Lewisburg Area School District Policies	Printable version
006 Meetings 006. MEETINGS Section 1: Parliamentary Authority Parliamentary Procedure At A Glance, new edition, by 0. Garfield Jones shall be used as the official parliamentary rules of order and shall govern the Board in its deliberations in all cases in which it is not inconsistent with statutes, State Board of Education regulations, or the following procedures: a. The rules of order may be suspended by the President at any time during open public Board meeting or by an affirmative vote of six (6) Directors. An affirmative vote of six (6) Directors is required to override the President's authority to suspend the rules. b. The primary vehicle of action is through a main motion which is supported by a second. c. The President or any Director may ask that the mover write the motion before action is taken on it. The President or his/her designee may assist the mover with wording for clarity. d. Each main motion shall deal with only one (1) issue or idea, be stated in the positive, and be as specific as possible. The President or any Director may ask that a motion be rephrased or rewritten if it deals with two (2) or more different matters. e. A motion shall be stated and seconded before debate is allowed (i.e. debate shall follow not precede a main motion). f. Debate shall be limited to the issue at hand. Directors who stray from the debate or attempt to raise new matters shall be ruled out of order. g. While a motion is on the floor, no new main motions shall be made. h. Main motions may be amended. Votes on amendments shall be taken before the original motion. i. No more than one (1) amendment to an amendment shall be permitted. j. Before a vote on a main motion is taken, business may be interrupted by a subsidiary motion to lay it on the table, to postpone action on it, to refer it to a committee, to withdraw it from consideration, or to adjourn the meeting. k. Debate may be closed formally with a subsidiary motion to close the debate or to call the question. Both shall require an affirmative vote of six (6) Directors. In cases where the President believes discussion has ended, a vote on the main motion may be taken without a formal motion to close the debate, unless a Director objects. l. A director may rise to a point of order at any time. After the point has been stated, the President shall issue a ruling. This ruling may be appealed by any Director. By an affirmative vote of five (5) Directors, the Board may overrule the President. m. The President may not refer a main motion to a committee or postpone action unless proper subsidiary motions are made and acted upon. n. Before main motions are voted upon, the motion, including any approved amendments, shall be read or stated. o. Motions turned down at a meeting may be reconsidered at the same meeting only with the consent of the majority. Only a Director who voted with the prevailing side can initiate action to reconsider a motion at the same meeting. p. Each Director shall be allowed one (1) hearing on a subject under debate. The President may refuse to call upon a Director for a second hearing until all other Directors have had a chance to speak. q. No Director shall be allowed to indulge in personal reflection unless it adds to the clarity of the discussion by providing insight or historical perspective. r. The President may not make or second motions unless she/he yields the chair to the Vice-President. s. The President, by virtue of membership on the Board, is entitled to discuss and vote on each motion before the Board. t. The President should indicate before each vote whether a simple voice declaration, roll call, or paper ballot vote will be taken. When a motion requires anything other than a majority vote of the Director's present and voting to pass, the required vote shall be stated. u. Each Director shall be in attendance at an open public Board meeting to vote and shall be entitled to vote on each motion, unless prohibited by law or unless she/he has a conflict of interest. v. Each Director shall vote yes, no, or abstain on each motion before the Board. In the event of a conflict of interest or where prohibited by law, a Director shall abstain from voting and participation in discussion and shall orally announce the reason for his/her abstention. The nature of the Director's conflict shall be recorded, in writing, with the Board Secretary. w. A Director shall not vote on or participate in the discussion of any motion that pertains to the hiring or firing of a relative. x. When a vote is to be taken by roll call, the roll shall be called in rotating alphabetical order by Directors' surnames. Rotating alphabetical order means that the voting on each subsequent motion shall begin with the Director immediately following the Director at whom the rotating alphabetical order commenced on the present motion. Each Director may vote "yes", "no", or "abstain" during the roll call. The roll call in the next open public Board meeting shall begin with the Director immediately following the Director at whom the rotating alphabetical order commenced