210 BOARD OF DIRECTORS' MEETINGS

210.1 ANNUAL MEETING

Each year after August 31 and prior to the organizational meeting of the Board in odd-numbered years, the Wapello Board of Directors shall hold its annual meeting.

At the annual meeting, the Board shall examine the financial books and settle the secretary's and treasurer's statement for the fiscal year ending the preceding June 30. As part of the annual reports, the treasurer shall present affidavits from depository banks. The Board may also appoint the Board's legal counsel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Legal Reference:  Iowa Code  279.1, .3, .33

Cross Reference:  206.3  Secretary

                               206.4  Treasurer

                               701.1  Depository of Funds

                               707  Fiscal Reports

 

Approved: 07/18/1995

Reviewed: 02/12/2004; 11/9/11; 10/14/15; 12/9/2020

Revised: 7/13/2006

210.2 REGULAR MEETING

The regular meeting time and date shall be set by the Board at its organizational meeting. The regular meetings of the Board will be held on the second Wednesday of each month at 6:00 p.m. Meetings will not extend past 10:00 p.m. unless agreed upon by a simple majority of the Board.

All meetings shall be held in the meeting place officially designated by the Board which shall be in the District Administration  Office unless otherwise approved by the Board in regular sessions. The Board shall adhere to this meeting date unless the Board requires additional meetings or, due to circumstances beyond the Board's control, the meeting cannot be held on the regular meeting date, and the meeting will be re-scheduled at the Board's convenience. Public notice of the meetings shall be given.

 

Approved: 07/18/1995

Reviewed: 02/12/2004; 10/14/15; 12/9/2020

Revised: 02/12/2004; 7/13/2006, 11/11/2009; 11/9/11

 

210.3 SPECIAL MEETING

It may be necessary for the Wapello Board of Directors to conduct a special meeting in addition to the regularly scheduled Board meeting. Special meetings may be called by the president of the Board or by the Board secretary at the request of a majority of the Board. Should a special meeting be called, public notice shall be given.

If the special meeting called is an emergency meeting and the Board cannot give public notice in its usual manner, the Board shall give public notice of the meeting as soon as practical and possible in light of the situation. The reason for the emergency meeting and why notice in its usual manner could not be given shall be stated in the minutes.

Only the purpose or issue for which the special meeting was called may be discussed and decided in a special meeting. The Board shall strictly adhere to the agenda for the special meeting and action on other issues shall be reserved for the next regular or special Board meeting.

 

Approved: 07/18/1995

Reviewed: 02/12/2004; 11/9/11; 10/14/15; 12/9/2020

Revised: 7/13/2006

210.4 WORK SESSIONS

The Wapello Board of Directors, as a decision-making body, is confronted with a continuing flow of problems, issues, and needs which require action. While the Board is determined to expedite its business, it is also mindful of the importance of planning, brainstorming, and thoughtful discussion without action. Therefore, the Board may schedule work sessions and retreats in order to provide its members and the administration with such opportunities. The Board has the authority to hire an outside facilitator to assist them in work sessions.

Topics for discussion and study will be announced publicly, and work sessions and retreats will be conducted in open session. However, no Board action will take place at the work session.

 

Approved: 07/18/1995

Reviewed: 02/12/2004; 11/9/11; 10/14/15; 12/9/2020

Revised: 7/13/2006

210.5 MEETING NOTICE

Public notice shall be given for meetings and work sessions held by the Board. Public notice shall indicate the time, place, date, and tentative agenda of Board meetings. The public notice shall be posted in a prominent place clearly designated for posting agendas in the central administration office, and on an exterior facing door/window so that community members may see the agenda when the building is physically closed.  The agenda will be posted at least 1 (one) day before the scheduled, but, at the minimum, twenty-four hours notice needs to be given.

 

A copy of the public notice will be provided to those who have filed a request for notice with the secretary. A copy of the public notice will also be accessible to employees and students.

In the case of special meetings, public notice shall be given in the same manner as for a regular meeting unless it is an emergency meeting. In that case, public notice of the meeting shall be given as soon as practical and possible in light of the situation. The media and others who have requested notice shall be notified of the emergency meeting. Attendance at a special meeting or emergency meeting by the media or Board members shall constitute a waiver of the notice.

It shall be the responsibility of the Board secretary to give public notice of Board meetings and work sessions.

 

 

 

Legal Reference:  Dobrovolny v. Reinhardt, 173 N.W.2d 837 (Iowa 1970)

                              Iowa Code 21.2-.4; 279.1, .2

                              1952 Op. Att'y Gen. 133

 

 

 

Approved: 07/18/1995

Reviewed: 02/12/2004; 11/9/11; 10/14/15; 12/9/2020

Revised: 7/13/2006; 5/10/23

210.6 QUORUM

Action by the Wapello Board of Directors regarding the affairs of the school district may be taken only when a quorum, a majority of the Board members, is in attendance at the Board meeting.  While in person participation is encouraged, board members may attend meetings either in person or electronically provided each member can hear and be heard in real time by all members present and the public.

While Board members are encouraged to attend Board meetings, 3 (three) members shall constitute a quorum and are a sufficient number to transact business of the school corporation. The adjournment of a meeting may be executed without a quorum.

An affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast shall be sufficient to pass a motion or take action unless law or Board policy requires a vote of a greater number.

It is the responsibility of each Board member to attend Board meetings.

