No.

006

SECTION:

LOCAL BOARD PROCEDURES MEETINGS March 18, 1996 March 17, 1997 November 21, 2011

OCTORARA AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT

TITLE: ADOPTED: REVISED:

006. MEETINGS Section 1. Parliamentary Authority

The following rules of order shall be observed at each meeting. When situations arise which are not covered by the following rules, Robert's Rules of Order shall be followed. 1. A quorum being present precisely at the hour to which the Board stands adjourned, the President shall take the chair, call the members to order and proceed to business. 2. Should a quorum be assembled at the hour appointed, and the President be absent, the Vice-President or a President pro tem shall serve during that meeting, or until the President shall appear. 3. Should a quorum not assemble at the hour appointed, the director or directors present shall be competent to adjourn from time to time, that an opportunity may be given for a quorum to assemble, without which no business can be legally transacted. 4. It shall be the duty of the President at all times, to preserve order, and to endeavor to conduct all business before the Board with propriety and dispatch. 5. The President, as such, has no casting vote, his/her right is to vote on every question by virtue of his/her membership. 6. The President may speak to points of order in preference to other members, and shall decide questions of order, subject to an appeal to the Board by any two (2) members. 7. A motion made, must be seconded, and then repeated distinctly by the President or read aloud before it is debated, and every motion shall be reduced to writing if the President or any members require it.

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8. Any member who shall have made a motion shall have liberty to withdraw it, with the consent of his/her second, before any debate has taken place thereon, but not after debate is had without leave being granted by the Board. 9. The consideration of any question may be postponed to a time fixed or the question may be suppressed altogether by an indefinite postponement. 10. A motion once voted down cannot be renewed at the same meeting of the Board without the consent of a majority of the members of the Board. 11. An amendment may be moved on any motion, and shall be decided before the original motion; no more than one amendment shall be entertained. 12. If a motion under debate is composed of two (2) or more parts, which are so far independent of each other as to be susceptible of division into several questions, any two (2) members may have it divided and a vote taken on each part. 13. When any business is brought regularly before the Board, the consideration of the same cannot be interrupted except by a motion for adjournment, to lie on the table; for the previous question; for postponement; for commitment, or for amendment. 14. A motion for adjournment shall always be in order and shall be decided without debate, except that it cannot be entertained when the Board is voting on another question or while a member is addressing the Board. 15. When the previous question is moved and after majority vote confirms the Board's desire to act, all debate shall be precluded; yet the call for the previous question shall not cut off any pending amendment, but the vote shall be taken without debate on the amendments in their order and finally on the main question. 16. A motion for postponement precludes commitment, and a motion for commitment precludes amendment or decision on the original subject. 17. A motion for reconsideration can only be entertained when made and seconded by members who were in the majority on the vote on the original question. 18. When a blank is to be filled the question shall be first taken on the largest sum, the greatest number, and the remotest day.

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19. On questions of order, adjournment, postponement, commitment or the previous question, no member shall speak more than once; on all other questions each member may speak twice, but not more often without express leave being granted by the Board. 20. If the previous question be decided in the negative, the effect shall be to arrest the discussion and produce an indefinite postponement. 21. No member shall be interrupted while speaking, unless he/she be out of order, or for the purpose of correcting mistakes or misrepresentations. 22. No member in the course of debate shall be allowed to indulge in personal reflections. 23. If any member acts in any respect in a disorderly manner, it shall be the privilege of any member, and the duty of the President to call him/her to order. 24. If any member considers himself/herself aggrieved by a decision of the chair, it shall be his/her privilege to appeal to the Board, and the vote on such appeal shall be taken without debate. 25. Members should not decline to vote on any question without weighty reasons. 26. It shall be the duty of the President to appoint all committees, except when the Board may decide otherwise. 27. The person first named on any committee shall be considered the chairperson thereof, whose duty it shall be to convene the committee and in case of his/her absence or inability to act, the second named member shall take his/her place and perform the duties. 28. When the President has commenced taking a vote, no further debate or remark shall be admitted, unless there has evidently been some mistake, in which case the mistake shall be rectified, and the President shall recommence taking the vote. 29. Any two (2) members may require the recording of the yeas and nays on any question. 30. The first person recognized by the President as desiring to speak has the right to the floor.

