A majority of the Board of Directors shall be necessary to constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. A majority vote of those present shall be necessary and sufficient to pass any motion or to take any action of the Board unless the vote of a greater number with respect to the particular subject matter shall be required by law or other Board policy. A quorum need not be present to adjourn a meeting.
Any gathering of a majority of Board members, either formal or informational, in which deliberation of a policy matter takes place, is defined as a meeting. All such meetings, unless specifically exempt from the Open Meetings Law, are required to have proper notification, public access, open Board discussion and voting by the Board members on the issues properly before the Board, and a public record of the proceeding in the form of written minutes.
All public Board meetings shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of Iowa law. The Board Secretary shall be responsible for public notification of all meetings, arranging for audio-recording (when necessary), and making minutes of all meetings and retaining appropriate minutes and records as required by law.
The minutes shall be kept on file as the permanent official records of school legislation for the District. The Secretary shall be the authorized deputy of the Board to maintain the minutes and shall make them available to any citizen who wishes to examine them, during usual office hours of the District.
The Board shall follow Parliamentary Procedures at a Glance, Revised, latest edition as modified by any subsequent policy or rule.
A. ANNUAL MEETING
Each year after August 31 and prior to the organizational meeting of the Board in odd-numbered years, the Board will hold its annual meeting.
At the annual meeting, the Board will examine the financial books and settle the Secretary’s and Treasurer’s statements for the fiscal year ending the preceding June 30. As part of the annual reports, the Treasurer will present affidavits from depository banks. The Board may also appoint the Board’s legal counsel at the annual meeting.
B. ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING
The Board will hold its organizational meeting in odd-numbered years at the first regular meeting following the canvass of votes. Notice of the meeting’s place and time will be given by the Board Secretary to each member, member-elect, and the public. The purpose of the meeting is to transfer material and responsibility from the outgoing Board to the new Board. At the meeting, the Board will elect a President and a Vice President who will hold office for one year. Once elected, the President and Vice President will be entitled to vote on all matters before the Board.
B. REGULAR MEETINGS
Regular meetings of the Board of Directors shall be held monthly. The dates, time, and place of regular meetings of the Board of Directors shall be established at the organizational meeting of the Board of Directors in odd-numbered years and at the annual meeting in even-numbered years. Public notice of the meetings will be given and the meetings shall be open to the public.
C. CLOSED SESSIONS
Closed sessions take place as part of an open meeting. The item for discussion in the closed session will be listed as part of the tentative agenda on the public notice. The motion for a closed session, stating the purpose for the closed session, will be made and seconded during the open meeting. A minimum of two-thirds of the board, or all of the board members present, must vote in favor of the motion on a roll call vote. Closed sessions will be tape recorded and have detailed minutes kept by the board secretary. Final action on matters discussed in the closed session will be taken in an open meeting.
The minutes and the tape recording will restate the motion made in the open meeting, the roll call vote, the members present, and the time the closed session began and ended. The tape recordings and the written minutes will be kept for one year from the date of the meeting. Real estate related minutes and tapes will be made public after the real estate transaction is completed.
The detailed minutes and tape recording will be sealed and will not be public records open to public inspection. The minutes and tape recording will only be available to the board members or, opened upon court order in an action to enforce the requirements of the open meetings law. The board has complete discretion as to whom may be present at a closed session.
The reasons for which the Board of Directors may go into a closed meeting from an open meeting, include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. To review or discuss records which are required or authorized by state or federal law to be kept confidential or to be kept confidential as a condition for the District's possession or continued receipt of federal funds.
2. To discuss strategy with counsel in matters that are presently in litigation or where litigation is imminent where its disclosure would be likely to prejudice or disadvantage the position of the District in that litigation.
3. To discuss whether to conduct a hearing or to conduct hearings to suspend or expel a student, unless an open session is requested by the student or a parent or guardian of the student if the student is a minor.
4. To evaluate the professional competency of an individual whose appointment, hiring, performance or discharge is being considered when necessary to prevent needless and irreparable injury to that individual's reputation and that individual requests a closed session.
5. To discuss the purchase or sale of particular real estate only where premature disclosure could be reasonably expected to increase the price the governmental body would have to pay for that property or reduce the price the District would receive for that property.
D. EXEMPT MEETINGS
Board meetings at which a quorum is not present, or gatherings of the board for purely ministerial or social purposes when there is no discussion of policy or no intent to avoid the purposes of the open meetings law, are exempt from the open meetings law requirements. Since gatherings of this type are exempt from the open meetings requirements, they can be held without public notice, be separate from an open meeting, be held without taping the gathering or taking minutes, and be held without a vote or motion. The board may also hold an exempt session for the following:
1. Negotiating sessions, strategy meetings of public employers or employee organizations, mediation and the deliberative process of arbitration;
2. To discuss strategy in matters relating to employment conditions of employees not covered by the collective bargaining law;
3. To conduct a private hearing relating to the recommended termination of a teacher's contract. The private hearing however, in the teacher's contract termination will be recorded verbatim by a court reporter; and
4. To conduct a private hearing relating to the termination of a probationary administrator's contract or to review the proposed decision of the administrative law judge regarding the termination of an administrator's contract.
E. SPECIAL MEETINGS
Special meetings may be called by the President, or by the Secretary upon request of a majority of the members of the Board. Public notice will be given of special meetings.
If the special meeting called is an emergency meeting and the Board cannot give public notice in its usual manner, the Board will give public notice of the meeting as soon as practical and possible in light of the situation. Emergency meetings will only be held when an issue cannot wait twenty-four (24) hours necessary for a special meeting. The reason for the emergency meeting and why notice in its usual manner could not be given will be stated in the minutes.
Only the purpose or issue for which the special meeting was called may be discussed and decided in the special meeting. The Board will strictly adhere to the agenda for the special meeting and action on other issues will be reserved for the next regular or special Board meeting.
F. WORK SESSIONS
The Board may schedule work sessions and retreats in order to provide its members and the administration with opportunities to discuss, review, and plan. The Board has the authority to hire an outside facilitator to assist it 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.
G. PUBLIC HEARINGS
Public hearings may be held on District matters at the discretion of the Board. Public notice of a public hearing will be in the same manner as for a Board meeting except that the notice will be given at least ten days before the hearing is to be held unless it is impossible or impractical to do so.
At public hearings, citizens of the District who register at the door will be allowed to speak on the issue for which the public hearing is being held. Others may be allowed to speak at the Board’s discretion. Speakers are asked to keep their remarks as brief as possible. Prior to the beginning of the hearing, speakers and spectators will be apprised of the rules of order to be followed regarding time limitations, questions, remarks, and rebuttals. In no event will a speaker be allowed to take the time of another speaker.
The Board will conduct public hearings in an orderly fashion. At the beginning of the hearing, statements, background materials, and public hearing rules and procedures will be presented by the Board President. The Board President will recognize speakers. A Board member may ask questions of the speakers after receiving permission from the Board President. Only those speakers recognized by the chair will be allowed to speak. Comments by others are out of order. Individuals who interfere with or interrupt speakers, the Board or the proceedings will be asked to leave.
REVIEWED: 11/18/2019 - APPROVED 12/03/2019
REVIEWED: 12/21/2020
