Lewisburg Area School District Policies	Printable version
005 Organization 005. ORGANIZATION Section 1. Organizational Meeting The Board shall organize annually on the first Monday of December, if practicable; otherwise the organization meeting shall be held on any other day during the first week of December as allowed by the Public School Code. At least five (5) days before the proposed organizational meeting, the Secretary of the "retiring" Board shall notify, by mail, each Director of the time and place of the organizational meeting. The organization meeting shall be a regular public Board meeting convened by the hold-over Directors. The President shall call to order the organizational meeting and shall preside over the election of a temporary President from among the hold-over Board members. The temporary President shall then conduct the annual organizational meeting until a Board President is elected. The Board Secretary shall be secretary for the meeting, shall read the certificates of election or appointment of all new Directors, and shall prepare a list of the legally elected or appointed and qualified Directors. The temporary President shall administer the oath of office to newly elected or appointed Directors who have not previously taken and subscribed to such an oath. Section 2. Officers Permanent Officers The permanent officers of the Board shall be the President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer. The President and Vice-President shall be Directors. The Secretary and Treasurer may be Directors. The election of any such officer shall be by a plurality vote of the Directors in attendance and voting. When electing a permanent officer, any office with two (2) or more nominations shall be decided by a paper ballot. If only one person is nominated, a Director may move that the Secretary be instructed to cast the ballot for that person. This motion must be voted upon. 1. The Board shall annually, at the organizational meeting, elect from its members a President and Vice-President who shall serve for one (1) year. 2. The Board shall annually, during the month of May, elect a Treasurer who shall serve for one (1) year beginning the first day of July after such election. The Treasurer may be a corporation duly qualified and legally authorized to transact fiduciary business in the State, or may be a Director. The Treasurer shall not enter upon his/her duties until s/he has furnished bond in accordance with law and approved by the Board. 3. The Board shall, during the month of May in every fourth year (base year is 1953), elect a Secretary who shall serve a term of four (4) years beginning the first day of July following such election. The Secretary shall not enter upon his/her duties until s/he has furnished bond in accordance with law and approved by the Board. Vacancies in any Board office shall be filled by the remaining Directors, and such appointed officers shall serve for the remainder of the unexpired term. The same Director shall not hold more than one (1) Board office at the same time. No commissioned officer or professional employee of the Board shall serve, temporarily or permanently, as a Board officer. Any Board officer may be removed from office for incompetency; intemperance; neglect of duty; violation of school laws, State Board of Education regulations, or Board policy; and/or other improper conduct, provided that the officer charged shall have been given due notice of the reason(s) thereof and an opportunity for a hearing and provided that said removal has been approved by the affirmative roll call vote of five (5) Directors. Duties of the permanent officers shall be: a. President The President shall preside at all meetings of the Board and may call special Board meetings. The President shall be the executive officer of the Board and shall execute, when properly directed by the Board, any and all deeds, contracts, warrants to tax collectors, reports, and/or other documents pertaining to Board business that require the President's signature. The President shall sign an order for the payment of all current bills, accounts, and contracts properly approved or previously approved by the Board and shall perform other duties as directed by the Board. b. Vice-President In the absence of the President, the Vice-President shall: preside at all meetings; call special Board meetings when requested to do so by any three (3) Directors; execute, when directed by the Board, any and all deeds, contracts, warrants to tax collectors, and other documents pertaining to Board business; and perform all other duties imposed on the President. Upon request of the President, the Board may authorize the Vice-President to sign checks or vouchers for the payment of the District's current expenses or salaries. c. Secretary The Secretary shall maintain a correct and proper record of all Board proceedings, shall prepare reports, and shall keep accounts as required by statute. After the Board has approved any bill or account for authorized payment, the Secretary shall prepare and sign an order on the Treasurer for payment of the same and may prepare and sign orders for payment of accounts owed under any contracts previously approved by the Board, especially those which will return a discount to the District when paid promptly. The Secretary shall attest, in writing, to the execution of all deeds, contracts, reports, and other instruments that are to be executed by the Board. The Secretary shall provide, when requested by the Department of Education and/or the Secretary of Education, reports concerning the District. The Secretary shall be custodian of all the records, papers, office property, and official seal of the Board and District, and shall relinquish these items to his/her successor at the end of his/her term. The Secretary shall maintain correct accounts with the Treasurer or tax collector and provide a statement of District finances to be entered into the