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Section 2. SC 422

Quorum

A quorum shall be five (5) school directors present at a meeting. No business shall be transacted at a meeting without a quorum, but the directors at such a meeting may adjourn to another time. Section 3. Presiding Officer

SC 426, 428, 405

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 person is present, a school director shall be elected President pro tempore by a plurality of those present to preside at that meeting only. The act of any person so designated shall be legal and binding. Section 4. Notice

65 P.S. 271 et seq

Notice of all open public meetings of the Board, including committee meetings and discussion 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.on the District website. Committee meetings shall be posted on the District website. All regular meetings and work session meetings shall be held at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise officially approved and announced. All regular meetings and work sessions will be held in the Intermediate SchoolJunior High School Multipurpose Room. Exceptions to this policy will be announced. In case the originally scheduled and announced meeting place is too small to accommodate those in attendance comfortably as determined by the Board, the Board reserves the right to change the place of the meeting to a more suitable location.

65 P.S. 271 et seq

a. Notice of regular meetings shall be given by the publication, posting of a schedule showing the date, place and time of all regular meetings for the calendar year at least three (3) days prior to the time of the first regular meeting. b. Notice of all special meetings shall be given by publication, posting of notice at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the time of the meeting, except that such notice shall be waived when a special meeting is called to deal with an actual emergency involving a clear and present danger to life or property. c. Notice of all rescheduled meetings shall be given by publication and posting of notice at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the time of the meeting.

65 P.S. 271 et seq

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d. Notice of all recessed or reconvened meetings shall be given by posting a notice of the place, date and time of meeting and sending copies of such notice to interested parties. 65 P.S. 271 et seq e. Notice of all public meetings shall be given to any newspaper circulating in Chester County or a radio or television station which so requests. Notice of all public meetings shall be given to any individual who so requests and provides a stamped, addressed envelope for such notification. Section 5. 65 P.S. 271 et seq, SC 421 Regular Meetings

Regular meetings of the Board shall be public and shall be held at least once every two (2) months. a. It shall be the responsibility of the Superintendent and Board President to prepare an agenda of the items of business to come before the Board at each regular meeting. The agenda together with all such reports as can be completed shall be in the hands of Board members a reasonable time prior to the meeting. Items of business may be suggested by Board members, Superintendent, or citizens of the district for inclusion on the agenda. Items suggested by citizens of the district shall be submitted in writing and received in the office of the Superintendent at least seven (7) days before the meeting in order to be considered for inclusion on the written agenda. Whether or not an item will be included on the agenda, its place on the agenda, and at which meeting, if any, will be considered decisions of the Board. b. The order of business shall be as follows, unless altered by the chairperson: 1. Approval of Minutes Presentations Information Items 2. Treasurer's Report 3. Approval of Bills 4. Communications 5. Visitors' Comments Agenda items only Action Items Facilities and/or Finance/Policy Committee Report 6. Superintendent's Report 7. I.U./CAT Board Report 8. Legislative Committee Report 9. Old Business

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006. MEETINGS - Pg. 6 10. New Business 11. Personnel Report 12. Other Items and Announcements

13. Visitors' Comments General Board Comments Administrative Comments 14. Board Comments 15. Adjournment Section 6. 65 P.S., 271 et seq SC 426 Special Meetings

Special meetings shall be public and may be called for special or general purposes.

The President may call a special meeting at any time and shall call a special meeting upon the presentation of requests in writing, of three (3) school directors. Upon the President's failure or refusal to call a special meeting, such meeting may be called at any time by a majority of the school directors. Section 7. Hearing of Citizens

Pol. 903

A member of the public present at a meeting of the Board may address the Board in accordance with the Board's rules. Section 8. Voting

All motions shall require for adoption a majority vote of those school directors present and voting except as provided by statute or these procedures. SC 324 a. The following actions require the unanimous consent of all remaining members of the Board: 1. Appoint as attorney or Solicitor of the Board a school director who has served for two consecutive terms of four years each after resigning his/her office. b. The following actions require the recorded affirmative votes of two-thirds of the full number of school directors: SC 609 SC 687 1. transfer of budgeted funds 2. transfer of any unencumbered balance, or portion thereof, from one appropriation to another, or from one spending agency to another

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006. MEETINGS - Pg. 7 SC 634 SC 687 3. incur a temporary debt or borrow money upon an obligation 4. incur a temporary debt to meet an emergency or catastrophe

SC 324

5. elect to a teaching position a person who has served as a school director and who has resigned 6. convey land or buildings to the municipality co-terminus with the school district 7. adopt or change textbooks without the recommendation of the Superintendent 8. dismiss after hearing of a tenured professional employee 9. adopt, amend, or repeal a Board procedure.

