East Central School Board Operating Procedures

Board Meeting Agenda
The board meeting agenda is typically developed the week before the meeting. The deadline for submitting items for inclusion on the agenda is noon of the seventh working day before regular meetings and noon of the fifth working day before special meetings. A Board Member may request to the Board President any item that he wishes to have considered for placement on the agenda. The President shall ensure that all items requested by Board Members will be placed on an agenda within two regular meetings.

Board Meeting Agenda Format
The Regular Meeting Agenda is formatted to include citizens' comments, a consent agenda, discussion items, action items and information items.

Addressing The Board
 Citizens may address the Board during the Public Comments section of the agenda. Individuals will be limited to five minutes, and groups of more than five shall select a spokesperson to present their issue. All comments shall be addressed to the Presiding Officer. The Board shall not enter into discussion; however, statements of fact or policy may be provided. The Board may not hear comments on individual staff or students in open session. The Presiding Officer may reasonably extend the total time allocated for public comments but may not extend an individual's time limit of five minutes. Unused time may not be given to another individual speaker. The Presiding Officer may recognize individuals during the discussion portion of agenda items.


Meeting Procedures
The Presiding Officer will recognize each Board Member prior to any question or discussion on agenda topics. The order in which posted agenda items are taken may be changed by consensus of Board Members.

Board Authority
The Board shall be guided by the principles contained in the Framework for School Board Development, the policies of the District and the Texas Education Code. The Board will concentrate on planning, policies and governance of the District. A Board Member may request access to and/or copies of any legally available information concerning the District, students or personnel. All information requests by Board Members will be sent to the President. The President will forward Open Record Requests to the Superintendent for appropriate action within ten (10) working days. All other requests will be placed on a regular board meeting agenda for board discussion within 60 working days. No individual Board Member may request the creation of a new report. A Board Member shall not direct any employee of the District in the performance of his/her duties, nor shall a Board Member direct any employee to perform any duty. Individual Board Members have no authority outside a legally called meeting.

Communication
Individual Board Members shall not initiate any form of discussion of school business with a quorum of the Board except at a legally called meeting of the Board. Individual phone calls, electronic communication, or any form of mail delivery to a quorum may violate the Texas Open Meetings Act.The Superintendent will communicate with all Board Members via telephone, fax, e-mail, and weekly report. The Superintendent will meet on a regular basis with the President of the Board to discuss issues of the District. The Board President will be the official spokesperson for the Board. All communications with legal counsel by the Board shall be through the President.

Complaints to a Board Member
All complaints made to an individual Board Member shall be referred to the Superintendent for action. Board Members shall refrain from any form of investigation but may direct the individual to the proper person in the chain of command. The Board Member should inform the individual bringing the complaint of the need for the Board Member to remain impartial should the issue come before the Board for resolution.

Evaluations

The Board shall evaluate the Superintendent's performance twice a year. A summative evaluation session will be held in August, and a formative session will be held in February. The board shall establish the goals for the District and the Superintendent in February, and these goals shall be considered in the Superintendent evaluation process.

 

Trustees' Code of Conduct
As a Trustee, I shall do my utmost to ensure that every child has the opportunity to receive a quality education by:

  • Serving District-wide constituents honestly and equally;
  • Refusing to surrender my responsibility to special interest or partisan political groups;

  • Avoiding use of my board position and data supplied to me for personal gain;

  • Recognizing that decisions can be made only by a majority vote at a Board Meeting and respecting the majority decisions of the Board, while retaining the right to seek changes through ethical and constructive channels;
  • Respecting the confidentiality of privileged data; and
  • Abiding by these Board Operating Procedures.