Butte School District

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

1420

School Board Meeting Procedure

Agenda

The agenda for any Board meeting shall be prepared by the Superintendent in consultation with the Board Chairperson or designee. Items submitted by Board members to be placed on the agenda, must have prior approval of the Board Chairperson. Citizens may also suggest inclusions on the agenda. Such suggestions must be received by the Superintendent at least ten (10) days before the Board meeting, unless of immediate importance. Individuals who wish to be placed on the Board agenda must also notify the Superintendent, in writing, of the request. The request must include the reason for the appearance. If the reason for the appearance is a complaint against any District employee, the individual filing the complaint must demonstrate the Uniform Complaint Procedure has been followed. Citizens wishing to make brief comments about school programs or procedures or items on the agenda need not request placement on the agenda, and may ask for recognition by the Chairperson at the appropriate time.

The agenda must also include a “public comment” item in order to allow members of the general public to comment on any public matter under the jurisdiction of the District that is not specifically listed on the agenda, except that no member of the public will be allowed to comment on contested cases, other adjudicative proceedings, or personnel matters. The Board Chairperson may place reasonable time limits on any “public comment” item in order to maintain and ensure effective and efficient operations of the Board. The Board shall not take any action on any matter discussed, unless the matter is specifically noticed on the agenda, and the public has been allowed the opportunity to comment.

Copies of the agenda for the current Board meeting, minutes of the previous Board meeting, and relevant supplementary information will be prepared and distributed to each Board member at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance of the Board meeting, and will be available to any interested citizen at the Superintendent’s office forty-eight (48) hours prior to the Board meeting. An agenda for other types of Board meetings will be prepared if the circumstances require an agenda.

Consent Agenda

To expedite business at a Board meeting, the Board approves the use of a consent agenda, which includes those items considered to be routine in nature. Any item which appears on the consent agenda may be removed by a member of the Board. Any Board member who wishes to remove an item from the consent agenda must give advance notice in a timely manner to the Superintendent. The remaining items will be voted on by a single motion. The approved motion will be recorded in the minutes, including a listing of all items appearing on the consent agenda.

Minutes

Appropriate minutes of all meetings required to be open must be kept and must be available for inspection by the public. If an audio recording meeting is made and designated as official, the recording constitutes the official record of the meeting. If an official recording is made, a written record of the meeting must also be made and must also include:

Date, time, and place of the meeting;
The presiding officer;
Board members recorded as absent or present;
Summary of discussion on all matters discussed (including those matters discussed during the “public comment” section), proposed, deliberated, or decided, and a record of any votes taken;
Detailed statement of all expenditures;
Purpose of recessing to executive session; and
Time of adjournment.

If the minutes are recorded and designated as the official record, a log or time stamp for each main agenda item is required for the purpose of providing assistance to the public in accessing that portion of the meeting.

Unofficial minutes shall be delivered to Board members in advance of the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board. Minutes need not be read publicly, provided that Board members have had an opportunity to review them before adoption. A file of permanent minutes of Board meetings shall be maintained in the office of the Clerk, to be made available for inspection upon the request. A written copy shall be made available within five (5) working days following approval by the Board.

Quorum

No business shall be transacted at any meeting of the Board unless a quorum of the members is present. A majority of the full membership of the Board shall constitute a quorum, whether the individuals are present physically or electronically. A majority of the quorum may pass a resolution, except as provided in § 20-4-203(1), MCA, and § 20-4-401(4), MCA.

Electronic Participation

The Board may allow members to participate in meetings by telephone or other electronic means. Board members may not simply vote electronically but must be connected with meeting throughout the discussion of business. If a Board member electronically joins the meeting after an item of business has been opened, the remotely located member shall not participate until the next item of business is opened.

If the Board allows a member to participate electronically, the member will be considered present and will have his or her actual physical presence excused. The member shall be counted present for purposes of convening a quorum. The Clerk will document it in the minutes, when members participate in the meeting electronically.

Any Board member wishing to participate in a meeting electronically will notify the Chairperson and Superintendent as early as possible. The Superintendent will arrange for the meeting to take place in a location with the appropriate equipment so that Board members participating in the meeting electronically may interact, and the public may observe or hear the comments made. The Superintendent will take measures to verify the identity of any remotely located participants.

Meeting Conduct and Order of Business

General rules of parliamentary procedure are used for every Board meeting. Robert’s Rules of Order may be used as a guide at any meeting. The order of business shall be reflected on the agenda. The use of proxy votes shall not be permitted. Voting rights are reserved to those trustees in attendance. Voting shall be by acclamation or show of hands.

Rescind a Motion

A motion to rescind (cancel previous action) must have a second, must allow for debate, can be amended, and must have an OPTION 1-(2/3 vote of the board) or OPTION2 (a majority vote of the board if previous notice to rescind a motion has been given).

The motion to rescind can be applied to votes on all main motions, with the following exceptions: votes cannot be rescinded after something has been done as a result of that vote that the assembly cannot undo; or where it is in the nature of a contract and the other party is informed of the fact; or, where a resignation has been acted upon, or one has been elected to, or expelled from, membership or office, and was present or has been officially notified.

Cross Reference:

1441 Audience Participation

Legal Reference:

§ 2-3-202, MCA Meeting Defined
§ 2-3-103, MCA Public participation - governor to ensure guidelines adopted
§ 2-3-212, MCA Minutes of meetings – public inspection
§ 20-1-212, MCA Destruction of records by school officer
§ 20-3-322, MCA Meetings and quorum
§ 20-3-323, MCA District policy and record of acts

Policy History:

Adopted on: 10/18/04
Revised on: 11/21/11, 2/18/2020, 11/15/2021