minutes at each regular Board meeting. The Secretary shall perform such other duties pertaining to the business of the District, as directed by the Board. d. Treasurer The Treasurer shall receive all state appropriations, District taxes, and other funds belonging to the District and shall make payment out of the District's funds on proper orders approved by the Board and signed by the President. The Treasurer shall, with the assistance of the Director of Administrative Services, deposit funds in a depository as directed by the Board. Consistent with sound business practice and as directed by the Board, and as provided by the School Code, the Treasurer shall invest the District's funds. The Treasurer shall provide for an annual audit of District funds. The Treasurer shall perform other duties as directed by the Board. Temporary Officers Temporary officers of the Board may include a temporary President and/or a temporary Secretary. The temporary President shall be a Director. The temporary Secretary may be a Director. The official acts of a temporary President or temporary Secretary shall be legal and binding. A temporary President shall: a. At the annual organizational meeting, after being elected by a majority vote of the hold-over Directors in attendance at the meeting, administer the oath of office to new Directors and conduct the annual organizational until a Board President is elected. b. At any open public Board meeting, in the absence of the Board President and Vice-President, be elected by a majority vote of the Directors in attendance at the meeting to conduct any current meeting. A temporary Secretary shall at any open public Board meeting, in the absence of the Board Secretary, be elected by a majority vote of the Directors in attendance at the meeting to perform the Secretary's duties for any current meeting. Section 3. Appointees/Employees The Board shall appoint/employ: a. A tax collector, where a tax collector is not elected to collect taxes, or where there is a vacancy in the office of tax collector, or where an elected tax collector refused to qualify. b. A solicitor who is an attorney and who is retained by the Board as a legal counselor and advisor for Board action. c. A school physician. d. A school dentist. e. An independent auditor. f. Delegates to a State convention or association of School Directors. g. A legislative chairperson. h. Such other assistants, clerks, and employees as the Board deems proper. Any appointee/employee of the Board may be removed for incompetency; intemperance; neglect of duty; violation of school laws, State Board of Education regulations, or Board policies; and/or other improper conduct, provided that the appointee charged shall have been given due notice of the reason(s) thereof and an opportunity for a hearing and provided that said removal has been approved by the affirmative vote of an appropriate number of Directors. Section 4. Resolutions The Board may at the organization meeting but shall prior to July1 next following: a. Designate a depository for District funds. b. Designate a newspaper of general circulation as defined in accordance with law. c. Designate a normal day, place, and time for regular Board meetings. d. Designate a normal day, place, and time for open public Board committee meetings. e. Adopt annually a calendar of monthly Board business. Section 5. Board Committees Committees of Directors, when specifically charged to do so by the Board, shall conduct studies, make recommendations to the Board, and act in an advisory capacity, but shall not take action on behalf of the Board. a. Committee members shall be appointed annually by the Board President and shall serve for one (1) year. b. The Board President shall be a non-voting ex-officio member of all Board committees which include non-Directors and may be a member of any committee which includes only Directors, appointed administrators, and/or consultants. S/He may remain an active and voting member on an established committee to which she/he was appointed prior to election as Board President. c. The first-named person to each committee is considered the Chairperson of the committee, and the second-named person the Vice-Chairperson. d. The committee Chairperson shall convene the committee and conduct committee meetings. In case of absence or inability to act, the Vice-Chairperson shall convene and conduct committee meetings. e. A majority of each committee shall constitute a quorum. f. The Chairperson of each committee or his/her designee shall report on the status of committee matters at regular Board meetings. g. All open meeting requirements that apply to regular and special Board meetings shall apply to committee meetings. h. Each committee Chairperson shall see that an accurate set of written minutes of each committee meeting is kept and distributed to all Directors. A copy shall be maintained in the Superintendent's office. Written minutes of each committee meeting shall include: 1. Date, time and place of the committee meeting. 2. Names of Directors present and not present. 3. Items discussed and action taken. 4. Names of citizens who officially appeared before the committee and the subject of their comments. i. Directors who are not appointed to membership on a specific committee may attend any committee meeting and participate in the discussion, at the discretion of the committee Chairperson, but cannot vote on committee matters nor be counted in the membership to constitute a quorum of the committee. j. The Board may establish standing committees. Section 6. Annual Calendar of Monthly Board Business The Board shall annually adopt a calendar of monthly Board business. This calendar may be adopted at the annual Board organization meeting or at some other regular Board meeting prior to July lst of each year. This calendar shall establish the deadlines and due dates for Board action and represent the Board business that must receive annual attention.