on the last roll call vote in the present open public Board meeting. y. When paper ballots are used, each Director shall sign his/her respective ballot. The Board Secretary shall read aloud each Director's name and vote on each ballot after the ballots are cast. z. A request by two (2) Directors shall require the Board to vote on a motion using a roll call vote. aa. All official actions of the Board shall occur in open public Board meetings. bb. Motions of nomination, unlike main motions, do not require a second, and more than one motion of nomination can be considered by the Board at the same time. Motions of nomination can be used for electing Board officers, filling Board vacancies, or whenever filling any position. Section 2: Quorum A quorum shall be five (5) Directors present at any Board meeting. No business shall be transacted or discussion held at any Board meeting without a quorum, but the Directors at such a meeting may adjourn to another time. Section 3: Presiding Officer The President shall preside at all meetings of the Board. In the absence, disability or disqualification of the President, the Vice-President shall act instead. If neither officer is in attendance at an open public Board meeting, a Director, by a majority vote of the Directors in attendance at the meeting, shall be elected President pro tempore to preside at that meeting only. The acts of any Director so designated shall be legal and binding. Section 4: Notice Notice of all open public Board meetings, including committee meetings and conference sessions, shall be given by the publication of the date, place, and time of such meetings in the newspaper of general circulation designated by the Board and the posting of such notice at the offices of the Board. a. Notice of all regular Board meetings for the school year shall be given by the publication and posting, at least three (3) days prior to the time of the first regular Board meeting, of a schedule showing the date, place, and time of all regular Board meetings. b. Notice of all special Board meetings shall be given by publication and posting of notice in the lobby of the central administrative office at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the time of the meeting, except that such notice shall be waived when a special Board meeting is called to deal with an actual emergency involving a clear and present danger to life or property. c. Notice of all rescheduled open public Board meetings shall be given by publication and posting of a notice of the place, date and time of such meetings at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the time of the meeting. d. Notice of all recessed or reconvened open public Board meetings shall be given by publication and posting of a notice of the place, date, and time of such meeting and sending copies of such notice to interested parties. e. Notice of all open public Board meetings shall be given to any newspaper circulating in Union County or a radio or television station which so requests. Notice of all open public Board meetings shall be given to any individual who so requests and provides a stamped, addressed envelope for such notification. Section 5: Regular Board Meetings The Board shall hold a regular Board meeting at least once every two (2) months during the school year to transact Board business and to pay its bills. Regular Board meetings shall be open public meetings, held in the large group instruction room of the District's Middle School, and begin at 7:00 p.m. on the dates adopted annually by the Board. The Board President and Superintendent shall prepare an agenda of the items of business to be presented to and transacted by the Board at each regular Board meeting. Agenda items shall reference, where possible, appropriate policy, contractual agreements, reports, and/or other documents. So that each Director may be adequately prepared to make informed decisions, the agenda, together with as much supporting information as can be completed, shall be provided to each Director no later than three (3) days before each regular Board meeting. Only the Board business listed on the published agenda shall be acted upon at a regular Board meeting. However, from time to time, items of urgent business may be added to the agenda during a regular Board meeting, provided that a detailed, preferably written, explanation of each item of urgent business is presented so that each Director can make an informed decision regarding it and that the Board, by an affirmative vote of five (5) Directors, allows the item(s) to be added to the agenda. The following shall be the general order of Board business for regular Board meetings: I. Introduction A. Call to Order B. Pledge of Allegiance C. Announcements D. Recognition of Distinguished Individuals E. Citizen’s comments to the Board on Agenda Items F. Board Representatives’ Comments II. Select Presentations/Action Items III. Board Business Information/Discussion Items IV. Consent Agenda V. Director's Comments VI. Citizen’s Comments to the Board on non-agenda items VII. Adjournment Items of business listed under the Board Business