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Board of Trustees Standard Operating Procedures

Paris ISD Board of Trustees
Standard Operating Procedures

Table of Contents (Revised 7/9/13)

1. Types of Board Meetings

2. Developing Board Meeting Agenda

3. Meeting Completion Time

4. Member Conduct During Board Meetings

5. Voting

6. Individual Board Member Request For Information Or Report

7. Citizen Request/Complaint To Individual Board Member

8. Employee Request/Complaint To Individual Board Member

9. Visit To School Campus

10. Communications

11. Evaluation of Superintendent

12. Evaluation of Board

13. Selecting Board Officers

14. Role And Authority Of Board Member

15. Closed Session

16. Media Inquiries

17. Anonymous Phone Call/Letters  

18. Review of Operating Procedures

 

      

1. TYPES OF BOARD MEETINGS 
   

       A.      Regular - Held the second or third Monday of each month at 5:30 p.m. 
                (72-hour notice required) with student/staff recognition at open forum.

       B.      Special- Held at the President's discretion or on request of two or 
                more Board members (72-hour notice required)

       C.      Emergency- Held when the President or two or more members                         
                 determine an emergency or urgent public necessity exists (2-hour                      
                 notice required).

       D.      Any time four or more Board members are gathered for the purpose of 
                discussing school business, it is considered a meeting and must be posted.

 

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2. DEVELOPING BOARD MEETING AGENDA
   

       A.      Placing items on agenda:


                1.     Board members must request in advance to Board President                         
                        or Superintendent any item they wish to have considered for 
                        placement on the agenda.

                2.     Only Superintendent or Board President may place an item on the agenda.

                        If two Board members request to Board President or Superintendent
                        an item for the agenda, it must be placed on the agenda.

                3.     In accordance with Texas Open Meetings Act, no item can                            
                        be placed on agenda less than 72-hours in advance of the
                        meeting, except in an emergency as per the Texas Open Meetings Act.

       B.     Use of consent agenda:

                For items listed under the consent agenda, the Board has been                         
                furnished with background material on each item and/or it has been                   
                discussed at a previous meeting. All items on the consent agenda shall               
                be acted on by one vote without being discussed separately unless                
                requested by a Board member, in which case the item shall immediately         
                be withdrawn for individual consideration.

 

               Items that can be included on the consent agenda are:

                1.     Routine items
                2.     Annual renewals of Region VIII and TEA items
                3.     Budget amendments
                4.     Gifts, donations and bequests
                5.     Financial information
                6.     Minutes of Board meetings
                7.     Updates of Board policy
                8.     Other items deemed appropriate by Board President and Superintendent

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3. BOARD MEETINGS WILL BE COMPLETED BY 10:00 P.M. WITH ANY 
       UNFINISHED BUSINESS MOVED TO A SUBSEQUENT MEETING EXCEPT 
       IN EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES.

 

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4. MEMBER CONDUCT DURING BOARD MEETINGS
   

A.     Open Forum (Public Participation):
                1.     Board will not allow duplicate testimony/presentations.

                2.     Board members will listen to Open Forum
                        (Public Participation) presentations but can take no action or deliberate.

                3.     Board President can direct administration to investigate item(s) 
                        and report back to Board at a subsequent meeting.

 

        B.     Discussion of employee performance (Board/audience)
            

                1.     The Board will not entertain complaints against individual 
                         personnel in open session.

                2.     The Board will not entertain complaints against individual 
                        students in open session.

 

       C.     Complaints


                1.     An attempt should be made to resolve the issue informally.

                2.     Complaints should be resolved at the lowest possible                                        
                        administrative level

                3.     Three policies provide a specific, clear process to
                        handle complaints:
                                DBGA        Employee complaints/grievances
                                FNG           Student and parent complaints
                                GF              Public complaints

                4.     These policies rely on the "Principal-Superintendent (or designee)- 
                         Board" chain of command and resolution.  A formal procedure is 
                         used in which written complaints are filed first with the principal.

                5.     A presentation before the Board is the final step in the 
                        complaint process.

                6.     Sometimes complaints inadvertently are brought first before the 
                         Board during the Open Forum (Public Participation) portion of a 
                         regular Board meeting.

                        The Board has no obligation to hear such complaints before 
                        administrative remedies have been pursued.  The Board president 
                        will direct the person to the appropriate complaint process.

                7.     Complaints are heard in Board meetings as scheduled agenda 
                         items.

                8.     The Board will hear the complaint, then make and communicate 
                        a decision orally or in writing at any time up to and including the 
                        next regularly scheduled Board meeting.

 

        D.     Board will observe parliamentary procedures in Robert's Rules of Order.

        E.     Discussion of motions:

 

                1.     All discussions shall be directed solely to the business currently 
                        under deliberation.

                2.     The Board President has the responsibility to maintain discussion 
                         to the motion at hand and shall halt discussion that does not 
                         apply to the business before the Board.

        F.      The Board President shall recognize a non-Board member prior to that 
                 person entering the discussion.

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5. VOTING
   

      A.     The Board President will vote on all agenda items for which action is required.

      B.      In the event of a tie vote, the motion is defeated.

 

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6. INDIVIDUAL BOARD MEMBER REQUEST FOR INFORMATION OR REPORT

  1.     Board members may request reports or information from the Board  
        President or Superintendent.  The Board President or Superintendent 
        may reject the individual Board member’s request for reports or information. 
        If the individual Board member still wishes to request the reports or
        information, the Board member may request information by Board action.

