Jerome Joint School District No. 261

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES 1500P

School Board Meeting Procedure

Guidelines:

The basis of any productive meeting is a well-planned agenda. With the modern complexities of school board

work, and the amount of time donated by school trustee members, it is incumbent that the Board of Trustees of

Jerome Joint School District No. 261 make full use of its time when meeting in an official capacity. To do so requires

that an agenda be provided prior to meeting time, outlining the items to be considered during the meeting. Such

an agenda should be devised to preclude the Board having to make a spontaneous decision on any matter, but also not expending valuable time on relatively routine matters. The Board Member is entitled to knowledge upon

which to make competent decisions in the best interest of the schools that can be defended to the public.

Agenda

The agenda for any Board meeting shall be prepared by the Superintendent and Board Chair. Items submitted by

the Board Chair or at least two Board Members shall be placed on the agenda. The clerk, administration, or patrons

of the District may also suggest inclusions on the agenda. Such suggestions must be received by the Board Clerk at least 7 days before the Board meeting, unless of immediate importance. Individuals who wish to address the Board must also notify the Superintendent, in writing, of the request.

Regular Meeting Agendas

A 48 hour agenda notice shall be required in advance of each regular meeting. Notices and agendas must be posted in a prominent place at the principal office of the District or, if no such office exists, at the building where the

meeting is to be held. All meeting notices and agendas must be posted on the District website.

Special Meeting Agendas

Special meetings require a 24 hour meeting and agenda notice. The agenda notice shall include at a minimum the

meeting date, time, and place. The Board Clerk or their designee shall maintain a list of the news media requesting

notification of meetings and shall make a good faith effort to provide advance notification to them of the time and

place of each meeting. All meeting notices and agendas must be posted on the District website.

Amending Agendas

An agenda may be amended provided that a good faith effort is made to include, in the original agenda notice, all

items known to be probable items of discussion.

Amending the Agenda More than 48 Hours Before a Regular Meeting or 24 Hours Before a Special Meeting: If an

amendment to an agenda is made after an agenda has been posted but 48 hours or more prior to the start of a

regular meeting, or 24 hours or more prior to the start of a special meeting, then the agenda is amended upon the

posting of the amended agenda.

Amending the Agenda Less than 48 Hours Before a Regular Meeting or 24 Hours Before a Special Meeting: If an

amendment to an agenda is proposed after an agenda has been posted and less than 48 hours prior to a regular

meeting or less than 24 hours prior to a special meeting but prior to the start of the meeting, the proposed

amended agenda shall be posted but shall not become effective until a motion is made at the meeting and the

Board votes to amend the agenda.

Amending the Agenda After the Start of a Meeting: An agenda may be amended after the start of a meeting upon

a motion that states the reason for the amendment and states the good faith reason the agenda item was not

included in the original agenda posting.

Negotiation Meeting Notices

Notice of all negotiation sessions between the District and the local education organization shall be posted at the

earliest time practicable on the front page of the District’s website. Additionally, if time permits, the District shall

post notice of the negotiation sessions within 24 hours at the same physical locations the District uses for posting

its regular meetings.

Order of Business

The order of business will be determined by the Board Chair and Superintendent with input from the Board. Upon

consent of the majority of the Members present, the order of business at any meeting may be changed. The Board

shall accept public comment before it takes action on any District business.

Consent Agenda

To expedite business at a Board meeting, the Board approves the use of a consent agenda, which includes those

items considered to be routine in nature. Any item which appears on the consent agenda may be removed by a

Member of the Board. It is strongly suggested that any Board Member who wishes to remove an item from the

consent agenda give advance notice in a timely manner to the Board Chair and Superintendent. The remaining

items will be voted on by a single motion. The approved motion will be recorded in the minutes, including a listing

of all items appearing on the consent agenda.

Action Items

All agenda items that require a vote shall be identified on the agenda as such. Final action may not be taken on

any agenda item added after the start of a meeting unless an emergency is declared necessitating action at that

meeting. The declaration and justification shall be reflected in the Board minutes.

Minutes

The clerk shall keep written minutes of all open Board meetings, which shall be signed by the Chair and the clerk.

The minutes shall include:

1. The date, time, and place of the meeting;

2. The presiding officer;

3. Board Members recorded as absent or present;

4. All motions, resolutions, orders, or ordinances proposed and their disposition;

5. The results of all votes, and upon the request of a Member, the vote of each Member, by name;

6. Legal basis for recessing into executive session; and

7. Time of adjournment.

When issues are discussed that may require a detailed record, the Board may direct the clerk to record the

discussion verbatim.

Unofficial minutes shall be delivered to Board Members in advance of the next regularly scheduled meeting of the

Board. Minutes need not be read publicly, provided that Members have had an opportunity to review them before

adoption. A file of permanent minutes of Board meetings shall be maintained in the office of the clerk, to be made

available within a reasonable period of time after a meeting for inspection upon the request.

Minutes of Executive Session

The clerk shall keep written minutes of executive session. Said minutes shall be limited to a specific reference to

the Idaho Code subsection authorizing the executive session and sufficient detail to provide the general subject

matter to identify the purpose and topic of the executive session. The roll call vote to go into executive session shall

be recorded in the minutes. The minutes shall not contain information that would compromise the purpose of

going into executive session.

Minutes of Negotiation Sessions

In all negotiation sessions between the District and the local education organization, the District shall cause to be

taken written minutes. All documentation exchanged between the parties during a negotiation session, including

all offers and counter-offers, shall be retained by the District and shall be subject to public writings disclosure laws.

Quorum

No business shall be transacted at any meeting of the Board unless a quorum of the Members is present. A

majority of the full membership of the Board shall constitute a quorum, a majority of the quorum may pass a

resolution. However, in the event one or more vacancies on the board exist in accordance with Policy 1140, a

quorum is permitted if a majority of the remaining members of the board are present.

Meeting Conduct and Order of Business

General rules of parliamentary procedure are used for every Board meeting. The most current edition of Robert’s

Rules of Order may be used as a guide at any meeting. The order of business shall be reflected on the agenda. The use of proxy votes shall not be permitted. Voting rights are reserved to those Board Members in attendance. Voting shall be by acclamation or show of hands. The Board shall adopt a board operating protocol and rules of procedure, and make it available for patrons at all Board meetings.

Recall of School Trustees

In the event one or more Board Members are subject to a recall election, those Board Member(s) shall not vote on

any of the following action items until after the certification of the recall election results:

1. Action items that would alter the structure of the Board; or

2. Action items that would create a new contractual or financial obligation for the District.

This prohibition shall apply to all Board Members who are subject to the recall election, regardless of the result of

the election, and it shall apply from the date of the recall election until the results are certified. These Board

Members may participate and vote in all other routine matters.

Legal References Description

IC § 33-205 Denial of School Attendance

IC § 33-510 Annual Meetings – Regular Meetings – Board of Trustees

IC § 74-202 Open Public Meetings – Definitions

IC § 74-203 Governing Bodies--Requirement for Open Public Meetings

IC § 74-204 Notice of Meetings

IC § 74-205 Written Minutes of Meetings

IC § 74-206 Executive Sessions – When Authorized

IC § 74-206A Negotiations in Open Session

Idaho Open Meeting Law Manual Current edition

Cross References

Code Description

1140 Vacancies

4105 Public Participation in Board Meeting

4105 Public Participation in Board Meeting

Policy History:

Adopted on: 09/26/2006

Revised on: 10/27/2009

Revised on: 08/27/2013

Revised on: 10/23/2018

Revised on: 9/24/2024