0160 - MEETINGS

Nettle Creek School Corporation

Bylaws & Policies

0160 - MEETINGS

0161	Parliamentary Authority

	The parliamentary authority governing the School Board shall be Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised or the rules of order of this Board.

0162	Quorum

	Four (4) members present at a meeting shall constitute a quorum, and no business shall be conducted in the absence of a quorum.

0163	Presiding Officer

	The President shall preside at all meetings of the Board. In the absence, disability, or disqualification of the President, the Vice-President shall act in his/her stead; if neither person is available, any member shall be designated by a plurality of those present to preside. The act of any person so designated shall be legal and binding.

0164	Call

0164.1	Regular Meetings

	The Board shall hold a meeting on a date and at a time and place determined annually by a resolution of the Board.

	In the event the date, time, or place of a meeting needs to be changed, which change is in the best interest of the Board and/or the Corporation, such change may be made by action of the Board, provided that the proper notice is given.

0164.2	Special Meetings

	Special meetings of the Board may be called by the President or the Superintendent provided there is compliance with the notice provision of these Bylaws.

0164.3	Emergency Meetings

	In the event of a severe and imminent threat to the health, safety, or welfare of the Corporation, its employees, or students, the President or the Superintendent may call an emergency session if it can be shown that delay would be detrimental to efforts to lessen or respond to the threat. No formal notice to Board members of any emergency meeting shall be required, but the press and public shall be notified.

	I.C. 20-5-3-2, 5-14-1.5

0165	Notice

0165.1	Regular Meetings

	The Board shall cause to be posted at the Corporation's Administrative Building, and in such other places as it may direct, a notice listing the date, time, and place of each regularly-scheduled meeting of the Board. The notice shall also contain the name and address of the Corporation and its telephone number.

	The notice shall also contain the following:

	"The meeting site is fully-accessible. Any person requiring further accommodation should contact Superintendent of Schools, at the School Corporation's central office."

	Upon the written request of an individual, organization, firm, or corporation, and upon the requesting party's payment of a yearly fee of not more than the estimated reasonable cost for printing and postage of each notice as shall be determined annually by the Board, the Corporation shall send to the requesting party by first class mail a copy of any notice required by the Bylaws. The news media shall be entitled to receive, at their request, copies of such notices free of charge.

0165.2	Change of Regular Meetings

	After the Board adopts a resolution changing the date, time, or place of a regularly scheduled meeting and forty-eight (48) hours, excluding weekends and holidays, prior to the date of such meeting, the meeting notice shall state the date, time, and place of the rescheduled meeting, as well as the name, address, and telephone number of the Corporation.

0165.3	Special Meetings

	A notice of any special meeting shall be posted at least forty-eight (48) hours, excluding weekends and/or legal holidays before said special meeting at the Administrative Office Building and such other places as the Board may determine.

	Said notice shall state the date, time, and place of such special meeting and the business to be transacted thereat, as well as the name, address, and telephone number of the Corporation. A copy of said notice shall be served upon each member of the Board at least seventy-two (72) hours before said meeting by one (1) of the following methods:

	A.	delivering the notice to the member personally

	B.	sending the notice by mail, telegram, electronic mail, or facsimile

	I.C. 5-14-1.5-17

0165.4	Recess

	Public notice of the date, time, and place of any rescheduled or reconvened meeting shall be given at least forty-eight (48) hours before the meeting. This requirement does not apply to reconvened meetings where announcement of the date, time, and place of the reconvened meeting is made at the original meeting and recorded in the minutes thereof, and there is no change in the agenda.

	I.C. 5-14-1.5-5

0166	Agenda

	The Superintendent shall prepare and submit to each Board member a written agenda prior to each regular meeting and each special meeting, unless otherwise directed by the Board. The agenda shall list the various matters to come before the Board and shall serve as a guide for the order of procedure for the meeting.

	Individual Board members may include items on the agenda upon the concurrence of the Board President.