       B.      If the requested item or information is in existence but is not found to be 
                 of majority interest to the Board, a copy of the requested item will be on 
                 file at the District office for review by the interested Board member(s).

  1.     The Superintendent will gather the information and disseminate it in a 
        timely manner to Board member(s).

 

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 7. CITIZEN REQUEST/COMPLAINT TO INDIVIDUAL BOARD MEMBER

   

          A.     The Board member should hear the citizen problem for full 
                  understanding of persons involved, date and place.

                1.     Repeat problem back verbatim to citizen.

                2.     Refer citizen to the appropriate person/chain of command and 
                        the complaint procedure as outlined in Board policy.

                 MUST GO THROUGH COMMAND CHAIN

                3.     Remind the citizen of due process and that the Board member 
                        must remain impartial in the event the situation comes before the Board.

                4.     Inform citizen that Superintendent will be notified of the 
                        complaint or action cannot be taken to address the complaint.

 

        B.     Board members are encouraged to report complaint to the 
                 Superintendent.

 

         C.    The Superintendent will ensure that the citizen is contacted in a timely 
                 fashion.  Board members will be notified if the Superintendent deems
                 appropriate.

 

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8. EMPLOYEE REQUEST/COMPLAINT TO INDIVIDUAL BOARD MEMBER
   

     A.     The Board member will hear employee's problem for full understanding 
              of persons involved, date and place.

 

                1.     Repeat problem back verbatim to employee.

                2.     Remind employee of the complaint procedure (DGBA [LOCAL]) 
                        and remain impartial.

                3.     Refer employee to appropriate person/chain of command.

 

                 MUST GO THROUGH COMMAND CHAIN

       B.     Board members are encouraged to report complaint to the 
                Superintendent.

       C.     The employee will be contacted by the Superintendent within a timely 
                fashion.  Board members will be notified if Superintendent deems appropriate.

 

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9. BOARD MEMBER VISIT TO SCHOOL CAMPUS
   

       A.     Board members are encouraged to attend school activities.

       B.     Upon arrival at the campus, Board members must check in at the main 
                office.

       C.     Board members shall not go unannounced into a building or classroom for 
                the purpose of evaluation.


 

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10. COMMUNICATIONS
   

      A.     Superintendent (or designee) will communicate with all Board members 
               via telephone, e-mail, or personal visits.

       B.     Superintendent will meet with Board President on a routine basis to 
                discuss issues of the District.

       C.     Superintendent (or designee) will communicate information in a timely 
                manner to Board members.

       D.     Board will keep Superintendent informed via mail, e-mail, telephone, 
                personal visit and/or fax.

       E.     Board will communicate with the community through regular Board 
                meetings, regular publications, public hearings, and other methods as
                needed.

       F.      Individual Board members shall not speak in an official capacity outside 
                the Board room without specific authority from the Board.

 

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11. EVALUATION OF SUPERINTENDENT
   

       A.     Each Board member should complete and bring appraisal instrument to 
                the Board meeting.

       B.     Evaluation is conducted by consensus in closed session.

       C.     Evaluation should be conducted annually in January.

 

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12. EVALUATION OF THE BOARD

       A.     Superintendent and Board function as a team of eight (8).

       B.     The Board will usually conduct their self-evaluation in December.

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13. PROCESS FOR SELECTING BOARD OFFICERS
    

       A.     Election of Board officers is held in May or June each year following 
                the regular trustee election which is held on the first Saturday in May.

       B.     Current Board President shall declare all offices open for nominations. 
                Offices shall be filled in this order:

                        (1) President
                        (2) Vice-president
                        (3) Secretary

 

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14. ROLE AND AUTHORITY OF BOARD MEMBER AND/OR BOARD OFFICERS
                                           Established by State Law
   

       A.     A Board member may not direct employees in regard to performance of duties.
 

       B.     President:

                1.     Shall preside at all Board meetings
                2.     Appoint committees
                3.     Call special meetings
                4.     Sign all legal documents required by law or Board policy


       C.     Vice-president:

                1.     Shall act in capacity of President in absence of President

 

         D.     Secretary:

                  1.      Cause accurate record of Board meetings to be kept
                  2.      Call meeting to order and conduct election for President Pro-tem 
                            in absence of President and Vice-president
                  3.      Sign notices of Board meetings, official minutes, and other documents 
                           as required.

 

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 15. ROLE OF BOARD IN CLOSED SESSION
   

       A.     Board can discuss only those items listed on the agenda as limited by 
               law.

       B.     Board action/voting must occur in open session.

       C.     Information discussed during closed session shall remain confidential.

 

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 16. MEDIA INQUIRIES TO THE BOARD
   

       A.     The Board President shall be the official spokesperson for the Board 
                to the media/press on issues of media attention.


                1.     All Board members who receive calls from the media/press should 
                        direct them to the Board's spokesperson and notify the Board 
                        President and the Superintendent of the call.

 

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17. ANONYMOUS PHONE CALLS/LETTERS
   

       A.     The Board encourages input; however, anonymous calls or letters will not 
                receive Board attention, discussion or response and will not result in 
                directives to administration.

 

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 18. REVIEWING BOARD OPERATING PROCEDURES
       A.     Standard Board Operating Procedures will be reviewed and updated
                as needed.

 

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Paris ISD
1920 Clarksville St
Paris, Texas 75460
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