Meetings of the Board are conducted for the purpose of carrying on the business of the District. All meetings of the Board shall be public meetings and shall be open to the public at all times with the exception of closed session as described under Iowa law.
Only Board Members have the authority to make and second motions and vote on issues before the Board. The Board may establish rules for its own governance and determine procedures that will be followed during Board Meetings.
*Reviewed: 09/16/02
*Reviewed: 01/10/05
*Revised: 12/13/10
*Reviewed: 11/14/11
*Reviewed: 07/11/16
*Revised: 07/12/21
Any gathering of a majority of Board Members, either formal or informal, in which deliberation of a policy matter takes place, is defined as a meeting.
All Board meetings shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the laws of the State of Iowa. 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.
The Secretary shall be responsible for public notification of all meetings, arranging for tape‑recording (when necessary), taking 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 these available to any citizen who wishes to examine the minutes during usual office hours of the District.
*Reviewed: 09/16/02
*Reviewed: 01/10/05
*Revised: 12/13/10
*Revised: 11/14/11
*Reviewed: 07/11/16
*Revised: 07/12/21
Regular meetings of the Board shall be held on the second Monday of each month. All meetings shall be held in the meeting place officially designated by the Board. Regular meetings shall begin at 7:00 p.m. or at the discretion of the Board.
Public notice of each regular meeting of the Board shall be provided in the manner described in this policy manual.
*Revised: 10/22/90
*Revised: 10/14/02
*Reviewed: 01/10/05
*Revised: 12/13/10
*Revised: 11/14/11
*Reviewed: 07/11/16
*Revised: 07/12/21
Special meetings may be called by vote of the Board or by the President or the Secretary upon the written request of a majority of the members of the Board. The agenda for special meetings shall be limited to the item or items for which the special meeting is called.
The Board may meet on an emergency basis without a twenty‑four (24) hour advance notice for good cause when the notice requirements are impossible or impractical. However, the Board should give as much advance notice of an emergency meeting as is reasonably possible.
*Reviewed: 09/16/02
*Reviewed: 01/10/05
*Revised: 12/13/10
*Revised: 11/14/11
*Reviewed: 07/11/16
*Revised: 07/12/21
In general, all meetings of the Board shall be conducted in open public sessions. There are two categories of meetings which are excluded that allow the Board to meet in sessions closed to the public.
The first category is known as "exceptions" to the Open Meetings Law and the second category is known as "exemptions" to the Open Meetings Law.
Exceptions to the Open Meetings Law
This form of a closed session takes place during an open meeting. A specific motion stating the reason for the closed meeting must be made and seconded, followed by a two‑thirds affirmative roll call vote of the total membership of the Board or all Board Members present. The vote of each member on the question of holding the closed session, and the reason for holding the session, shall be announced publicly in open session and entered in the minutes.
The most commonly used reasons by which a Board may enter into a closed session are as follows:
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 Board's possession or receipt of federal funds.
To discuss strategy with legal counsel in matters presently in litigation or where litigation is imminent, if disclosure would be to the disadvantage of the Board.
To discuss suspension or expulsion of a student, unless an open session is requested by the student or his parent or guardian.
To discuss specific law enforcement matters which, if disclosed, would enable law violators to avoid detection.
To evaluate the professional competence of an individual whose appointment, hiring, performance, or discharge is being considered when a closed session is necessary to prevent needless and irreparable injury to the individual's reputation and when the individual requests a closed session.
To discuss the purchase of particular real estate, but only when premature disclosure could be reasonably expected to increase the price the Board would have to pay for the property. (Once the transaction is complete, however, the minutes and tape of the closed session will be available to the public.)
Final action on all matters discussed in closed session shall be taken in open session.
All closed sessions shall have detailed minutes kept of all discussion, persons present, and action occurring. All closed sessions shall be tape-recorded. The detailed minutes and tape recording shall be sealed and shall not be public records open to public inspection. The tape recordings shall be kept for one (1) year from the date of the meeting. Real estate-related minutes and tapes must be released after the transaction is complete.
