at least one week's notice, it will give or electronically transmit public notice of the time and place to the news media and conspicuously post the notice in one or more designated public locations at least 72 hours before the meeting. Notice of other meetings will be given or electronically transmitted, to the extent practicable, to the news media and conspicuously posted at one or more designated public locations at a reasonable time before the meeting. When the District has the ability to do so, it will conspicuously post the meeting notices on its website.

The Superintendent will prepare the meeting agenda during the week before the meeting and review it with the Board President. The agenda will then be distributed to Board members no later than the Friday before the regular meeting. The President or other Board members will submit requests to place matters on the agenda to the Superintendent. Whenever individuals or groups wish to bring a matter to the attention of the Board, they will submit a written request to the Superintendent.

District records available to the public under the Freedom of Information Law, as well as any proposed rule, regulation, policy, or amendment scheduled to be discussed at a Board meeting will be made available upon request, to the extent practicable, before the meeting. Copies of these records may be made available for a reasonable fee. These records will be posted on the website to the extent practicable before the meeting.

If videoconferencing or online technology is used to conduct a meeting, the public notice for the meeting will inform the public, identify all the locations for the meeting, and state that the public has the right to attend at any of the locations. If a meeting is streamed live over the internet, the public notice will inform the public of the website's internet address. Voting may be done through videoconferencing, provided that members can be both seen and heard voting and participating from remote locations.

Recording Meetings

 The Board allows public meetings to be photographed, broadcast, webcast, or otherwise recorded by means of audio or video, in a non-disruptive manner, and it supports the use of this technology to facilitate the open communication of public business.

Public Expression

 The Board encourages public expression at Board meetings regarding matters on the agenda. The Board will designate a specific portion at the beginning of its meeting agenda for public speakers’ participation for a period of up to 30 minutes [(a) on agenda items only and an additional period of up to 30 minutes shall be provided for public speakers’ participation at the end of action upon agenda items for matters not on the agenda, but related to the affairs of the District.   Each speaker shall be allowed up to three (3) minutes speaking time during the course of a public participation session.  In the interest of protecting privacy rights, no student’s name shall be mentioned during the public speaking session and no employee’s name shall be mentioned, regardless of whether the intended comment is one of criticism or praise.

In the event that there is time remaining during the speaker’s participation portion of the meeting allocated for speaking on agenda items, by a consensus of the Board, speaking on non-agenda items may be moved up to begin during the speaker’s participation portion of the meeting allocated for speaking on agenda items.

Speaker’s must sign on to a speaker’s list for agenda items or non-agenda items within the ten (10) minute period prior to the announced time of the meeting at the meeting site, in order to be eligible to speak at the meeting.  Speakers shall be called in order to address the board during the public speaking sessions. All speakers shall direct their remarks to the Board of Education from the speaking location designated by the presiding board officer. If the speaker has a petition or handout, the same shall be presented only to the District Clerk or the clerk pro tem of the meeting for distribution to the members of the board and Superintendent of Schools.

A speaker whose conduct disrupts the meeting such that his or her comments may not be heard by the board may lead to a brief recess during a public speaking session for the time necessary to restore order to the meeting. A public speaker whose conduct is so disruptive of the meeting that it causes the speaker’s inability to continue with his or her speech during the allotted time will be asked to leave the speakers’ location and shall forfeit that person’s right to speak at the meeting.  If a speaker through his or her words or gestures causes such a degree of disruption among the audience of such nature that the business of the Board may no longer be conducted in a safe and/or timely manner, the meeting may be adjourned to another date and time.

A speaker who attempts to address a non-agenda item during the public participation session regarding agenda items shall not be allowed to speak about such other matter.  If a speaker attempts to address an agenda item during the public participation session regarding non-agenda items shall not be allowed to speak about a matter that was on the agenda at the same meeting.

In the event that a board meeting is held virtually, in accordance with the provisions of state law, the board may dispense with public speaking on agenda and non-agenda items, in which event public comments should be set forth in writing and submitted to the District Clerk. 

Quorum

 The quorum for any Board meeting is five members. No formal action will be taken at any meeting where a quorum is not present. Unless otherwise required by law, official action will only be taken by approval of the majority of the full Board.

 Use of Parliamentary Procedure

 The Board will use pertinent portions of the latest edition of Robert's Rules of Order to conduct its business.

Adopted:  5/9/1995
Revised:   4/28/15; 3/26/19
Revised: 9/28/21