	Each agenda shall contain the following statement:

		"This meeting is a meeting of the School Board in public for the purpose of conducting the School Corporation's business and is not to be considered a public community meeting. There will be time for public participation as indicated by the agenda."

	The agenda of the regular monthly meeting and/or special meetings shall be accompanied by a report from the Superintendent on information relating to the Corporation with such recommendations as s/he shall make.

	The agenda of each regular meeting shall be mailed or delivered to each Board member so as to provide proper time for the member to study the agenda. Generally the agenda should be mailed no later than three (3) days prior to the meeting, or delivered so as to provide time for the member to study the agenda. The agenda for a special meeting shall be delivered at least one (1) day before the meeting, consistent with the provisions calling for the special meeting.

	Prior to the meeting, a copy of the agenda shall be posted at the entrance to the meeting location.

	The Board shall transact business according to the agenda prepared by the Superintendent and submitted to all Board members in advance of the meeting. The order of business may be altered and items added at any meeting by a majority vote of the members present.

	I.C. 5-14-1.5-4

0167	Conduct

0167.1	Voting

	All regular and those special meetings of the Board at which the Board is authorized to perform business shall be conducted in public. No action shall be valid unless approved at a meeting of the Board by a majority vote of the members of the Board and a proper record made of the vote. All Board members must be physically present in order to have their vote officially recorded. (I.C. 5-14-1.5)


	Abstentions shall not be counted as votes, but shall be recorded and are deemed to acquiesce in the outcome of the vote. In the case of a tie vote in which an abstention is involved, the motion shall fail for lack of a majority.

	All actions requiring a vote may be conducted by voice, show of hands, or roll call provided that the vote of each member be recorded. Proxy voting shall not be permitted. Any member may request that the Board be polled.

	I.C. 5-10.2-2-16
	I.C. 5-14-1.5

0167.2	Executive Session

	The Board may meet in an executive session, one closed to the public after giving proper notice, for the following purposes:

	A.	where authorized by Federal or State statute

	B.	discussion of strategy with respect to collective bargaining, initiation of litigation, litigation which is pending or has been threatened in writing, implementation of security systems, purchase or lease of real property, providing the strategy is for bargaining or competitive reasons

	C.	for discussion of the assessment, design, and/or implementation of school safety and security measures, plans, and systems

	D.	to receive information about, and interview, prospective employees

	E.	with respect to any individual over whom the Board has jurisdiction, receive information concerning the individual's alleged misconduct, and to discuss, prior to determination, that individual's status as an employee, student, or independent contractor who is a physician or a school bus driver

	F.	discussion of records classified as confidential by Federal or State statute

		G.	discussion, before any placement decision, of an individual student's abilities, past performance, behavior, and needs

		H.	discussion of an employee's job performance evaluation

		I.	training of Board members by an outside consultant on performance of their role as public officials and/or discussion with or between county officials, Board members, and an outside consultant concerning the performance of Board members

0167.3	Public Participation at Board Meetings

	The School Board recognizes the value of public comment on educational issues and the importance of allowing members of the public to express themselves on Corporation matters.

	Any person or group wishing to place an item on the agenda shall register their intent with the Superintendent no later than five (5) business days prior to the meeting and include:

		A.	name and address of the participant;

		B.	group affiliation, if and when appropriate;

		C.	topic to be addressed.

		Such requests shall be approved by the Superintendent and the Board President.

		To permit fair and orderly public expression, the Board shall provide a period for public participation at every regular meeting of the Board, at those public meetings of the Board during which action may be taken and publish procedures to govern such participation in Board meetings.

		The presiding officer of each Board meeting at which public participation is permitted shall administer the procedures of the Board for its conduct.

The presiding officer shall be guided by the following rules:

A.	Public participation shall be permitted as indicated on the order of business at the discretion of the presiding officer.

B.	Anyone having a legitimate interest in the actions of the Board may participate during the public portion of a meeting.

C.	Attendees must register their intention to participate in the public portion of the meeting upon their arrival at the meeting.

