Paris ISD Board of Trustees
Standard Operating Procedures
Table of Contents (Revised 7/9/13)
2. Developing Board Meeting Agenda
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
10. Communications
11. Evaluation of Superintendent
14. Role And Authority Of Board Member
15. Closed Session
16. Media Inquiries
17. Anonymous Phone Call/Letters
18. Review of Operating Procedures
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.
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be withdrawn for individual consideration.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
3. BOARD MEETINGS WILL BE COMPLETED BY 10:00 P.M. WITH ANY
UNFINISHED BUSINESS MOVED TO A SUBSEQUENT MEETING EXCEPT
IN EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES.
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.
6. INDIVIDUAL BOARD MEMBER REQUEST FOR INFORMATION OR REPORT
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
18. REVIEWING BOARD OPERATING PROCEDURES
A. Standard Board Operating Procedures will be reviewed and updated
as needed.