BOARD OPERATING
PROCEDURES

(806)
659-3233/ fax: (806) 659-2079
www.spearmanisd.com
INDEX
I....... DEVELOPING BOARD MEETING AGENDA
II...... MEMBER CONDUCT DURING BOARD MEETINGS
IV..... INDIVIDUAL BOARD MEMBER REQUEST FOR INFORMATION OR REPORT
V...... CITIZEN REQUEST/COMPLAINT TO INDIVIDUAL BOARD
MEMBER
VI..... EMPLOYEE REQUEST/COMPLAINT TO INDIVIDUAL
BOARD MEMBER
VII. . BOARD MEMBER VISIT TO SCHOOL CAMPUS
IX..... SUPERINTENDENT AND BOARD EVALUATIONS
X...... CRITERIA AND PROCESS FOR SELECTING BOARD
OFFICERS
XI..... ROLE AND AUTHORITY OF BOARD MEMBER AND/OR
BOARD OFFICERS
XII.... ROLE OF BOARD IN EXECUTIVE SESSION
XIII.. SUPERINTENDENT’S ROLE AND
AUTHORITY
XIV.. MEDIA INQUIRIES TO THE BOARD
XVI.. RESPONSE TO SIGNED LETTERS
XVII. ANNUAL BOARD ORIENTATION AND REORIENTATION
BOARD
OPERATING PROCEDURES
I. DEVELOPING BOARD MEETING
AGENDA
1. The agenda is developed by the Superintendent in consultation with
the Board President.
2. The Superintendent, the Board President, or any Board member can
place items on the agenda for presentation to the Board.
3. Complaints brought by parents/students, employees, or the public
will not be placed on the agenda by any Board member, except in accordance with
Board policies FNG(LOCAL), FOD(LOCAL), DGBA(LOCAL), and GF(LOCAL).
4. The deadline for submitting items for
inclusion on the agenda is
B. Use of Consent Agenda
1. In order to expedite Board meetings and address routine and
reoccurring business in an efficient manner, the Board will use a consent
agenda to the greatest extent possible.
The consent agenda will be used to take action on items such as the
following:
a. Routine Items (i.e., minutes and bills)
b. Annual Renewals of Region XVI and TEA Items
c. Tax Refunds for no more than $500
d. Gifts, Donations, and Bequests
e. Minutes of Regular and Special Board Meetings
f. Updates of Board Policy
g. Routine Personnel Items
h. Routine Bid Recommendations (i.e., gas and diesel bids)
i. Changes to Regular Board Meeting Date and
Time
2. If requested by a Board member, an item listed under the consent
agenda shall be immediately withdrawn for separate discussion and acted upon
individually.
II. MEMBER CONDUCT DURING BOARD MEETINGS (Any time four or more Board members are
gathered and deliberate on school business, it is considered a meeting.)
A. Board members are expected to attend and participate in duly called
meetings of the Board. Board members
will come to Board meetings prepared to discuss and take action on all items on
the agenda. At a minimum, each Board
member is expected to have done the following prior to arrival at every Board
meeting:
1. Studied the material in the Board Packet
sent to them prior to the meeting; and
2. Resolved questions by contacting the
Superintendent.
B. Board policy BED(LOCAL) shall be used to govern patrons wishing to
address the Board in open forum.
C. Board response to patrons addressing the Board: Specific factual information or
recitation of existing policy may be furnished in response to inquiries, but
the Board shall not deliberate or decide regarding any subject that is not
included on the agenda posted with notice of the meeting.
D. Limit on participation:
Audience participation at a Board meeting is limited to the “public
forum” portion of the meeting designated for that purpose. At all other times during a Board meeting,
the audience shall not enter into discussion or debate on matters being
considered by the Board, unless recognized by the presiding officer, or another
Board member.
E. Discussion of employee performance
(Board/Audience):
1. The Board will not entertain comments on individual District
personnel in open session, unless required by law.
2. The Board will not entertain comments on individual students in
open session, unless required by law.
F. Board will use a modified version of Robert’s Rules of Order to govern meetings.
G. Discussion
of motions:
1. All deliberations will be solely related to
agenda items.
2. The Board President will insure deliberations remain germane to the
agenda. Each Board member has the
responsibility to ensure his/her comments remain focused on agenda items. The Board President will rule any
deliberations that stray from the agenda as “out of order.”
A. The Board President will vote on all action items.
B. All Board members will vote on all action
items, except when there is a legal conflict of interest or a conflict that
would impair the Board member’s judgment in violation of Board Member Ethics.
C. All voting shall be by voice
or show of hands and shall be recorded in the official minutes. No vote shall be by secret ballot.
D. Each Board decision, even
when there are dissenting votes, shall be an action by the whole Board and
binding upon each member. Individual
members are encouraged to express their opinions during the discussion of
motions, but following the vote, members shall publicly discuss only the
decision of the whole Board.