D.	Participants must be recognized by the presiding officer and will be requested to preface their comments by an announcement of their name, address, group affiliation, if and when appropriate.

E.	Each statement made by a participant shall be limited to five (5) minutes duration.

F.	The presiding officer may:

	1.	interrupt, warn, or terminate a person's statement when the statement is too lengthy, personally directed, abusive, obscene, or irrelevant;

	2.	request any individual to leave the meeting when that person does not observe reasonable decorum;

	3.	request the assistance of law enforcement officers in the removal of a disorderly person when that person's conduct interferes with the orderly progress of the meeting;

	4.	call for a recess or an adjournment to another time when the lack of public decorum so interferes with the orderly conduct of the meeting as to warrant such action;

	5.	waive these rules with the approval of the Board when necessary for the protection of privacy or the administration of the Board's business.

	G.	Tape or video recordings are permitted, providing the person operating the recorder has contacted the Superintendent prior to the Board meeting to review possible placement of the equipment, and agrees to abide by the following conditions:

		1.	No obstructions are created between the Board and the audience.

		2.	No interviews are conducted during the Board meeting.

		3.	No commentary is made that would distract either the Board or members of the audience.

	I.C. 5-14-1.5-1

0167.4	Adjournment

	The Board may at any time recess or adjourn to an adjourned meeting at a time, date, and place announced before the adjournment takes place. The adjourned meeting shall take up its business at the point in the agenda where the motion to adjourn was acted upon. However, a meeting may not be recessed or adjourned for the purpose of conducting an executive session.

0167.5	Use of Electronic Mail

	Since E-mail is a form of communication that could conflict with the Open Door Law, it will be used to conduct business of the Board only for the purposes of communicating:

	A.	messages between Board members or between a Board member and employee(s) which do not involve deliberating or rendering a decision on matters pending before the Board;

	B.	possible agenda items between the Superintendent and the Board President;

	C.	times, dates, and places of regular or special Board meetings;

	D.	a Board meeting agenda or public record information concerning items on the agenda;

	E.	requests for public record information from a member of the administration, school staff, or community pertaining to Corporation operations;

	F.	responses to questions posed by members of the public, administrators, or school staff.

	Under no circumstances shall Board members use E-mail to discuss among themselves Board business that is only to be discussed in an open meeting of the Board, is part of an executive session, or could be considered an invasion of privacy if the message were to be monitored by another party.

	There should be no expectation of privacy for any messages sent by E-mail. Messages that have been deleted may still be accessible on the hard drive, if the space has not been occupied by other messages. Messages, deleted or otherwise, may be subject to disclosure under the Public Records Act, unless an exemption would apply.

0168	Minutes

0168.1	Open Meeting

	The Board shall designate a person to keep minutes of each meeting showing the date, time, place, any decisions made at a meeting open to the public, and the purpose or purposes for which a closed session is called. These minutes must be approved by the Board and endorsed by the Secretary at the next meeting. The minutes shall include all votes taken at the meeting. Proposed minutes shall be available for public inspection within a reasonable period of time after the meeting to which the minutes refer. Approved minutes shall be available for public inspection not later than five (5) business days after the meeting at which the minutes are approved. The minutes shall be available for inspection at the Superintendent's office and shall be available for purchase at a fee estimated by the business office to cover the cost of printing and copying.

	The official minutes shall be bound together by years and kept in the office of the School Board.

	Minutes of the preceding meetings shall be approved by the Board as its first order of business at regular meetings.

		The minutes shall show the general substance of all matters proposed, discussed, or decided and a record of all votes taken, by individual, if there is a roll call.

		I.C. 5-14-1.5-4

0168.2	Executive Session

	The minutes of an executive session shall show the date, time, and place of the session; the members either present or absent; and the identification of the subject matter considered by specific reference to the enumerated instance(s) for which public notice was given. The Board shall certify in the minutes that it discussed no subject matter in the executive session other than the subject matter specified in the public notice.