Revised: September 25, 2001
Revised: September 28, 2004
Revised: October 24, 2007 (References to Board of Trustees changed to Board of Education

Policy

The School Act states that a Board must meet as often as is necessary to transact its business and must establish procedures governing the conduct of its meetings. A written copy of those procedures must be available to the public.

The Board shall conduct regular or special meetings at which all formal and legal business of the Board will be conducted. Regular meetings, scheduled in advance by the Board, shall be held monthly during the school year, on the fourth Tuesday of the month. Meetings will be held in July and August at the call of the Chair of the Board for emergency business only.

Special meetings may be called by the Chair, or by the Secretary-Treasurer on the written request of four Trustees, on dates other than those of regularly scheduled meetings, with each Trustee receiving no less than 24 hours advance written notice. An additional meeting may be held at any time with the consent of all Trustees present at a properly called meeting of the Board, or if all Trustees holding office waive notice. No business other than that for which the meeting was called shall be conducted at such a special meeting.

Individual Trustees or groups of Trustees may also meet in various settings as committees, for working sessions, or for discussion with members of the public or staff. Such gatherings and meetings are not considered meetings of the Board, and no official action of the Board may be taken on such occasions.

The Board shall adopt administrative procedures for conduct of its regular and special meetings.

Administrative Procedures

General Operating Procedures for Meetings

Written notice of all meetings shall be posted at the Board entrance to the Board Room at the Administrative Offices. Except for meetings called with less than 24 hours notice, the notice shall be posted at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting.

Time and Place of Meetings

Regular meetings of the Board shall be held in the Board Room and shall begin at 7:30 p.m., unless otherwise decided by the Board. No regular or special meeting, nor combination thereof, shall remain in session longer than three hours, except by resolution of the Board.

Meeting Agendas

The Superintendent shall prepare an agenda for each meeting. This agenda, with supporting material, shall be provided to each Trustee at least 24 hours prior to each regular meeting. Delivery of an agenda shall constitute notice of meeting.

Trustees who wish items included on the Board agenda, may propose topics during "Trustee Reports" or make a notice of motion at the Board meeting, or may request the addition of the item to the Superintendent at least one week in advance of the meeting.

Order of Business for Regular Meetings

The order in which the Board transacts its business at regular meetings shall be substantially as follows:

A change to the order of business may be proposed by any Trustee and shall require unanimous consent of those present without debate.

Quorum

A quorum for all regular and special meetings shall be a majority of Trustees holding office at that time. At the appointed time for commencement of a meeting, the Chair shall ascertain that a quorum is present before proceeding to the business of the meeting. No business of the Board shall be conducted unless a quorum is present.

Rules of Order at Regular Meetings

It is the intention of the Board that its meetings be conducted in a dignified and efficient manner. Rules of order will be applied as a means of assisting the conduct of Board business without providing undue formality or hindering useful discussion.

Except where otherwise provided in the School Act or in Board policy, the procedures included in Robert’s Rules of Order (Newly Revised) shall govern the conduct of meetings.

Meetings of the Board are open to the public unless, in the opinion of the Board, the public interest so requires that persons other than Trustees should be excluded from a meeting.

The Board may conduct an in camera, committee-of-the-whole session to discuss matters of a confidential nature, but shall report to open session following the in camera session any significant items discussed, except where a matter is referred to another meeting. No decisions shall be taken in the in camera committee-of-the-whole sessions and no minutes of such in camera committee-of-the-whole sessions shall be kept.

The Board, in a separate meeting scheduled or called as above, shall deal with those matters which, in the opinion of the Board, the public interest requires to be dealt with in the absence of the public. Such matters include those where privacy of employees, students, parents or others need to be respected or where negotiation or litigation is likely. The Secretary-Treasurer or another employee designated by the Board must be present at the time that a decision of the Board is rendered and must record any decision. Minutes of such meetings shall be kept in the same manner as those of a regular meeting, but shall be approved or amended only in an in camera session. Minutes of in camera meetings shall be filed separately from those of regular meetings.

Question Period

A question period will be provided at the end of a regular Board meeting, during which attendees may question the Board on business conducted during that meeting. This question period will be of a five to thirty minute duration at the discretion of the chair. Written questions will be given priority, but oral questions will be accepted if time remains. The Chair will indicate another means of response, if the question cannot be answered at the time.

While the Board believes that communication with the public is extremely important, the regular Board meeting is the formally designated means of transacting Board business, and is not the appropriate setting for general discussion, questioning, or comment by residents. The question period is provided solely as a means for ensuring that residents present in the audience have an opportunity to obtain clarification concerning the proceedings.

Residents who have other comments or questions are encouraged to contact Trustees or staff individually or, if desired, to arrange a formal presentation on the Board agenda. In general, Board policy indicates that questions or concerns are best handled as near the location of the issue as possible. Matters currently under negotiation or litigation, or related to personnel, will not be discussed in public session.

Delegations at Meetings

As a vehicle for affirming its policy of open Board-community relations and the rights of citizens to make their views known to the Board, delegations are welcome to express such views at regular Board meetings, subject to the following guidelines:

• Representations, requests or proposals of system-wide relevance should be initially brought to the Superintendent or Superintendent's delegate, then to the Board, if necessary

• Matters relative to an individual school should be discussed first with the principal of that school, and if the matter cannot be resolved at the school, it should then be brought to the Superintendent or the Superintendent's delegate

Matters not resolved by the Superintendent, may then be brought to the Board in the following manner:

• An appointment to meet with the Board must be established, through the Superintendent, at least one week prior to the meeting

• A written statement outlining the issues should be presented at the time of the request for an appointment

• Each delegation will be requested to name a spokesperson who will present the information to the Board and act as a contact person to whom the Board may direct a reply at a later date

• The delegation will be expected to limit any presentation to 10 minutes, followed by questions and comments from , if any

The Board will ordinarily take the presentation under advisement and may take action after due deliberation, usually at a subsequent meeting;

If circumstances warrant, the Board may receive such delegation "in camera".

Minutes of Board Meetings

The Secretary-Treasurer shall record proceedings of all Board meetings, and keep on file the official copy of the minutes as well as necessary associated background materials.

The minutes will contain a record of official actions taken, but will not contain an account of comments or opinions expressed by individual Trustees. Wherever reasonable, Board resolutions should include a complete record of recommendations acted upon or actions intended.

Minutes of regular meetings may be perused at the Board’s Administration Office by members of the public by appointment with the Secretary-Treasurer. Copies may be obtained for an appropriate fee, in compliance with the School Act.

Inaugural Meeting

The first meeting following each November 20^th shall be called the inaugural meeting. The inaugural meeting shall be held at the place and time of the first scheduled regular meeting of the Board unless specified for another date at the last meeting in the preceding month of November.

Immediately following the swearing-in of Trustees-elect, the Superintendent or the Superintendent’s delegate shall act as temporary chair to call the meeting to order. After ascertaining that the credentials of those seated at the Board table are in order, the Superintendent shall call for nominations for the position of Chair of the Board for the ensuing year. If there is more than one nomination, the election shall proceed by secret ballot. When the election has been concluded, the newly elected Chair of the Board shall preside.

The Board shall then conduct such business as is pertinent and urgent, including election of the Vice-Chairman of the Board. Provision will also be made for Trustees to indicate committee preferences to the chairman.