IV. INDIVIDUAL BOARD MEMBER REQUEST FOR INFORMATION OR REPORT
A. All Board member requests for information must be in accordance with
District policy BBE(LOCAL).
B. The majority of the Board is required to request new reports.
C.
All Board
requests to the Superintendent for information will be reported to the full
Board in the Board Packets.
V. CITIZEN REQUEST/COMPLAINT
TO INDIVIDUAL BOARD MEMBER
A. When a citizen complains to a Board member, the Board member
shall:
1. Remind the citizen of due
process [FNG(LOCAL) and GF(LOCAL)] and that the Board member must remain
impartial in case the situation goes before the Board.
2. Refer citizen to appropriate person in
the “chain-of-command.”
3. Only if appropriate, Board members shall inform the Superintendent of complaint.
VI. EMPLOYEE REQUEST/COMPLAINT TO INDIVIDUAL BOARD
MEMBER
A. When an employee complains to a Board
member, the Board member shall:
1. Remind employee of the due process procedure [DGBA(LOCAL)] and
remain impartial.
2. Refer employee to appropriate person in “chain-of-command.”
3. If appropriate, Board member will talk to the Superintendent in a
timely fashion about the complaint.
VII.
BOARD MEMBER VISIT TO SCHOOL CAMPUS
A. Board members are
encouraged to attend special events on campuses to represent the Board in support of
activities.
B. Board
members are not to go into teacher’s classrooms or campuses for the purpose of
evaluation or investigation.
C. Board members will notify
administration of individual visits to campuses when they are not attending a
scheduled activity.
A. The Superintendent will communicate with all Board members via
voice, fax, and/or regular newsletters.
B. The Superintendent will be available to confer with Board members to
discuss District issues on an as needed basis, communicating critical
information to all Board members in a timely fashion.
C. Board members will keep the Superintendent informed of critical
issues as they become aware of them.
D. Board will communicate with the community through public hearings,
regular Board meetings, and publications.
E. Board members are board members only in a duly called open meeting
and cannot speak in an official capacity outside the Board Room.
F. Every effort will be made by Board
/Administrative Team to communicate effectively with each other so that
decisions will be based upon the best information and facts available.
IX. SUPERINTENDENT AND BOARD
EVALUATIONS
A. Evaluation of the Superintendent will be conducted in accordance
with District policy BJCD(LOCAL). The evaluation
instrument shall have been developed collaboratively between the Superintendent
and Board, adopted in advance, and shall be based upon observable, job-related
behavior.
B. The Board evaluates the Superintendent's performance annually in compliance with state laws and regulations. The Board will annually evaluates its performance in fulfilling the Board' duties and responsibilities, and the Board's ability to work with the Superintendent as a team.
C. The Superintendent’s evaluation is confidential by law. The Board’s evaluation is not.
X. CRITERIA AND PROCESS FOR SELECTING BOARD OFFICERS
A. Selection of Board officers will be governed by District policy
BDAA(LOCAL).
B. Officers will be elected for the position of President, Vice-President, and Secretary.
C. The Board President must have one years’ minimum Board experience
and twenty (20) hours of CPU training completed.
XI. ROLE AND AUTHORITY OF BOARD MEMBER AND/OR BOARD
OFFICERS (as set by State
statute and District Policy BBE and BDAA)
A. No Board member or officer has authority except when the Board
meeting is in session.
B. No Board member can direct employees in regard to performance of
their duties.
C. With regard to hiring personnel, the following
shall apply:
1. The Superintendent has sole authority to make
recommendations to the Board regarding the selection of all contractual
personnel.
2.
The Board delegates to the Superintendent
final authority to hire noncontractual personnel on an at-will basis.
3.
For community sensitive positions such as principal
and coach, etc., the Superintendent may ask the Board to participate in the
recruitment and selection process with the Superintendent.
D. The Board corporately has the following authority:
1.
Govern and oversee the management of the
District.
2.
Employ and appraise, at least annually, the
Superintendent.
3.
Levy and collect taxes and issue bonds.
4.
Adopt and file an annual budget.
5.
Have District financial accounts audited by
a
6.
Publish an annual report describing the
District’s educational performance.
7.
Receive bequests and donations.
8.
Select a depository for District funds.
9.
Call elections and canvass the returns.
10.
Acquire and hold real and personal property
in the name of the District.
11.
Execute, perform, and make payments under
contracts, including leases, leases with options to purchase, and installments.
12.
Exercise the right of eminent domain to
acquire property.
13.
Adopt and periodically review District
policy.
E. The
President shall:
1. Preside at all Board meetings.
2. Appoint committees.
3. Have the right to discuss, make motions and resolutions, and vote
on all matters coming before the Board.
