BOARD ADMINISTRATIVE PROTOCOLS
2014-15
August 26, 2014
These protocols are intended to provide supplemental and clarifying guidance on key terminology, procedures, and administrative matters to assist the school board in carrying out its functions and fulfilling its duties, consistent with the school’s governing by-laws and policies. Unlike school by-laws, these protocols are for the board’s internal use, purposes, and convenience only, and therefore are subject to revision by a future board by a simple majority vote.
Board Administrative Protocols
Contents
1. Board Meetings .…...... 4
2. Other Available Vehicles …...... 6
3. Roles ...... 7
4. Election of Board Officers …...... 7
5. Ethical Obligations of Board Members ...... 8
6. Member Resignations/Removals …...... 9
7. Board-Community Relations …...... 9
8. Board Expenses and Insurance …...... 9
9. Availability of Relevant Resources …...... 10
BOARD ADMINISTRATIVE PROTOCOLS
2014-15
1. Board Meetings
1.1 Purpose
1.2 Overall Protocol
1.3 Types and Attendance
1.3.1 Regular Board Meetings
1.3.2 Executive Sessions
1.3.3 Board Retreats
1.4Scheduling
1.5Agendas
1.5.1 Routine Agendas
1.5.2 Outside Proposals
1.6 Minutes
1.6.1 Recording of Minutes
1.6.2 Content
1.6.3 Form and Validation
1.6.4 Filing and Storage
1.6.5 Suspension of Minutes
2. Other Available Board Vehicles
2.1 Specialized Briefings for Selected Board Members
2.2 Board Officer Meetings or Other Informal Groups
2.3 Board-Initiated Community Forums
2.4 Ad Hoc Planning Groups
3. Roles
`3.1 Board Members
3.1.1 Additional Roles and Functions of the Board Chair
3.2 Director, Principals, and Business Manager
3.3 Association Members
3.4 Decorum
4. Election of Board Officers
4.1 Timing and Eligibility
4.2 Electing the Board Chair
4.3 Electing Other Board Officers
4.4 Officer Replacements
5. Ethical Obligations of Board Members
5.1 Confidentiality
5.2Conflict of Interest
5.3 Concerns Arising out of Family Relationships
6. Member Resignations and Removals
6.1 Member Resignations
6.2 Member Removals
7. Board-Community Relations
7.1 Building Rapport with the School Community
7.2Dual Service on Board and PTA
8. Board Expenses and Insurance
9. Availability of Relevant Resource and Reference Materials
1. Board Meetings
1.1 Purpose
The essential purpose of board meetings is to make policy for the school and to ensure that existing school policy has been properly implemented. Such policy-related responsibility necessarily entails deliberation of proposals and the rendering of decisions. Because meetings tend to be long, with any number of issues and matters to consider, it is imperative that, to the maximum extent feasible, underlying research and analysis for all policy proposals and other board business be handled in advance and provided to Board meetings prior to its meetings.
1.2 Overall Protocol
The board chair will determine the type of procedural (or parliamentary) protocol to adopt at board meetings. Options include strict adherence to Robert’s Rules of Order, a less formal and more collegial approach, or another protocol chosen by the board chair. The overall procedural protocol followed must maintain basic orderliness, ensure fairness of process, and permit the accurate recording of motions introduced, votes taken, and decisions rendered by a majority. In addition, whatever approach is taken must be made clear to board members so that everyone understands and can properly follow the procedural rules.
1.3 Types and Attendance
There are three types of board meetings: (i) regular board meetings, (ii) executive sessions (sometimes alternatively referred to as “special meetings”), and (iii) board retreats.
1.3.1 Regular Board Meetings
Regular board meetings are held at least monthly over the course of the academic year at a predetermined time and place. These meetings are intended for all elected and ex officio board members and are open to any school Association member who wishes to attend. The school principals and business manager may be asked to attend. Such meetings also can be referred to as meetings of the “board at large” or “board plenary sessions”.
1.3.2 Executive Sessions
Board executive sessions are held on an ad hoc basis as needed, are scheduled at the request of the board chair alone or at the behest of three or more board members, and entail deliberation and decision-making regarding one or more sensitive personnel, budgetary, security, or disciplinary-related issues. These sessions may are usually intended for elected board members and the school director, however, ex-officio members are expected to attend unless otherwise indicated by the Chair. At the invitation of the board chair, non-board members may attend all or part of a session where their prospective input would be deemed helpful (e.g., an eyewitness to an incident under review). These “closed” sessions are to be treated as confidential, and therefore any official minutes (discussed below) or other notes taken at, any documents derived from, or any information exchanged during those meetings are not to be disclosed by any attendee unless and until proper authorization is given by the board chair (whether presiding or in the future).