heading shall be categorically organized to facilitate discussion and action by the Board. Section 6. Special Board Meetings Special Board meetings shall be open public meetings and may be called for special or general purposes. These meetings shall be held at the location specified in the announcement for and notice of the special Board meeting. The President may call a special Board meeting at any time and shall call a special Board meeting upon the presentation of requests, in writing, of three (3) School Directors. Upon the President's failure or refusal to call a special Board meeting, such meeting may be called at any time by a majority of the Directors. The President and Superintendent shall prepare an agenda of the special items of business to be presented to and transacted by Board at each special Board meeting. Agenda items of special business shall reference, where possible, appropriate policy, contractual agreements, reports, and/or other documents. So that each Director may be adequately prepared to make informed decisions, the agenda, together with as much supporting information as can be completed, shall be provided to each Director no later than three (3) days before each special Board meeting, unless such meeting is called to deal with a matter of urgent business. The only business that shall be transacted at a special Board meeting is the business specified in the Announcement of and notice for the special Board meeting. The following shall be the general order of business for special Board meetings: I. Introduction A. Call to Order B. Pledge of Allegiance C. Announcements D. Public Comment to the Board on Agenda Items II. Special Business III. Adjournment Section 7. Directors' Comments Time during each regular Board meeting shall be designated for Directors to present reports regarding personal or committee assignments and reports from supporting Boards (i.e. CSIU, Sun Area Career and Technology Center, Trust, etc). Directors wishing to make additional comments or to identify items requiring immediate action shall address the Board during this agenda item. However, Directors' comments shall address only items that are school related. Unless a Director identifies items of business requiring immediate action, motions regarding the discussed item(s) shall be made at the next scheduled regular public Board meeting. Items of business requiring immediate Board action shall be acted upon in the same manner as regular Board business (i.e. motion followed by a second, etc.), provided that a detailed, preferably written, explanation of each item of urgent business is presented so that each Director can make an informed decision regarding it and that the Board, by an affirmative vote of five (5) Directors, allows the item(s) to be added to the agenda. Section 8. Hearing of Citizens Citizens present at a regular or special Board meeting may address the Board according to the following: a. Such citizens shall be residents of the Lewisburg Area School District, unless exceptions are made at the discretion of the presiding Board officer or by an affirmative vote of six (6) Directors. b. Citizens can address the Board in person (orally) and/or by written statements including letters. Groups wishing to address the Board shall designate one (1) spokesperson. c. Citizens' comments may pertain to agenda (see "e" below) or non-agenda items (see "f" below). d. Total time allowed for all comments on both agenda and non-agenda items shall be thirty (30) minutes, unless the time is extended by a suspension of the rules by the presiding Board officer or by an affirmative vote of six (6) Directors. If there is insufficient time for public comments at a regular Board meeting, the Board can defer public comments on non-agenda items to the next regular Board meeting or to a special Board meeting occurring in advance of the next regular Board meeting. e. Citizens' comments regarding agenda items: 1. Formal Requests (a) Formal requests to address the Board shall be in writing and/or by phone. The request shall include a name, address, and agenda item and shall be submitted to the Board president, in care of the Board secretary, by 4:00 p.m. on the Wednesday preceding the meeting. (b) All properly registered citizens shall be given an opportunity to speak unless the total requests exceed the thirty (30) minutes time limit. In such cases, citizens shall have the opportunity to submit their comments in writing to the Board. (c) Citizens who formally request to address the Board shall be afforded five (5) minutes for their presentation. If a speaker finds the five (5) minute time allotment to be insufficient for his/her presentation, a more detailed written presentation shall be an option. (d) Citizens who address the Board shall state their name, address, and agenda item they wish to discuss. 