Sterling
Schools CUSD #5 2.220
Page 1 of 3
Board of Education
Board of
Education Meeting Procedure
Agenda
The Board President is responsible for focusing the Board meeting agendas on
appropriate content. The Superintendent
shall prepare the agendas for Board
of Education meetings in consultation with the Board President. The President shall designate a portion of
the agenda as a consent agenda for those items that usually do not require
discussion or explanation before School Board action. Any Board member may request the withdrawal
of any item under the consent agenda for independent consideration.
Items submitted by Board of Education members to the Superintendent or the
President shall be placed on the agenda. District residents may suggest
inclusions for the agenda. Items
not specifically on the agenda may still be discussed during the meeting.
The Superintendent shall provide a copy of the agenda, with adequate data and
background information, to each Board of Education member at least 48 hours
before each meeting, except a meeting held in the event of an emergency. The meeting agenda shall be posted in
accordance with Policy 2,200, Types of School Board meetings.
The Board President shall determine the order of business at regular School
Board meetings. Upon consent of the
majority of members present, the order of business at any meeting may be
changed.
Voting Method
Unless otherwise provided by law, when a vote is taken upon any measure before
the Board of Education, with a quorum being present, a majority of the votes
cast shall determine its outcome. A vote of
"present" or "abstain", or a vote of other than “yea” or “nay”, or a failure to vote is
counted for the purposes of determining whether a quorum is present. A vote of
"present" or "abstain", or a vote other than “yea” or
“nay”, or a failure to vote, however, is not counted in determining whether a
measure has been passed by the Board, unless otherwise stated in law. The
sequence for casting votes shall be rotated.
On all questions involving the expenditure of money
and on all questions involving the closing of a meeting to the public, a roll
call vote shall be taken and entered in the Board's minutes.
Minutes
The Secretary shall keep written minutes of all Board of Education meetings (whether
open or closed), which shall be signed by the President and the Secretary. The minutes include:
1. The date, time, and place of the meeting;
2. Board of Education members recorded as either
present or absent;
3. A summary of discussion on all matters proposed, deliberated, or
decided, and a record of any votes taken;
4. On all matters requiring a roll call vote, the "yeas"
and the "nays" shall be recorded;
5. If the meeting is adjourned to another date, the time and place of
the adjourned meeting;
6. The vote of each member
present when a vote is taken to hold a closed meeting or portion of a meeting
and the reason for the closed meeting with a citation to the specific exception
contained in the Open Meetings act authorizing the closed meeting;
7. A record of all motions,
the member making the motion and the second; and
8. The type of meeting,
including any notices and, if a reconvened meeting, the original meeting's
date.
The minutes are submitted to
the Board of Education for approval or modification at its next regularly
scheduled open Board meeting.
At least semi-annually in an
open meeting, the Board: (1) reviews minutes from closed meetings that are
currently unavailable for public release, and (2) decides which, if any, no
longer require confidential treatment and are available for public
inspection. The School Board may meet in
a prior closed session to review the minutes from closed meetings that are
currently unavailable for public release.
The School Board's minutes must be submitted to the Board's Treasurer on the
first Monday of April and October, and at other times as the Treasurer may
require.
The official minutes are in the custody of the Board Secretary. Minutes of open meetings are available for inspection
during regular office hours within 7 days after the Board's approval, in the
office of the Superintendent or designee, in the presence of the Secretary, the
Superintendent or a designee, or any member of the Board of Education. Minutes
from closed meetings are likewise
available, but only if the Board of
Education has released them for public inspection. The minutes shall not be removed from the
Superintendent's office except by vote of the Board of Education or by court
order.
The Board’s open meeting
minutes shall be posted on the
District website within 7 days after the Board approves them; the minutes will
remain posted for at least 60 days.
Verbatim Record of Closed Meetings
The Superintendent, or the
Board Secretary when the Superintendent is absent, shall audio record all
closed meetings. If neither is present,
the Board President or presiding officer shall assume this responsibility. After the closed meeting, the person making the audio recording
shall label the recording with the date and store it in a secure location. The Superintendent shall ensure that: (1) an
audio recording devise and all necessary accompanying items are available to
the Board for every closed meeting, and (2) a secure location for storing
closed meeting audio recordings is maintained close to the Board’s regular
meeting location.
After 18 months have passed
since being made, the audio recording of a closed meeting is destroyed provided
the Board approved: (1) its destruction, and (2) minutes of the particular
closed meeting.
Individual Board members may
listen to verbatim recordings when that action is germane to their
responsibilities, e.g., in order to check the accuracy of minutes or to
determine whether the recording no longer requires confidential treatment. In the interest of encouraging free and open
expression by Board members during closed meetings, the recording of closed
meetings should not be used by Board members to confirm or dispute the accuracy
of recollections.
Quorum and Participation by Audio or Video Means
A quorum of the Board must be physically
present at all Board meetings. A majority of the full membership of
the Board of Education constitutes a quorum.
Provided a quorum is
physically present, a Board member may attend a meeting by video or audio
conference if he or she is prevented from physically attending because of: (1)
personal illness or disability, (2) employment or District business, or (3) a
family or other emergency. If a member
wishes to attend a meeting by video or audio means, he or she must notify the
recording secretary or Superintendent at least 24 hours before the meeting
unless advance notice is impractical.
The recording secretary or Superintendent will inform the Board
President and make appropriate arrangements.
A Board member, who attends a meeting by audio or video means, as
provided by this policy, may participate in all aspects of the Board meeting
including voting on any item.
Rules of Order
Unless State law or Board-adopted rules apply, the Board President, as the presiding officer, will use Robert's Rules
of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), as a guide when a question
arises concerning procedure.
Broadcasting and Recording Board Meetings
Any person may record or broadcast an open Board of Education meeting. Requests
for special needs, such as seating, writing surfaces, lighting, and access to
electrical power, should be directed to the Superintendent as least 2 hours before the meeting.
Recording meetings shall not
distract or disturb Board members, other meeting participants, or members of
the public. The Board President may designate a location for recording
equipment, may restrict the movements of individuals who are using recording
equipment, or may take such other steps as are deemed necessary to preserve
decorum and facilitate the meeting.
LEGAL REF.: 5 ILCS 120/2a, 120/2.02, 120/2.05, and 120/2.06.
105 ILCS 5/10-6,
5/10-7, 5/10-12, and 5/10-16.
Prosser v. Village
of
CROSS REF.: 2.200, 2.210, 2.230
Adopted:
Revised:
Revised:
Revised:
Revised:
Revised: January 25, 2007