4. Be an ex officio member
of all committees
F. The Vice-President shall:
1. Act in the capacity of the President in the
absence of the President.
2. Automatically become President of the Board
if a vacancy in that office occurs.
G. The
Secretary shall:
1.
Be
responsible for accurate recording of Board meetings.
2.
In the
absence of the President and Vice-President, call the meeting to order and act
as presiding officer.
3.
Ensure
that notices of Board meetings are posted and sent as required by law.
4.
Sign or
countersign documents as directed by action of the Board.
XII. ROLE OF BOARD IN EXECUTIVE
SESSION
A. Board can only discuss
those items listed on the agenda and permitted by law in executive session.
B. All votes must be made in public session.
C. Information received during Executive session must remain CONFIDENTIAL.
A. The role of the Superintendent shall be the
educational leader and chief executive officer of the District.
B.
The authority and duties of the
Superintendent include:
1.
Assuming administrative responsibility
and leadership for the planning, operation, supervision, and evaluation of the
education programs, services, and facilities of the District and for the annual
performance appraisal of the District’s staff.
2. Assuming administrative responsibility and
leadership for the assignment and evaluation of all personnel of the District
other than the Superintendent and making recommendations regarding the
selection of such personnel.
3.
Initiating the termination or suspension of
an employee or the nonrenewal of an employee’s term contract.
4.
Managing the day-to-day operations of the
District as its administrative manager.
5.
Preparing and submitting to the Board a
proposed budget.
6.
Preparing recommendations for policies to be
adopted by the Board and the implementation of adopted policies.
7.
Provide leadership for the attainment of
student performance in the District based upon the state’s academic excellence
indicators and other indicators as may be adopted by the State Board or local
Board.
8.
Prepare Board agendas and meeting materials
in cooperation with the Board President.
9.
Accurately prepare and submit in a timely
manner any and all reports required by TEA, federal and state agencies, the
Board, and courts of law.
10.
Direct and supervise all financial
accounting and ensure that funds are expended legally, in accordance with the
approved budget, and controlled effectively.
11.
Ensure District compliance with all
applicable state and federal requirements.
12.
Develop, evaluate and revise annually the
District Improvement Plan, with the assistance of the District Improvement
Team.
XIV. MEDIA INQUIRIES TO THE BOARD
A. On issues before the Board,
the Board President and the Superintendent shall be the official spokespersons
for the Board to the media.
B. All Board members who receive calls from the
media should refer them to the Superintendent or the Board President, as
appropriate.
The Board encourages input; however, anonymous
calls or letters will not receive Board attention, discussion, or response and
will not result in directives to the administration.
XVI. RESPONSE TO SIGNED LETTERS
Only signed letters will be forwarded to the
Superintendent, who will respond and send a copy to the full Board.
XVII. ANNUAL
BOARD ORIENTATION AND REORIENTATION
A. These Board Operating Procedures will be reviewed
and updated annually at the Regular June Board meeting.
B. District Policy BBF(LOCAL), Board Member
Ethics, will also be reviewed annually at the Regular June Board meeting.
C. The current Board Member Ethics are:
EQUITY IN ATTITUDE
·
I will
be fair, just, and impartial in all my decisions and actions.
·
I will
accord others the respect I wish for myself.
·
I will
encourage expressions of different opinions and listen with an open mind to
others' ideas.
TRUSTWORTHINESS IN STEWARDSHIP
·
I will
be accountable to the public by representing District policies, programs,
priorities, and progress accurately.
·
I will
be responsive to the community by seeking its involvement in District affairs
and by communicating its priorities and concerns.
·
I will work
to ensure prudent and accountable use of District resources.
·
I will
make no personal promise or take private action that may compromise my
performance or my responsibilities.
HONOR IN CONDUCT
·
I will
tell the truth.
·
I will
share my views while working for consensus.
·
I will
respect the majority decision as the decision of the Board.
·
I will
base my decisions on fact rather than supposition, opinion, or public favor.
INTEGRITY OF CHARACTER
·
I will
refuse to surrender judgment to any individual or group at the expense of the
District as a whole.
·
I will
consistently uphold all applicable laws, rules, policies, and governance
procedures.
·
I will
not disclose information that is confidential by law or that will needlessly
harm the District if disclosed.
COMMITMENT TO SERVICE
·
I will
focus my attention on fulfilling the Board's responsibilities of goal setting,
policymaking, and evaluation.
·
I will
diligently prepare for and attend Board meetings.
·
I will
avoid personal involvement in activities the Board has delegated to the
Superintendent.
·
I will
seek continuing education that will enhance my ability to fulfill my duties
effectively.
STUDENT-CENTERED FOCUS
·
I will be continuously
guided by what is best for all students of the District.