Exemptions to the Open Meetings Law
A meeting that is exempt from the Open Meetings law can be held without public notice and may be separate from any open public meeting.
All negotiations meetings, except the first two (2) meetings, between a certified bargaining unit and the Board are exempt from the Open Meetings law unless both parties mutually agree to bargain in open sessions.
The Board may meet at any time to discuss negotiation strategy regarding all bargaining units, to discuss negotiation strategy for groups of employees not included in a bargaining unit, and to conduct a private hearing relating to the recommended termination of a teacher's contract and the teacher requested said private hearing.
There are no legal requirements for any type of a record to be maintained of the negotiation strategy sessions. The private hearing in the teacher's contract termination shall be recorded verbatim by a court reporter.
*Reviewed: 09/16/02
*Reviewed: 01/10/05
*Revised: 12/13/10
*Revised: 11/14/11
*Reviewed: 07/11/16
*Revised: 07/12/21
The meeting for the organization of the Board will be held annually at the first regular meeting following a regular school election.
The purpose of the organizational meeting is to transfer material and responsibility from the retiring Board members to the new Board members. At the meeting, the Board will elect a president, who will hold office for one year. Once elected, the President will be entitled to vote on all matters before the Board.
The election of the President and other officers of the Board shall be by written ballot. The Board member receiving a majority of the votes cast shall be declared elected for the office in question.
*Reviewed: 09/16/02
*Reviewed: 01/10/05
*Revised: 12/13/10
*Reviewed: 11/14/11
*Reviewed: 8/8/16
*Revised: 08/09/21
Public notice of regular or special meetings of the Board shall be provided by posting the agenda at the central administration office. Notice shall be given at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the commencement of each meeting, and should include the time, date, place, and tentative agenda. Notice shall be provided to the news media and to others who have filed a request for notice with the Secretary. All requests for notice must be renewed annually.
Notice of the call of a special meeting shall be given to each Board member in writing and mailed to his/her residing address at least twenty-four (24) hours before the meeting. The notice shall specify the time, date, place, and purpose (tentative agenda) of the meeting. Attendance at the special meeting shall constitute a waiver of notice.
An emergency meeting may be called with less than twenty-four (24) hours notice when the Board is required to meet for good cause to take immediate action. In an emergency, when it is not possible to give twenty-four (24) hours notice, the Secretary will notify the media who have requested notification, by telephone, and post the meeting notice, as far in advance of the meeting as possible. The minutes of such an "emergency" meeting should clearly state the good cause justifying the emergency meeting.
*Reviewed: 09/16/02
*Reviewed: 01/10/05
*Revised: 12/13/10
*Reviewed: 11/14/11
*Reviewed: 8/8/16
*Revised: 08/09/21
The majority of the full membership of the Board constitutes a quorum and must be present for the transaction of business. An affirmative vote of those present and voting shall be sufficient to pass any motion or take any action, unless the law or Board policy requires the vote of a greater number in a particular case.
A quorum need not be present to adjourn a meeting.
*Reviewed: 09/16/02
*Reviewed: 01/10/05
*Revised: 12/13/10
*Reviewed: 11/14/11
*Reviewed: 8/8/16
*Revised: 08/09/21
The Board shall follow Robert's Rules of Order, Revised, latest edition as modified by this policy and subsequent rule.
The purposes 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 meetings so that all necessary matters can be brought to the Board and that decisions of the Board can be made in an orderly and reasonable manner;
To ensure that members of the Board, concentrating on the substantive issues at hand, have the necessary information to make decisions, and to ensure adequate discussion of decisions to be made.
To ensure that 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.
*Reviewed: 09/16/02
*Reviewed: 01/10/05
*Revised: 12/13/10
*Reviewed: 11/14/11
*Reviewed: 8/8/16
*Revised: 08/09/21
The tentative agenda for each Board meeting shall state the topics for discussion and action at the Board meeting.