1.33 Board Retreats
Board retreats are held once a year in August shortly after the start of the school year. The retreats are to be held over a two-day period and consist of two (or possibly three) components: (i) a social event (e.g., dinner) designed for elected members to become better acquainted with one another in order to enhance their deliberative and decision-making dynamic; (ii) a substantive day-long meeting for all board members that may include selected informational briefings, general goal-setting and Strategic Plan targets for the year, a discussion or exercise focused on delineating the roles and authorities of the board vis-a-vis the director, and any other pressing board business (e.g., hiring a new director); and, to the extent necessary, (3) an executive session for elected board members to deliberate and decide on any immediate sensitive matters (e.g., the contents of a director compensation package).
1.4 Scheduling
All regular board meetings will be scheduled by the Director and Chair before the beginning of the school year, published in the school calendar, andposted on the school’s website.
Any executive sessions will be scheduled on an ad hoc basis by the board chair in coordination with the other elected board members.
The Director will arrange for all board meeting venues, including the executive sessions, which should be held on school property whenever feasible.
1.5 Agendas
1.5.1 Routine Agendas
The Director in consultation with the Chairperson shall prepare an agenda for each regular meeting. Matters may be proposed for consideration by the Board, Board members, the Director, teachers, students, and parents/guardians of students enrolled in the School.
Proposed agenda items should be submitted to the Chair or the Director, with appropriate documentation, at least seven days prior to the meeting at which the item is to be discussed.
A packet of meeting materials shall be distributed, by the Director to the Board at least five days before regular meetings. This packet shall contain the agenda, minutes of the previous meeting and any reports or documentation available as background information for agenda items.
Notices of and agendas for meetings are posted on the school's website or emailed to Association members.
It is recognized that subjects appropriate for the agenda will sometimes develop before the meeting but after the delivery of the meeting materials. The agenda will permit introduction of such subjects, but in the absence of necessary background material, or for lack of time to study material introduced at the meeting, subjects so introduced will normally be referred to an appropriate committee or held over for consideration at the next meeting. The Chairperson can use his/her discretion in such matters.
1.5.2 Outside Proposals
The Board is amenable to hearing proposals by non-board members. Such proposals might include, but would not be limited to, outside activities that would employ school resources or facilities. In such instances, the individual must request permission to present his or her proposal before the board at least five (5) days in advance of a board meeting. That request, together with a detailed justification and estimated budget (if applicable) must be made in the first instance to the director, who would then evaluate whether the proposal has merit and is appropriate for board consideration. If so, the director is to check with the board chair at least 72 hours before the board meeting to obtain his or her concurrence as an agenda item.
Assuming the board chair agrees to hear the proposal, he or she will ask the director to circulate the concept materials to all board members at least 24 hours before the board meeting. The presenter(s) would be expected to outline the concept, provide documentary support or other justification, and be prepared to field questions. Presentations should be brief, accounting for the fact that elected board members would already be generally acquainted with the concept beforehand. The board cannot guarantee certain or prompt approve of any proposal as is; the board may require additional information, may impose conditions on its acceptance, or may require further time to deliberate.um Selection
1.6 Minutes
1.6.1 Recording of Minutes
Consistent with Article V.D of the school by-laws, the board secretary will keep the official minutes at all board meetings, whether regular meetings, executive sessions, or board retreats. Actual recording of the minutes will be done by a scribe designated by the Chair.
1.6.2 Content
Minutes must carefully document all motions introduced, all significant arguments made during deliberations, all voting tallies, and all final decisions rendered. The minutes should record whether a meeting quorum exists, all business undertaken at the meeting, and all unresolved issues (that would then carry over as old business at the next regular board meeting). The minutes should follow the same sequence in which the meeting occurred, be grammatically correct, and provide sufficient detail so that even those who were not in attendance can understand the gist of each matter. Results of votes will be recorded by number of yeas/nays/abstentions but who voted and how they voted will not be recorded. The minutes should include all board decisions made by email or otherwise between two board meetings. In other terms, decisions made outside the board meeting must be reflected in the following board meeting minutes.
1.6.3 Form and Validation
During a board meeting, minutes may be handwritten but will not be treated as final until they have been approved by a majority of elected board members. The majority should include at least the chair or the vice chair to validate their accuracy. Barring extenuating circumstances, the drafted minutes should be submitted to the Chair no more then five (5) working days following a board meeting to ensure that memories remain reasonably fresh. The Chair and Director finalizes the draft minutes and distribute the final approved version to the board at large. A copy is filed on the appropriate folder on the school file server and the final board-approved version is posted on the school website.
1.6.4 Filing and Storage
The board minutes are to be stored on the school file server and organized into yearly folders and to be monitored by the Secretary.
The board meeting package distributed prior to the board meeting should be stored on the school file server at the same location/folder as the minutes.
Executive session minutes must be stored by the board secretary on the board portable Hard Disk Drive HDD and kept by the board secretary as well as on a second portable HDD kept by the vice-chair. Those HDD will be passed to the following board secretary and vice-chair at the board meeting during the board transfer (approximately in May). Non-electronic information or data must be stored in a locked safe within the school premises with the key maintained by the secretary and the vice chair only.
