Primero RE-2 School District Weston, Colorado

Primero RE-2 School District • Weston, Colorado

BBA: School Board Powers and Responsibilities

Powers and mandatory duties of the Board are defined in state statutes.

This Board considers that its most important functions fall into the following categories:

1. Legislative or policy-making. The Board is responsible for the development of policy and for the employment of a superintendent who will carry out its policy through the development and implementation of regulations.
2. Educational planning and appraisal. The Board is responsible for acquiring reliable information from responsible sources which will enable it to make the best possible decisions about the scope and nature of the educational program. The Board is responsible for requiring appraisal of the results of the educational program.
3. Staffing and appraisal. The Board is responsible for employing the staff necessary for carrying out the instructional program and establishing salaries and salary schedules and other terms and conditions of employment, as well as for personnel policies district-wide in application. The Board is responsible for appraising the effectiveness of its staff by providing for regular evaluation.
4. Financial resources. The Board is responsible for adopting a budget that will provide the financial basis for buildings, staff, materials and equipment which will enable the district to carry out the educational program. The Board is responsible for exercising control over the finances of the district to ensure proper use of, and accounting for, all district funds.
5. School facilities. The Board is responsible for determining school housing needs, for communicating these needs to the community, for purchasing sites, and for approving building plans that will support and enhance the educational program.
6. Communication with the public. The Board is responsible for providing adequate and direct means for keeping the local citizenry informed about the schools and for keeping itself informed about the wishes of the public.
7. Judicial. The Board is responsible for acting as a court of appeal for school staff members, students and the public when issues involve Board policies and their fair implementation.

The Board may exercise the above powers and duties only when convened in a legally constituted meeting.

All powers of the board lie in its action as a group. Individual board members exercise authority only as they vote at a legal meeting of the board and when the board has lawfully delegated authority to them.

Adopted: July 1979

Revised: November 1990, June 1993, October 1998; LEGAL REF: C.R.S 22-9-101 et seq.; C.R.S. 22-32-109; C.R.S. 22-32-110

Primero RE-2 School District • Weston, Colorado

BBAA: Board Member Authority

Because all powers of the Board lie in its action as a group, individual Board members exercise authority over district affairs only as votes are taken at a legal meeting of the Board.

In other instances, an individual Board member has the power only when the Board has lawfully delegated authority to him.

Adopted: November 12, 1990

Primero RE-2 School District • Weston, Colorado

Primero RE-2 School District • Weston, Colorado

BBBA: Board Member Qualifications

A candidate for the office of school director shall be:

• a resident of the school district and a registered voter, as shown on the books of the county clerk and recorder, for at least 12 consecutive months prior to the election;
• eighteen (18) years or older by the date of the election; and
• a citizen of the United States.

If the school district has a director district plan of representation or a combined director district and at-large plan of representation, the candidate must be a resident of the director district in which he or she is a candidate.

No candidate may run representing a political party.

In addition, any person who has been convicted of, pled guilty or nolo contendere to, or received a deferred judgment or sentence for commission of a sexual offense against a child is ineligible for election to a school district board of education. Similarly, any board member who is convicted of, pleads guilty or nolo contendere to, or receives a deferred judgment for a sexual offense against a child while serving on the board shall become ineligible to serve and a vacancy shall be created. Any person who is the subject of a pending charge of commission of a sexual offense against a child at the time of election is ineligible for election to a school district board of education.

It is important that the candidate be sincerely and honestly interested in serving the whole school district for the best interests of all children. Board members shall be nonpartisan in dealing with school matters. The Board does not wish to subordinate the education of children and youth to any partisan principle, group interest or personal ambition.

Adopted: October 1998

Revised: June 2001

LEGAL REFS: C.R.S. 22-31-107 (qualifications and nomination of candidates for school director); C.R.S. 1-2-101, 102 (qualifications and registration of elections); C.R.S. 1-4-803 (petitions for nominating school directors)

Primero RE-2 School District • Weston, Colorado

BBBB: Board Member Oath of Office

Each school board member, within ten (10) days following the survey of votes is required to take an oath of office that he will faithfully perform the duties of his office as required by law and will support the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of Colorado and laws made pursuant thereto.

Such oath shall be filed with the designated election official for the school district.

Adopted: October 1994

Revised: March 2007

LEGAL REF: C.R.S. 22-31-104, C.R.S. 22-31-125

Primero RE-2 School District • Weston, Colorado

BBBB-E: Board Member Oath of Office - Exhibit

State of Colorado

Las Animas County

Weston, Colorado

I, (appointee), do solemnly swear by the ever-living God, that I will support the Constitution of the United States and of the State of Colorado, and faithfully perform the duties of the office of school board director upon which I am about to enter.