2. Informal Requests (a) Citizens may address the Board without prior notice by appealing to the presiding Board officer. (b) Those recognized shall give their name, address, and agenda item they wish to discuss. (c) Citizens who informally request to address the Board shall be afforded three (3) minutes for their presentation. If the speaker finds the three (3) minute time allotment to be insufficient for his/her presentation, a more detailed written presentation shall be an option. f. Citizens' comments regarding non-agenda items: 1. Time shall be allotted at the conclusion of each regular Board meeting for citizens' comments. 2. The guidelines, time limits, etc., for presentations shall be the same as for those outlined in item "e" above. g. Any Director or administrator shall have the prerogative to decline an immediate response to citizens' comments if additional information is required. h. The presiding Board officer, on behalf of the Board, shall acknowledge all citizens' comments. i. Individual Directors may respond to a citizen's comments to seek clarification or to correct substantially incorrect statements. To do so, a Director shall appeal to the presiding Board officer after the visitor has finished his/her comments. Directors' comments shall be brief. j. The presiding Board officer shall designate a responder (usually the Superintendent or his/her designee) to respond to the citizen's comments. Responses may be made by telephone, letter, meeting, and/or by action of the Board. Section 9. Public Recording The public shall have the right to record the proceedings of all open public Board meetings. Any such recording is intended for personal use only and shall not be considered as an official record of an open public Board meeting. All individuals intending to record an open public Board meeting shall register with the Board Secretary before the meeting begins. The official written minutes of an open public Board meeting shall list all individuals who registered to record the meeting. Section 10. Voting All motions shall require for adoption a majority vote of those Directors in attendance at an open public Board meeting and voting except as provided by statute, parliamentary procedure, or these procedures: a. A motion to appoint as Board attorney or solicitor a Director who has served for two (2) consecutive terms after resigning his/her Director's office shall require the unanimous consent of all remaining Directors regardless of absences or abstentions. b. Motions to approve the following items require an affirmative roll call vote of six (6) Directors, regardless of absences and abstentions: 1. Transferring of budgeted items. 2. Transferring of unencumbered balances from one (1) budgetary class of expenditure or item to another (only permitted during the last nine (9) months of the fiscal year). 3. Incurring a temporary indebtedness or borrowing money upon such indebtedness. 4. Incurring an emergency loan for current expenses and debt service. 5. Borrowing in anticipation of current revenues. 6. Electing a former Director to the position of a teacher. 7. Conveying any unused or unnecessary lands and buildings to a borough or township with boundaries coterminous with those of the District or to a volunteer fire company, volunteer ambulance service or volunteer rescue squad within the District or selling any unused or unnecessary real estate to a charitable organization holding federal tax exempt status. 8. Adopting or changing textbooks without the recommendation of the Superintendent. 9. Dismissing a tenured professional employee after a hearing. 10. Adopting, amending, or repealing a Board bylaw. c. Motions to approve the following items require an affirmative roll call vote of five (5) Directors, regardless of absences and abstentions: 1. Fixing the length of school term. 2. Adopting textbooks recommended by the Superintendent. 3. Appointing or dismissing after a hearing a Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent(s), principal, teacher (other than a tenured professional employee), or any other employees. 4. Adopting the annual budget. 5. Appointing tax collectors and other appointees. 6. Levying and assessing taxes. 7. Purchasing, selling, or condemning land. 8. Locating new buildings or changing the location of old ones. 9. Adopting planned instruction. 10. Establishing additional schools or departments. 11. Designating depositories for school funds. 12. Expending district funds. 13. Entering into contracts of any kind, including contracts for the purchase of fuel or any supplies where the amount involved exceeds $100 (including items subject to $10,000 bid requirements). 14. Fixing salaries or compensation of officers, teachers, or other appointees of the Board. 15. Creating or increasing any indebtedness. 16. Combining or reorganizing into a larger school district. 17. Entering into contracts with and making appropriations to the intermediate unit for the district's proportionate share of the cost of services provided or to be provided by the intermediate unit. 18. Adopting a corporate seal for the District. 19. Determining the location and amount of any real estate required by the District for school purposes. 20. Vacating and abandoning property to which the Board has title. 21. Determining the holidays, other than those provided by statute, which shall be observed by special exercises and those on which the schools shall be closed for the whole day. 22. Removing a Director. 