 

Legal Reference:  Iowa Code 21.5(1); 279.4

 

Approved: 07/18/1995

Reviewed: 02/12/2004; 11/9/11; 10/14/15; 12/9/2020

Revised: 02/12/2004; 7/13/2006

210.7 RULES OF ORDER

An orderly Board meeting allows the Board members to participate in the discussion and decision process on an issue confronting the school district. Rules of order for Board meetings allow school district business and the relative information concerning the business to be brought to the attention of the Board. They also allow the Board to discuss, act upon, and make a clear record of school district business in a regular, ordered, reasonable, and consistent manner.

It shall be the responsibility of each Board member to follow the rules of order stated in this policy at each meeting, and it shall be the responsibility of the presiding officer to conduct the Board meeting within these rules.

The Wapello Board of Directors shall follow Robert's Rule of Order, Revised, latest edition as modified by this policy and subsequent rule.

The purpose of modified rules adopted by the Board are:

  • To establish guidelines by which the business of the governing Board can be conducted in a regular and internally consistent manner;
  • To organize the meeting so all necessary matters can be brought to the Board and decisions of the Board can be made in an orderly and reasonable manner;
  • To ensure members of the Board, concentrating on the substantive issues at hand, have the necessary information to make decisions, and to insure adequate discussion of decisions to be made; and,
  • To insure meetings and actions of the Board are conducted so as to be informative to the staff and the public, and to produce a clear record of actions taken and decisions made.

Approved: 07/18/1995

Reviewed: 02/12/2004; 11/9/11; 10/14/15; 12/9/2020

Revised: 7/13/2006

210.7R1 RULES OF ORDER

The following rules of procedure have been adopted by the board at the annual organizational meeting:

  1. Board members need not rise to gain recognition of the chair.
  2. All motions will be made as a positive action.
  3. A motion will be adopted or carried if it receives an affirmative vote for more than half of the votes cast. Only "yes" and "no" votes are counted in this calculation. It should be noted that some motions require larger numbers of affirmative votes, such as to move into a closed session.
  4. All motions shall receive a second, prior to opening the issue for discussion of the board, if a motion does not receive a second, the chair may declare the motion dead for lack of a second.
  5. The chair may decide the order in which board members will be recognized to address an issue. An attempt should be made to alternate between pro and con positions.
  6. The chair shall rule on all motions that come from the board.
  7. The chair may rule on points of order brought before the board.
  8. The chair shall have complete authority to recognize any member of the audience regarding a request to participate in the board meeting.
  9. The chair has the authority to declare a recess at any time for the purpose for restoring decorum to the meeting.
  10. The order in which names will be called for roll call votes will be as follow:
    1. a. All board members will be listed in alphabetical order by last name.
    2. b. All roll call votes will be called in alphabetical order, beginning in various positions on the list.
    3. c. The first roll call vote will begin at the top of the list and proceed down. The second roll vote will begin with the second name and proceed down the list, with the last thing called to be the first person called on the previous vote.
    4. d. A person's absence, or presence, will have no effect on the rotation.
    5. e. Board president's name is placed in the rotation and receives no preferential treatment due to elected position.
    6. f.  The board secretary will maintain a record of rotation for roll call votes. The sequence will continue from meeting to meeting.
  11. The chair has the same authority and responsibility as each board member to vote on all issues.

 

210.8 BOARD MEETING AGENDA

The tentative agenda for each Board meeting shall state the topics for discussion and action at the Board meeting. The agenda is part of the public notice of the Board meeting and will be posted and distributed.

Persons requesting to place an item on the agenda must make a request to the superintendent prior to the drafting of the tentative agenda. The person making the request must state the person's name, address, purpose of the presentation, action desired, and pertinent background information. Request from the public may be added to the tentative agenda at the discretion of the superintendent after consultation with the Board president. Requests received after the deadline may only be added to the agenda for good cause.

The tentative agenda and supporting documents shall be sent to the Board members two days prior to the scheduled Board meeting. These documents are the private property of the Board member. Persons wishing to view the tentative agenda and supporting documents may do so at the central administration office.

The Board shall take action only on the items listed on the tentative agenda posted with the public notice. Items added to the agenda may be discussed or taken under advisement by the Board. If an added item is acted upon, the minutes of the Board meeting shall

state the reason justifying immediate action.

It shall be the responsibility of the Board president and superintendent to develop the agenda for each Board meeting.  Any board member may place on item on the next regular agenda with the consent of a majority of the board. 

 

Approved: 07/18/1995

Reviewed: 02/12/2004; 11/9/11; 10/14/15; 12/9/2020

Revised: 7/13/2006

 

210.9 CONSENT AGENDA

Very often the board must consider agenda items which are noncontroversial or similar in content.  Such agenda items might include ministerial tasks such as, but not limited to, the approval of the agenda, approval of previous minutes, approval of bills, approval of reports, etc.  These items might also include similar groups of decisions such as, but not limited to, approval of staff contracts, approval of maintenance details for the school buildings and grounds, open enrollment requests or approval of various schedules.

In order for a more efficient administration of board meetings, the board may elect to use a consent agenda for the passage of noncontroversial items or items of a similar nature.

The superintendent in consultation with the board president and board secretary shall place items on the consent agenda.  By using a consent agenda, the board has consented to the consideration of certain items as a group under one resolution.  Items may be removed from the consent agenda at the request of a board member.

Nothing in this policy is to be construed as an attempt to avoid full compliance with laws dealing with open meetings or public notice of the agenda and meeting.

 

Approved:  7/18/1995

Reviewed: 2/12/2004' 11/9/2011; 10/11/2015; 12/9/2020

Revised: 7/13/2006