Primero RE-2 School District • Weston, Colorado

BC: School Board Member Conduct

Public office is a trust created by the confidence which the public places in the integrity of its public officers. To preserve this confidence, it is the desire of the Board to operate under the highest ethical standards.

In carrying out his fiduciary duties, a Board member shall not:

1. disclose or use confidential information acquired in the course of official duties to further substantially personal financial interests;
2. accept a gift of substantial value or substantial economic benefit tantamount to a gift of substantial value which would tend to improperly influence a reasonable person in the position or which it is known or should be known is primarily for the purpose of a reward for official action taken;
3. engage in a substantial financial transaction for the member's private business purposes with a person whom the member supervises in the course of official duties;
4. perform an official act which directly and substantially confers an economic benefit on a business or other undertaking in which the member has a substantial financial interest or is engaged as a counsel, consultant, representative or agent.

The phrase "economic benefit tantamount to a gift of substantial value" includes a loan at a rate of interest substantially lower than the prevailing commercial rate and compensation received for private services rendered at a rate substantially exceeding the fair market value.

It is permissible for a Board member to receive:

1. campaign contributions and contributions in kind which are reported in accordance with state law;
2. an occasional non-pecuniary gift which is insignificant in value;
3. a non-pecuniary award publicly presented by a nonprofit organization in recognition of public service;
4. payment or reimbursement for actual and necessary expenditures for travel and subsistence for attendance at a convention or other meeting at which the member is scheduled to participate;
5. reimbursement for or acceptance of an opportunity to participate in a social function or meeting which is not extraordinary when viewed in light of the position;
6. items of perishable or nonpermanent value including but not limited to meals, lodging, travel expenses or tickets to sporting, recreational, educational or cultural events. Tickets to these events may have to be reported in accordance with the public official disclosure law;
7. payment for speeches, appearance or publications reported in accordance with the public official disclosure law.

It shall not be considered a breach of conduct for a Board member to:

1. use school facilities and equipment to communicate or correspond with constituents, family members or business associates;
2. accept or receive a benefit as an indirect consequence of transacting school district business.

Adopted: October 1998

LEGAL REF: C.R.S. 1-45-101 et seq. (Fair Campaign Practices Act); C.R.S. 24-6-203 (Public Official Disclosure Act); C.R.S. 24-18-104; C.R.S. 24-18-109

Primero RE-2 School District • Weston, Colorado

BC-R: School Board Member Financial Disclosure - Regulation

Board members are required by law to disclose certain items received in connection with serving on the Board. If Board members receive such items, they must file a report for the preceding calendar year with the county clerk and recorder on forms supplied by the secretary of state on or before January 15 of each year. The report must contain the name of the person from whom the reportable item was received, its value, and the date of receipt.

Items which must be reported include the following:

1. any money received including a loan, advance, or guarantee of a loan with a value of $25 or more;
2. any gift of any item of real or personal property other than money with a value of $50 or more;
3. any loan of real or personal property if the value of the loan is $50 or more. "Value of the loan" means the cost saved or avoided by the Board member by not borrowing, leasing or purchasing comparable property from a source available to the general public;
4. any payment for a speech, appearance or publication;
5. tickets to a sporting, recreational, educational, or cultural event with a value of $50 or more for a single event or a series of tickets to sporting events of a specific team during a season or to cultural events of a specific company with a total value of $100 or more;
6. payment or reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses for travel and lodging for attendance at a convention or other meeting at which the Board member or candidate for the Board is scheduled to participate unless the payment for such expenditures is made from public funds or from the funds of any association of public officials or public entities such as the Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB).

The financial disclosure need not include the following:

1. a contribution or contribution in kind that already has been reported pursuant to the Fair Campaign Practices Act;
2. any item of perishable or nonpermanent value including meals unless such item is required to be reported under #5 above;
3. a non-pecuniary award publicly presented by an organization in recognition of public service;
4. payment of or reimbursement for actual or necessary expenses for travel and lodging for attendance at a convention in which the individual is scheduled to participate if the payment or reimbursement is made from public funds or from the funds of any association of public officials or entities such as CASB;
5. payment of salary from employment including other government employment.

To avoid misunderstandings about the value of an item, the donor must furnish the Board member with a written statement of the dollar value of the item when it is given. Board members who do not receive any items which must be reported are not required to file a report.

LEGAL REF: C.R.S. 24-6-201, et seq.