SC 707

SC 803 SC 1129 Art. III, Sec. 1.a SC 508

c. The following actions require the recorded affirmative votes of a majority of the full number of school directors: 1. fixing the length of school term 2. adopting textbooks recommended by the Superintendent

SC 1071, 1073, 1076, 1080 SC 1111, 1129

3. appointing the district Superintendent and the assistant district Superintendents 4. appointing teachers and principals 5. adopting the annual budget 6. appointing tax collectors and other appointees 7. levying and assessing taxes 8. purchasing, selling, or condemning land 9. locating new buildings or changing the location of old ones 10. adopting courses of study 11. establishing additional schools or departments

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006. MEETINGS - Pg. 8 SC 621 12. designating depositories for school funds 13. expending district funds

Pol. 610

14. 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) 15. fixing salaries or compensation of officers, teachers, or other appointees of the Board 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. dismissal, after hearing, of a nontenured employee

SC 1075, 1077 SC 224 SC 508

SC 508, 514, 1080 SC 212 SC 702

19. adoption of a corporate seal for the district 20. determination of the location and amount of any real estate required by the school district for school purposes 21. vacating and abandoning property to which the Board has title 22. 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 23. removal of a school director 24. declaration that a vacancy exists on the Board by reason of the failure or neglect of a school director to qualify 25. removal of an officer of the Board 26. removal of an appointee of the Board 27. adopt, amend or repeal a policy of the Board.

SC 708 SC 1503

Pol. 004 Pol. 004

Pol. 005 Pol. 005

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Section 9. 65 P.S. 271 et seq

Minutes

The Board shall cause to be made and retain as a permanent record of the district, minutes of all open meetings of the Board. Said minutes shall be comprehensible and complete and shall show: a. the date, place, and time of the meeting b. the names of members present c. the presiding officer d. the substance of all official actions e. actions taken f. recorded votes and a record by individual members of all roll call votes taken g. the names of all citizens who appeared officially and the subject of their testimony. The Secretary shall keep, or cause to be kept by a competent clerk, complete records of the action of all regular, work session, and special Board meetings. The minutes of the Board shall be kept in an official minute book and shall be a complete record of such minutes including resolutions and motions in full. Copies of the minutes of each meeting shall be supplied to the members of the Board before the meeting at which they are to be approved. Corrections to the minutes may be made at the meeting at which they are to be approved. Permanent minutes shall be signed by the Secretary upon approval and transcribing. Section 10. Adjournment

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006. MEETINGS - Pg. 10 Pol. 006 Sec. 4c The Board may at any time recess or adjourn to an adjourned meeting at a specified date and place upon the majority of those present and voting. The adjourned meeting shall take up its business at the point in the agenda where the motion to adjourn was acted upon. Notice of the rescheduled meeting shall be given as provided in policy 006, Sec. 4,c.

Section 11.

Executive Session

The Board may hold an executive session, which is not an open meeting before, during, at the conclusion of an open meeting, or at some other time. The presiding Officer shall announce the reason for holding the executive session; the announcement can be made at the open meeting prior to or after the executive session. The Board may discuss the following matters in executive session: a. employment issues b. labor relations c. the purchase or lease of real estate d. consultation with an attorney or other professional advisor regarding potential litigation or identifiable complaints which may lead to litigation e. matters which must be conducted in private to protect a lawful privilege or confidentiality. Official actions based on discussions held in executive session shall be taken at a public meeting. Section 12. Discussion Sessions

The Board may meet as a committee of the whole in an open meeting to discuss issues to be acted upon at a subsequent regular or special meeting of the Board, except that no official action may be taken at the discussion meeting. Public notice of such meetings shall be made. Section 13. Committee Meetings

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006. MEETINGS - Pg. 11 Unless held as an executive session, committee meetings shall be open to the public, other Board members, and the Superintendent.

Section 14.

News Coverage

The Board believes that one of the paramount responsibilities of the Board in a democracy is to keep the public informed of its actions. Consequently, local news media representatives shall be welcome to attend all regular, special and annual meetings. In the event that representatives of the news media are unable to attend, they shall be provided a summary of Board actions.

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