The tentative agenda with appropriate enclosures shall be prepared and available for the Board Members to pick up at the Central Office. The Board packets will be completed and available enough in advance of the meeting to allow adequate time for study and review.
The tentative agenda for each regular and special meeting shall be posted at the administrative office at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the time of said meeting. The agenda shall also be widely distributed to staff requesting it, to citizens requesting it, and to the news media requesting it.
The tentative agenda to be included with the notice given at least twenty-four (24) hours before the meeting shall be specific enough to properly inform the public of the business before the Board. The tentative agenda can be amended within the twenty-four (24) hour notice period only if good cause exists requiring action on additional matters. If such matters are added, a statement to that effect should be entered in the minutes, and as much advance notice as possible should be given to the public and the media. This is not meant to prevent the Board or members of the public or the staff from introducing items for discussion only; action on discussion items, however, must normally be deferred to a subsequent meeting when the legally required notice can be given.
Action on any item can only take place with items on the agenda as published. These provisions do not preclude the taking of testimony at regularly scheduled meetings on matters not on the agenda, which any member of the public may wish to bring before the Board, provided that no action is taken by the board on such matters at the same meeting at which such testimony is taken.
Individuals or groups who wish to be placed on the agenda under business items should do so by notifying the Superintendent. Requests should include name, address, phone number, organization represented, purpose of the presentation, and pertinent background information. To be included on the regular meeting agenda under business items, notification must be made to the superintendent or his designee not later than seven (7) days prior to the meeting.
*Revised: 12/12/94
*Reviewed: 09/16/02
*Reviewed: 01/10/05
*Revised: 12/13/10
*Revised: 11/14/11
*Reviewed: 8/8/16
*Reviewed: 08/09/21
Complaints by General Public
The Board strongly believes that all concerns, problems, and complaints about personnel should be resolved at the lowest possible level within the District's structure. Anyone with a concern or complaint should first contact the person who is the cause of the concern in an attempt to identify, clarify and resolve the differences which are giving rise to the concern or complaint. Complaints that remain unresolved at the first and subsequent levels may be moved through the chain of authority to employee's immediate supervisor(s), the Superintendent, and finally to the Board, at the discretion of the Board.
Appeals will be heard by the Board solely at the discretion of the Board, and the Board does not have to hear any complaint and/or appeal. Appeals will be heard by the Board only if the complaint has been moved through the chain of authority. Complaints taken to the Board should be placed on the agenda by contacting the Superintendent. Anonymous complaints shall not be considered.
Complaints by Employees
If an employee and the employee's complaint are included by definition in the grievance procedure of a labor agreement, then the grievance procedure shall be the sole and exclusive forum for resolving the complaint.
Problems, concerns and complaints not covered by the labor agreement should be resolved by using the procedure described in the first paragraph of this policy.
*Reviewed: 09/16/02
*Reviewed: 01/10/05
*Revised: 12/13/10
*Reviewed: 11/14/11
*Reviewed: 8/8/16
*Revised: 08/09/21
The board recognizes the importance of citizen participation in school district matters. In order to assure citizens are heard and board meetings are conducted efficiently and in an organized manner, the board will set aside a specific time for public comment.
Public Comment During Board Meetings
Citizens wishing to address the board during public comment must notify the board secretary prior to the board meeting. The board president will recognize these individuals to make their comments at the appropriate time during public comment. Citizens wishing to present petitions to the board may also do so at this time. The board however, will only receive the petitions and not act upon them or their contents.
The board has the discretion to limit the amount of time set aside for public participation. Normally, speakers will be limited to three (3) minutes with a total allotted time for public participation of thirty (30) minutes. However, the board president may modify this time limit, if deemed appropriate or necessary. Public comment is a time set aside for community input, but the board will not discuss or take any action on any matter during public comment.
