REGULAR BOARD MEETINGS AND RULES (QUORUM AND PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE)
All Board meetings must be open to the public except those portions of the meetings which qualify as executive sessions. A “meeting” is defined as an official convening of a public body for the purpose of conducting public business and a “public body” is defined as an entity of two or more persons which requires a quorum to conduct public business, including committees and subcommittees. Reasonable efforts will be made to ensure that all meetings are held in an appropriate facility which can adequately accommodate any and all members of the public who wish to attend.
Whenever such a meeting is to take place, there must be at least 72 hours advance notice in accordance with the provisions of the Open Meetings Law. Notice of other meetings will be given as soon as is practicable in accordance with law. When the District has the ability to do so, notice of the time and place of a meeting will be conspicuously posted on the District’s Internet website.
If videoconferencing or online technology is used to conduct a meeting, the public notice for the meeting will inform the public that videoconferencing will be used, identify all the locations for the meeting, and state that the public has the right to attend the meeting at any of the locations. Voting may be done through videoconferencing, provided that members can be both seen and heard voting and participating from remote locations.
Regular meetings of the Board of Pine Bush Central School District will take place on the day and time designated by the Board at the Annual Organizational Meeting, except as modified at subsequent meetings of the Board.
It is the responsibility of the Superintendent to prepare the agenda and review it with the Board President for each meeting of the Board. The agenda for each meeting will be prepared during the week prior to the meeting. The agenda will be distributed to Board members no later than the Friday before
such regular meeting. Whenever the President or other members of the Board wish to bring a matter to the attention of the Board, such request should be made to the Superintendent so that the same can be placed on the agenda. Whenever individuals or groups wish to bring a matter to the attention of the Board, such request will be addressed in writing to the Superintendent. The Superintendent will present such matter to the Board.
The District Clerk will notify the members of the Board in advance of each regular meeting. Such notice, in writing, will include an agenda and the time of the meeting.
In the event that a meeting date falls on a legal holiday, interferes with other area meetings, or there is an inability to attend the meeting by Board members to the extent that a quorum would not be present, the Board will select a date for a postponed meeting at the previous regular meeting, and will
direct the Clerk to notify all members.
Any meeting of the Board may be adjourned to a given future date and hour if voted by a majority of the Board present.
The Superintendent and members of his or her staff at the Superintendent’s discretion will attend all meetings of the Board. The Superintendent will attend all executive session meetings of the Board except those that concern his or her evaluation, employment status, and salary determination. The Board may request the attendance of such additional persons as it desires.
Recording of Meetings
The Board recognizes that advances in technology allow public meetings to be photographed, broadcast, webcast and/or otherwise recorded, by means of audio or video, in a non-disruptive manner and supports the use of such technology to facilitate the open communication of public business. To that
end, the Board may adopt rules addressing the location of the equipment and/or personnel used to photograph, broadcast, webcast and/or record such meetings to assure that its proceedings are conducted in an orderly manner. Such rules will be conspicuously posted during meetings and written copies
provided, upon request, to meeting attendees.
Public Expression at Meetings
Public expression at such meetings will be encouraged and a specific portion of the agenda will provide for this privilege of the floor. At its discretion, the Board may invite visitors to its meetings to participate in the Board’s discussion of matters on the agenda.
Members of the public who wish to address the Board during the session of a Board meeting open to public comment, must comply with the following rules:
a) No comment(s) will be permitted on individual personnel matters or confidential student matters. In the event an issue exists with regards to either of these topics, the speaker may
forward his or her written comments to the Superintendent.
b) Members of the public addressing the Board during public comment will not employ profane or obscene language, make defamatory or slanderous comments, engage in commercial
speech, or act in a manner that disrupts the meeting of the Board.
c) Each individual speaker will be allotted three minutes per public comment segment to offer his or her public comments, which may be modified at the discretion of the Board President.
The total allotted time for each public comment segment of the Board meeting will also be at the discretion of the Board President.
d) In the event that a speaker fails to comply with a), b) or c) above, the President of the Board may rule the speaker out of order and/or take such action as may be necessary to allow the
Board meeting to continue in an orderly fashion.
The Board reserves the right to enter into executive session as specified in Policy #1540 — Executive Sessions.
Open Meetings Law
District records subject to release under the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), as well as any proposed rule, regulation, policy or amendment, that are on the Board agenda and scheduled to be discussed at a Board meeting, will be made available upon request, to the extent practicable, prior to the
meeting. Copies of such records may be made available for a reasonable fee. If the District maintains a regularly updated website and utilizes a high speed Internet connection, such records will be posted on the website to the extent practicable, prior to the meeting. The District may, but it is not required to
expend additional funds to provide such records.