1.6.5 Suspension of Minutes
In rare instances, at an elected board member’s request and with the concurrence of the board chair, minutes can be temporarily suspended during board deliberations in order to safeguard certain information or identities.
2. Other Available Board Vehicles
There are several vehicles, apart from the board meetings described above, of which the board, in whole or in part, may avail itself as the need arises to facilitate the receipt of information, to exchange views and ideas, to develop board plans, or to seek counsel.
2.1 Specialized Briefings for Selected Board Members
Certain individual board members may require specialized briefings from the director or others at the school on one issue or another. For example, the director should brief the board chair as early as possible during the school year on his or her specific responsibilities in the event of a school emergency. Likewise, first-time board members, at a minimum, will require a briefing on the school’s finances and budgetary process within the first several weeks of the school year. Any such requests for school administration briefings will be initiated by the board chair on his or her own behalf or on behalf of fellow board members.
2.2 Board Officer Meetings or Other Informal Groups
From time to time it may be prudent, as a matter of discretion or efficiency, for a subset of the board to confer on a particular issue that under the school’s by-laws does not require a board-wide decision. In such instances, the board chair could call, for example, the three other board officers together for their advice and counsel on a particular matter. Alternatively, the board chair may wish to confer informally with another subset of board members, based on their particular expertise or experience. In any event, no such partial board meeting or grouping could serve as a proxy for the board in exercising its policy-making authorities.
2.3 Board-Initiated Community Forums
Particularly on issues of broad community interest or concern, the board may elect to hold a community-wide forum to hear the views of non-board Association members on a specific issue under discussion by the board. There are some issues that warrant such broad-based input to ensure all perspectives are properly and fully represented before a decision is rendered, notwithstanding the effectiveness of board representatives. Such forums would provide just such an opportunity and would be the appropriate venue for such views to be raised rather than, say, in board committees or at board plenary sessions.
2.4 Ad Hoc Planning Groups
There may be policy planning the board wishes to undertake in a particular area of inquiry but only for the limited purpose of mapping out a procedural course of action rather than implementing any action itself. In such cases where no appropriate school committee exists to handle such planning, the board can constitute an Ad Hoc Planning Group, rather than form a new full-fledged committee. Such a planning group can consist of elected and ex officio board members. For example, in 2009, the board formed such a group to recommend a process for examining the optimal size and composition of the student body in light of the school’s mission, values, personnel and infrastructural resources, and educational considerations. Once the board adopts such a process or otherwise regards its service as completed, it will be disbanded.
3. Roles
3.1 Board Members
Only elected members are eligible to vote, can be counted toward a quorum, and are authorized to establish school policy and ensure such policy is followed.
Ex-officio board members may not vote, however, they are expected to contribute to discussions as appropriate.
In addition, all board representatives are encouraged to brief the board on issues of interest or concern
3.1.1 Additional Roles and Functions of the Board Chair
The board chair has a number of position-specific roles and functions set forth in the Policy Manual or in the protocols above. In addition to those, the chair is expected to assume additional responsibilities such as, where necessary, and as a last resort, serve as a discrete channel of communication with the director regarding complaints raised with individual board members about issues concerning the school administration.
3.2 Director, Principals, and Business Manager
These senior administrators can often provide an invaluable resource for decision-making on issues that come before the board, given their on-the-ground understanding of school operations and overall professional experience. Accordingly, the board generally welcomes their input into board deliberations.
3.3 School Association Members
Non-board members of the school Association who attend regular board meetings are expected not to occupy seats at the meeting table and, generally speaking, not to participate in deliberations.
Notwithstanding the above, a member of the school Association who believes he or she has an important perspective to share, however, may raise his or her hand and request to be recognized by the chair who, on an exceptional basis and entirely at his or her discretion, may choose to recognize the Association member. The chair also likewise may cut off such participation at any time at his or her discretion.
3.4 Decorum
Board meetings must observe rules of basic decorum or else they can become diverted from their original purpose, fail to achieve their objectives, and lose credibility as an institutional forum. To ensure proper meeting decorum, the board chair may ask any non-board member to leave the meeting room where that individual, in the chair’s discretion, is proving disruptive to the meeting and undermining the board’s purposes.
Although neither the board chair nor the board itself has the authority to require the immediate physical removal of a board member from a meeting, as such persons have been elected by the Association or, in the case of ex officios, selected by their respective constituencies to represent their positions, the board chair can adjourn the meeting at any time with a majority vote and reconvene at a later time, while seeking resolution or remedial action in the interim.
4. Election of Board Officers
4.1 Timing and Eligibility
As its first order of business at the initial board meeting (i.e., when the incoming board assumes control during the last meeting of the previous school year), the new board must choose its Chair, and may choose the remaining officers for the following school year. The officer positions are: chair, vice chair, treasurer, andsecretary, and PTA Liaison. As the board is newly constituted, no officer positions automatically carry over from the outgoing board. Only elected members may seek officer positions. There may be only one officer for each position.