Primero RE-2 School District • Weston, Colorado

BCA-E-1: Code of Ethics for School Board Members - Exhibit

As a member of my local board of education, I will strive to improve public education and to that end I will:

• attend all regularly scheduled board meetings insofar as possible and become informed concerning the issues to be considered at those meetings;
• recognize that I should endeavor to make policy decisions only after full discussion at publicly held board meetings;
• render all decisions based on the available facts and my independent judgment and refuse to surrender that judgment to individuals or special interest groups;
• encourage the free expression of opinion by all board members and seek systematic communications between the board and students, staff and all elements of the community;
• work with other board members to establish effective board policies and to delegate authority for the administration of the schools to the superintendent;
• communicate to other board members and the superintendent expressions of public reaction to board policies and school programs;
• inform myself about current educational issues by individual study and through participation in programs providing needed information, such as those sponsored by my state and national school boards associations;
• support the employment of those persons best qualified to serve as school staff and insist on a regular and impartial evaluation of all staff;
• avoid being placed in a position of conflict of interest and refrain from using my board position for personal or partisan gain;
• take no private action that will compromise the board or administration and respect the confidentiality of information that is privileged under applicable laws;
• remember always that my first and greatest concern must be the educational welfare of the students attending the public schools.

NOTE: This is the official code of ethics for board members of the National School Boards Association.

Primero RE-2 School District • Weston, Colorado

BCA-E-2: Board Member Code of Ethics - Exhibit

According to the Colorado Revised Statutes 24-18-105, the following ethical principles for school board members "are intended as guides to conduct and do not constitute violations as such of the public trust of office..."

1. A board member "should not acquire or hold an interest in any business or undertaking which that member has reason to believe may be directly and substantially affected to its economic benefit by official action to be taken by an agency over which the member has substantive authority."
2. A board member "should not, within six months following the termination of office..., obtain employment in which the member will take direct advantage, unavailable to others, of matters with which the member was directly involved during the term of [office]. Thse matters include rules, other than rules of general application, which the member actively helped to formulate and applications, claims or contested cases in the consideration of which the member was an active participant."
3. A board member "should not perform an official act directly and substantially affecting a business or other undertaking to its economic detriment when the member has a substantial financial interest in a competing firm or undertaking."

Primero RE-2 School District • Weston, Colorado

BCB: School Board Member Conflict of Interest (pg 1 of 2)

Public office is a trust created in the interest of the common good and for the benefit of the people. A conflict of interest can arise when a public officer is unable to devote himself with complete loyalty and singleness of purpose to the general public interest.

It is the intent of this policy to protect the public trust placed in directors of this school district. For purposes of this policy, the Board declares that a conflict of interest is a personal, pecuniary interest that is immediate, definite and demonstrable and which is or may be in conflict with the public interest.

A Board member who has a personal or private interest in a matter proposed or pending before the Board shall disclose such interest to the Board, shall not vote on it and shall not attempt to influence the decisions of other Board members in voting on the matter.

However, if a Board member has complied with statutory disclosure requirements by notifying the secretary of state of his interest in the matter, he may vote if his participation is necessary to obtain a quorum or otherwise enable the Board to act. If a member votes under these circumstances, he shall state for the record the fact and summary nature of the potential conflict of interest.

The written disclosure to the secretary of state shall list as applicable the amount of the member's financial interest, the purpose and duration of any services rendered, compensation received for services, or such other information necessary to describe the interest.

The Board shall not hire any of its members as an employee of the district, nor shall the Board approve any compensation for a member for services rendered to the district except for services rendered to the Board as provided by law. Members may be reimbursed for authorized expenses in carrying out Board duties as provided by law.

The Board shall not enter into any contract with any of its members or with a firm or corporation in which a member has a financial interest unless one or more of the following apply:

1. the contract is awarded to the lowest responsible bidder based on competitive bidding procedures;
2. the merchandise is sold to the highest bidder at a public auction;
3. the transaction involves investing or depositing money in a financial institution which is in the business of loaning money or receiving money;
4. if, because of geographic restrictions, the district could not otherwise reasonably afford the contract because the additional cost to the district would be greater than ten percent (10%) of the contract with the interested member or if the contract is for services that must be performed within a limited time period and no other contractor can perform that service;
5. if the contract is one in which the Board member has disclosed a personal interest and is one on which he has not voted as allowed in state law following disclosure to the secretary of state and to the Board.

Except as described above, a Board member shall not be a purchaser at any sale of state concerning issues relating to his conduct and potential conflict of interest.