Quorum
The quorum for any meeting of the Board will be four members. No formal action will be taken at any meeting at which a quorum is not present. When only a quorum exists, the Board will act by
unanimous vote unless otherwise required by the laws of the State of New York.
Use of Parliamentary Procedure
The business of the Board will be conducted in accordance with the authoritative principles of parliamentary procedure as found in the latest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order.
Education Law Sections 1708 and 2504
General Construction Law Section 41
Public Officers Law Article 7, Sections 103(d), 104 and 107
NOTE: Refer also to Policies #1520 — Special Meetings of the Board of Education
#1540 — Executive Sessions
#5410 — Purchasing
#6211 — Employment of Relatives of Board of Education Members
#8340 — Textbooks/Workbooks/Calculators/Instructional Computer Hardware
SPECIAL MEETINGS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
Special meetings of the Board will be held on call by any member of the Board. A reasonable and good faith effort will be made by the Superintendent or the Board President, as the case may be, to give every member of the Board 24 hours notice of the time, place and purpose of the meeting. All special
meetings will be held at a regular meeting place of the Board and/or in accordance with provisions of the Open Meetings Law as may be applicable.
Ordinarily, 24 hour notice will be given for a special meeting. In an emergency, however, when all members can otherwise be notified of the meeting, all members may, at the meeting, waive in writing the lack of 24 hour notice.
Public notice of the time and place will be given, to the extent practicable, to the news media and will be conspicuously posted in one or more designated public locations at a reasonable time prior to the meeting.
Education Law Section 1606(3)
Public Officers Law Sections 103 and 104
MINUTES
The minutes are a legal record of the activities of the Board as a public corporation having the specified legal purpose of maintaining public schools. The minutes of all meetings will be kept by the clerk or, in his or her absence, by the Superintendent or designee. The minutes will be complete and accurate, stored in a minutes file and posted on the District website, if one is available. However, minutes of executive sessions need not include any matter which is not required to be made public by the Freedom of Information Law.
The minutes of each meeting of the Board will state:
a) The type of meeting;
b) The date, time of convening, and adjournment;
c) Board members present and absent;
d) Board members’ arrival and departure time, if different from opening or adjournment times;
e) All action taken by the Board, with evidence of those voting in the affirmative and the negative, and those abstaining;
f) The nature of events that transpire, in general terms of reference.
Communications and other documents that are too long and bulky to be included in the minutes will be referred to in the minutes, will be filed in the District Office, and will be attached to the minutes online.
All Board minutes will be signed by the District Clerk when approved and stored in a locked room or locked file cabinet. Unless otherwise provided by law, minutes will be available to the public within two weeks following the date of a meeting; draft copies, so marked, are acceptable, subject to correction.
Minutes of Executive Sessions
Minutes will be taken at executive sessions of any action that is taken by formal vote. The minutes will consist of a record or summary of the final determination of such action, the date and the vote. However, such summary need not include any matter which is not required to be made public by the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL). If action is taken by a formal vote in executive session (i.e., 3020-a action), minutes will be
available to the public within one week of the date of the executive session.
Education Law Sections 2121 and 3020-a
Public Officers Law Section 106
Adopted: 9/12/06
Revised: 8/24/11; 1/28/14
EXECUTIVE SESSIONS
Upon a majority vote of its total membership, taken in an open meeting in accordance with a motion identifying the general area or areas of the subject or subjects to be considered, the Board may conduct an executive session for discussion of the below enumerated purposes only, provided, however, that no action by formal vote will be taken except on an Education Law Section 3020-a probable cause finding. For all other purposes, the action by formal vote will be taken in open meeting and properly recorded in the minutes of the meeting. Attendance at an executive session will be permitted to any Board member and any persons authorized or requested to attend by the Board.
a) Matters that will imperil the public safety if disclosed;
b) Any matter that may disclose the identity of a law enforcement agent or informer;
c) Information relating to current or future investigation or prosecution of a criminal offense that
would imperil effective law enforcement if disclosed;
d) Discussions regarding proposed, pending or current litigation;
e) Collective negotiations in accordance with Civil Service Law Article 14;
f) Medical, financial, credit or employment history of any particular person or corporation, or matters leading to the appointment, employment, promotion, demotion, discipline, suspension, dismissal or removal of any particular person or corporation;
g) Preparation, grading or administration of examinations;
h) Proposed acquisition, sale or lease of real property or the proposed acquisition of securities, or sale or exchange of securities, but only when publicity would substantially affect the value thereof.
Motions for executive sessions should state the subject or subjects to be discussed in executive session. It is insufficient to merely recite statutory language. Matters discussed in executive sessions must be treated as confidential; that is, never discussed outside of that executive session.
Education Law Section 3020-a
Public Officers Law Article 7
Adopted: 8/24/11
Revised: 1/28/14