The Board shall develop and maintain a policy manual that provides a codification of its policy actions. Board policy provides the general direction as to what the Board wishes to accomplish while allowing the Superintendent to implement Board policy. Policies shall be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure relevance to current practices and compliance with the law.
The written policy statements contained in this manual provide guidelines and goals to the citizens, administration, employees and students in the District community. The policy statements shall be the basis for the formulation of regulations by the administration. The Board shall determine the effectiveness of the policy statements by evaluating periodic reports from the administration.
Policy statements may be proposed by a Board member, administrator, employee, student or member of the District community. Proposed policy statements or ideas shall be submitted to the Superintendent’s office for possible placement on the Board agenda. It shall be the responsibility of the Superintendent to bring these proposals to the attention of the Board.
The policies of the Board may be amended or revised by resolution adopted at any regular meeting, provided notice of such change shall have been given at a previous meeting. The Superintendent is authorized to submit written recommendations for revision of any existing policies as he deems necessary for the most efficient operation of the District. The Superintendent will notify all employees whenever revisions, additions or amendments are made. This notice procedure shall be required except for emergency situations, which shall be determined solely by the Board.
The Board shall give notice of proposed policy changes or adoption of new policies by placing the item on the agenda of two (2) Board meetings. The proposed policy changes shall be available for the public and public comment will be allowed at both meetings prior to final Board action. This notice procedure shall be required except for emergency situations. If the Board adopts a policy in an emergency situation, a statement regarding the emergency and the need for immediate adoption of the policy shall be included in the minutes. The Board shall have complete discretion to determine what constitutes an emergency situation.
The final action taken to adopt the proposed policy shall be approved by a simple majority vote of the Board. The policy will be effective on the later of the date of passage or the date stated in the motion.
In the case of an emergency, a new or changed policy may be adopted by a majority vote of a quorum of the Board. The emergency policy shall expire at the close of the third regular meeting following the emergency action, unless the policy adoption procedure stated above is followed and the policy is reaffirmed.
The Board shall, at least once every five years, review Board policy. Each year, the Board may make a determination about the sections and/or series of the policy manual and the specific policies in the policy manual to be reviewed. Once the policy has been reviewed, even if no changes were made, a notation of the date of review shall be made on the face of the policy statement.
It shall be the responsibility of the Superintendent to keep the Board informed as to legal changes at both the federal and state levels. The Superintendent shall also be responsible for bringing proposed policy statement revisions to the Board’s attention.
If a policy is revised because of a legal change over which the Board has no control, the policy may be approved at one meeting at the discretion of the board.
The Board policy manual shall be housed in each District attendance center and in the central administration office. Each Board member shall have a personal copy of the Board policy manual, either an electronic copy or a hard copy. Persons wishing to review the Board policy manual shall contact the Board Secretary, who shall have a Board policy manual available for public inspection, either with an electronic copy or a hard copy.
It shall be the responsibility of the Board Secretary to ensure copies of new and revised policy statements are distributed to the custodians of Board policy manuals as soon as possible following the policy’s adoption. Copies of changes in Board policy shall also be included in or attached to the minutes of the meetings in which the final action was taken to adopt the new or changed policy.
It shall be the responsibility of each Board member, during the Board member’s term of office, to keep the manual current and up-to-date and to surrender the manual to the Board Secretary at the conclusion of the Board member’s term of office.
REVIEWED: 11/18/2019 - APPROVED 12/03/2019
REVIEWED: 04/12/2021