23. Declaring that a Board vacancy exists by reason of the failure or neglect of a Director to qualify or neglect or refusal to act in his/her official capacity. 24. Removing an officer of the Board. 25. Removing an appointee/employee of the Board. 26. Adopting, amending, or repealing a Board policy. 27. Approving a charter school application. Section 11. Minutes Written minutes shall be kept of all open public Board meetings. These minutes shall not be a word-by-word transcription of a meeting but shall be comprehensive and complete indicating: a. The date, place, and time of the open public Board meeting. b. The names of Directors present and not present: excused and unexcused. c. The presiding officer. d. The substance of all official actions taken. e. The recorded votes and a record by individual Director of all roll call votes taken. f. The names of all citizens who appeared officially and the subject of their statements. g. The names of all individuals who registered to record the meeting. The Secretary shall provide each Director with a copy of the written minutes of the last open public Board meeting no later than three (3) days before the next regular Board meeting. The Board shall approve all written minutes of all open public Board meetings by an affirmative vote of five (5) Directors. All approved written minutes shall be signed by the Board Secretary. Once approved and signed, the written minutes shall become official. The official minutes for each school year shall be bound and filed for permanent keeping. The official record of an open public Board meeting shall be the approved and signed written minutes. The Board Secretary may make notations and a tape or audiovisual recording of an open public Board meeting and temporarily retain them solely as an administrative convenience to help produce written minutes of a meeting. Any notations and any tape or audiovisual recording of a particular meeting shall be temporarily retained until the written minutes for that meeting become official. After the written minutes become official, any notations and any tape or audiovisual recordings shall be destroyed. Notations and any tape or audiovisual recordings shall not be the official record of an open public Board meeting. A tape or audiovisual recording of an open public Board meeting may be reviewed by any Director or District resident during the temporary retention period. This review shall occur at the Superintendent's office. No tape or audiovisual recording can be copied or removed from the Superintendent's office. Section 12. Adjournment The Board may at any time recess or adjourn to an adjourned open public Board meeting at a specified date and place upon the vote of the majority of the Directors present and voting. The adjourned open public Board meeting shall take up its business at the point in the agenda where the motion to adjourn was acted upon. Notice of the rescheduled open public Board meeting shall be given as provided in Section 4 of this policy. Section 13. Executive Sessions The Board may hold an executive session, which is not an open public Board meeting, before, during, at the conclusion of an open public Board meeting, or at some other time. The President shall announce the specific reason for holding the executive session. The announcement can be made at the open public Board meeting prior to or after the executive session. The Board may discuss the following matters in executive session: a. Employment issues concerning a specific, prospective, current, or past officer or employee. b. Issues relating to negotiation or arbitration of a collective bargaining agreement. c. Purchase or lease of real property. d. Consultation with an attorney or other professional advisor regarding information or strategy in connection with litigation or with issues on which identifiable complaints are expected to be filed. e. Agency business, which if conducted in public, would violate a lawful privilege or lead to the disclosure of information or confidentiality protected by law. Official actions based on discussions held in executive session shall be taken at an open public Board meeting. Section 14: Work Sessions The Board may meet as a Committee of the Whole in an open public or closed meeting to receive information regarding issues to be acted upon at a subsequent regular or special Board meeting. Section 15: Committee Meetings Unless held as an executive session, all committee meetings shall be open to the public, other Directors, and the Superintendent. The committee chairperson or a majority of the committee may invite other Directors, employees, contractors or other persons who may have special knowledge of the area under investigation. References: School Code – 24 P.S. Sec. 212, 224, 324, 405, 407, 408, 421, 422, 423, 426, 427, 428, 433, 508, 514, 518, 609, 621, 634, 665, 671, 687, 702, 707, 708, 803, 1071, 1075, 1076, 1077, 1080, 1111, 1129, 1503 Sunshine Act – 65 Pa. C.S.A. Sec. 701 et seq. Board Policy – 003, 004, 005, 006, 107, 108, 604, 605, 606, 610, 612, 903