2:220 School Board: School Board Meeting Procedure

Agenda

The School Board President is responsible for focusing the Board meeting agendas on appropriate content. The Superintendent shall prepare agendas 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 extensive discussion before Board action. Upon the request of any Board member, an item will be withdrawn from the consent agenda and placed on the regular agenda for independent consideration.

Each Board meeting agenda shall contain the general subject matter of any item that will be the subject of final action at the meeting. Items submitted by Board members to the Superintendent or the President shall be placed on the agenda for an upcoming meeting. District residents may suggest inclusions for the agenda. The Board will take final action only on items contained in the posted agenda; items not on the agenda may still be discussed.

The Superintendent shall provide a copy of the agenda, with adequate data and background information, to each Board 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 Board policy 2:200, Types of School Board Meetings.

The Board President shall determine the order of business at regular Board meetings. Upon consent of a 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, with a quorum being present, a majority of the votes cast shall determine its outcome. A vote of abstain or present, or a vote 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 abstain or present, 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 is 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. An individual Board member may request that a roll call vote be taken on any other matter; the President or other presiding officer may approve or deny the request but a denial is subject to being overturned by a majority vote of the members present.

Minutes

The Board Secretary shall keep written minutes of all Board meetings (whether open or closed), which shall be signed by the President and the Secretary. The minutes include:

1.       The meeting’s date, time, and place;

2.       Board members recorded as either present or absent;

3.       A summary of the discussion on all matters proposed, deliberated, or decided, and a record of any votes taken;

4.       On all matters requiring a roll call vote, a record of who voted yea and nay;

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 (OMA) authorizing the closed meeting;

7.       A record of all motions, including individuals making and seconding motions;

8.       Upon request by a Board member, a record of how he or she voted on a particular motion; and

9.       The type of meeting, including any notices and, if a reconvened meeting, the original meeting’s date.

The minutes shall be submitted to the Board for approval or modification at its next regularly scheduled open meeting. Minutes for open meetings must be approved within 30 days after the meeting or at the second subsequent regular meeting, whichever is later.

Every six months, or as soon after as is practicable, in an open meeting, the Board: (1) reviews minutes from all closed meetings that are currently unavailable for public release, and (2) determines which, if any, no longer require confidential treatment and are available for public inspection. This is also referred to as a semi-annual review. The Board may meet in a prior closed session to review the minutes from closed meetings that are currently unavailable for public release, but it reports its determination in open session.

The Board’s meeting minutes must be submitted to the Board Treasurer at such times as the Treasurer may require.

The official minutes are in the custody of the Board Secretary. Open meeting minutes are available for inspection during regular office hours within 10 days after the Board’s approval; they may be inspected in the District’s main office, in the presence of the Secretary, the Superintendent or designee, or any Board member.

Minutes from closed meetings are likewise available, but only if the Board has released them for public inspection, except that Board members may access closed session minutes not yet released for public inspection (1) in the District’s administrative offices or their official storage location, and (2) in the presence of the Recording Secretary, the Superintendent or designated administrator, or any elected Board member. The minutes, whether reviewed by members of the public or the Board, shall not be removed from the District’s administrative offices or their official storage location except by vote of the Board or by court order.

The Board’s open meeting minutes shall be posted on the District website within ten 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 device 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 access verbatim recordings in the presence of the Recording Secretary, the Superintendent or designated administrator, or any elected Board member. Access to the verbatim recordings is available at the District’s administrative offices or the verbatim recording’s official storage location. Requests shall be made to the Superintendent or Board President. While a Board member is listening to a verbatim recording, it shall not be re-recorded or removed from the District’s main office or official storage location, except by vote of the Board or by court order.

Before making such requests, Board members should consider whether such requests are germane to their responsibilities, service to District, and/or Oath of Office in policy 2:80, Board Member Oath and Conduct. In the interest of encouraging free and open expression by Board members during closed meetings, the recordings 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 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, (3) a family or other emergency, or (4) unexpected childcare obligations. 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 in this policy, may participate in all aspects of the Board meeting including voting on any item.

No Physical Presence of Quorum and Participation by Audio or Video; Disaster Declaration

The ability of the Board to meet in person with a quorum physically present at its meeting location may be affected by the Governor or the Director of the Ill. Dept. of Public Health issuing a disaster declaration related to a public health emergency. The Board President or, if the office is vacant or the President is absent or unable to perform the office’s duties, the Vice President determines that an in-person meeting or a meeting conducted under the Quorum and Participation by Audio or Video Means subhead above, is not practical or prudent because of the disaster declaration; if neither the President nor Vice President are present or able to perform this determination, the Superintendent shall serve as the duly authorized designee for purposes of making this determination.

The individual who makes this determination for the Board shall put it in writing, include it on the Board’s published notice and agenda for the audio or video meeting and in the meeting minutes, and ensure that the Board meets every OMA requirement for the Board to meet by video or audio conference without the physical presence of a quorum.

Rules of Order

Unless State law or Board-adopted rules apply, the Board President, as the presiding officer, will use the most recent edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised, as a guide when a question arises concerning procedure.

Broadcasting and Recording Board Meetings

Any person may record or broadcast an open Board meeting. Special requests to facilitate recording or broadcasting an open Board meeting, such as seating, writing surfaces, lighting, and access to electrical power, should be directed to the Superintendent at least 24 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, 120/2.06, and 120/7, Open Meetings Act.

105 ILCS 5/10-6, 5/10-7, 5/10-12, and 5/10-16.

CROSS REF.:         2:80 (Board Member Oath and Conduct), 2:150 (Committees), 2:200 (Types of School Board Meetings), 2:210 (Organizational School Board Meeting), 2:230 (Public Participation at School Board Meetings and Petitions to the Board)

Last PRESS Update: October 2023

First Read: November 8, 2023

Adopted: December 13, 2023