Public comment shall be limited to regular board meetings and will not be routinely held during special board meetings.
Petitions to Place a Topic on the Agenda
Individuals who wish for an item to be placed on the board agenda may submit a valid petition to the board. For a petition to be valid, it must be signed by at least 500 eligible electors of the district, or ten percent of the individuals who voted in the last school election, whichever number is lower.
Upon receiving a valid petition to the board to place a proposal on the next board agenda for public hearing, the board will place the proposal identified in the petition on the agenda of the next regular meeting, or a special meeting held within 30 days of receipt of the petition. The board will provide a sign-up sheet for all individuals who wish to speak on the proposal, and individuals will be called to speak in order of sign-up. The sign-up sheet will require each individual to list their legal name and mailing address. Each speaker will be limited to an amount of time established by the board president that is reasonable and necessary based on the number of speakers signed up. The same time limit will apply to all speakers on the proposal. Each individual will be limited to one opportunity to speak. The board maintains absolute discretion on whether or not to discuss or act on the public comments made on the proposal. If a petition is related to curriculum, the district maintains discretion to determine whether to stop teaching that curriculum until the board holds the public hearing to discuss the curriculum.
The board has a significant interest in maintaining the decorum of its meetings, and it is expected that members of the public and the board will address each other with civility. The orderly process of the board meeting will not be interfered with or disrupted by public comment. Only individuals recognized by the board president will be allowed to speak. Comments by others are out of order. If disruptive, the individual causing disruption may be asked to leave the board meeting. Defamatory comments may be subject to legal action.
*Revised: 02/08/93
*Revised: 10/14/02
*Reviewed: 01/10/05
*Revised: 12/13/10
*Reviewed: 11/14/11
*Reviewed: 8/8/16
*Revised: 08/09/21
*Revised: 09/25/23
In conducting public hearings required by law, and any other hearings as it deems advisable, the Board will adhere strictly to any statutory requirements that apply to the specific type of hearing and shall seek to conduct the hearings in a fair, open, and objective manner, giving all persons involved an equal opportunity to be heard.
The President of the Board, or another member at his/her and the Board's approval, will preside at hearings before the Board.
At the beginning of the proceedings, the attending public will be informed of particular rules that it will be following in regard to questions, remarks, rebuttals, time limitations, or other rules necessary to give everyone an opportunity to be heard.
In conformance with customary hearing procedures, statements and supporting information will be presented first by the Board, or by others on behalf of the Board. To address the Board, citizens must be recognized by the chair, and all remarks must be addressed to the chair and be germane to the topic.
*Reviewed: 09/16/02
*Reviewed: 01/10/05
*Revised: 12/13/10
*Reviewed: 11/14/11
*Reviewed: 08/08/16
*Reviewed: 08/09/21
The board shall keep and maintain permanent records of the board including, but not limited to, records of the minutes of board meetings, and other required records received by the board. The minutes shall be preserved in accordance with board policy, "District Records."
It shall be the responsibility of the Secretary to keep the minutes of the Board meetings. The minutes of each meeting shall include as a minimum the following items: a record of date, time, place, members present, action taken and the vote of each member, with the financial records of receipts and expenditures attached. This information shall be published within twenty (20) days of the meeting in a newspaper designated as a newspaper for official publication.
The permanent records of the board minutes may include more detail than is required for the publication of the minutes.
Minutes waiting approval at the next Board meeting will be available for inspection after the Secretary transcribes the notes and has made them available to Board members.
*Reviewed: 09/16/02
*Reviewed: 01/10/05
*Revised: 12/13/10
*Revised: 11/14/11
*Reviewed: 08/08/16
*Revised: 08/09/21
Members of the Board shall serve without pay. They shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties as members of the Board, as permitted by law.
*Reviewed: 09/16/02
*Reviewed: 01/10/05
*Revised: 12/13/10
*Reviewed: 11/14/11
*Reviewed: 08/08/16
*Revised: 08/09/21