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BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING PROCEDURES POLICYLegislation (National Administration Guideline 6) RATIONALE The School is obliged to comply with the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 and the Education Act 1989. The LGOIMA sets out the current requirements for public notification of board meetings. Refer section 46 (7) 1. A notice stating the date, time and location of the meeting should be sent to all board members, and be made available publicly. It should be sent with the agenda and other board papers to all trustees at least 2 days before the meeting. 2. The agenda and all board reports or papers must be available to the public at the school office 2 clear working days before the meeting. These publicly available papers should not include any documents that are going to be, or are likely to be, considered while the public is excluded from the meeting. 3. The public may be excluded from all or part of a meeting on passing of a resolution (s 48). 4. Bona Fide journalists are deemed to be members of the public and are thus entitled to report on the Board's proceeding. They must withdraw from in-committee sessions. 5. Minutes may be inspected by any member of the public except a meeting or part of a meeting from which the public was excluded. 6. Anyone can take notes from or ask for copies of the agenda or reports, and they should be given such copies as soon as practicable. This also applies to the minutes of the meeting after they have been written up, even before the minutes are confirmed as a true record of the meeting. Copies of unconfirmed minutes should be clearly marked as 'draft', 'unconfirmed' or 'subject to confirmation'. 7. If a member of the public's behaviour is likely to prejudice or to continue to prejudice the orderly conduct of the meeting, he or she may be required to leave. 8. The secretary of the Board shall take all necessary precaution to ensure that no member of the public shall inspect or see minutes of the part of the meeting from which the public was excluded. In addition the Board has procedures in place to ensure that there is no conflict of interest in the Board's transactions or discussions. An Interests Register is to be kept by the Board secretary and tabled at the first meeting after any new board members have been appointed. Board decision making All matters to be decided by the board will be decided by way of a vote. This is usually done on 'the voices'. However, if that is challenged, the chair will call for a show of hands. • A board's primary means of making decisions is through motions, which are moved, seconded, debated, and put to the vote. The chair or members may ask the mover to write down the motion before it is acted upon. The chair may assist the mover with wording for clarity. • Each motion deals with only one matter or issue. Debate must be limited to the issue at hand. Speakers who stray from the issue or attempt to introduce new matters should be ruled out of order. • Each trustee should be allowed to speak once on a subject under debate. The chair may refuse to allow a trustee to speak again until everyone has had a chance to speak. • A member may raise a point of order at any time. After the point has been stated, the chair issues a ruling. The chair's ruling is final unless challenged at the time (the common law position is that the meeting can disagree with the chair). • Only one motion at a time will be considered by the board. That motion may be amended. Votes on amendments must be taken before the motion is further considered. • If the amendment is agreed to, it becomes part of the motion. • Further amendments may be made to the motion but only one at a time can be proposed, discussed, and decided on. • After a motion has been passed or rejected, no further discussion on the same issue should be allowed at the same meeting, other than a motion to reconsider. Voting The following rules apply to the voting procedure. • Voting to decide a motion requires a simple majority. • A trustee can request that their vote be recorded. • The chair has a vote on every matter, and where a vote is tied they have a casting vote. It is a convention, and only a convention, that a casting vote is used to maintain the status quo, because there is no clear indication that the majority of the board want a change. • Procedural motions to terminate or adjourn debates take precedence over all other business and, if seconded, are put to the vote immediately without discussion or debate. • Proxy or absentee votes are not permitted. A trustee must be present at the meeting to exercise their vote. • A trustee may abstain from voting. An abstention is counted as an absence of a vote. An amendment to the Education Act 1989 (sixth schedule, clause 11A) allows boards to hold meetings by means of audio, audio and visual, or electronic communication, providing: • All trustees who wish to participate in the meeting have access to the necessary technology • A quorum of members can simultaneously communicate with each other throughout the meeting. As board meeting are held in public the board will need to ensure community members can access the meeting to observe/listen. The amendment also allows boards to pass resolutions by post, delivery, or electronic communication. Resolutions passed this way must be unanimous. Agenda The agenda sets out the order of business for the meeting. It should be sent out with the notice of meeting. Prior to any discussion directly related to a written report the report must be made available to the board. The board is to be notified prior to the meeting, if any member of the public would like to speak to a report, and this is to be recorded on the meeting agenda. Any items that require consideration but are not included on the agenda will be deferred to the next meeting. Quorum The quorum for Onewhero Area School board of trustees must consist of more than half the trustees currently holding office. If the board has a number of casual vacancies, the quorum is more than half the remaining board members. Apologies and prior leave Only apologies received from those who cannot be present must be recorded. Trustees who miss three consecutive meetings without the prior leave of the board cease to be members, and a casual vacancy occurs. An apology does not meet the requirement of prior leave. To obtain prior leave, a trustee needs to request leave for however long the need is, at a board meeting, and the board must make a decision. Minutes Minutes of the previous meeting will be reviewed and confirmed at each meeting. They must be signed and dated by the chair. It is not necessary for a person who was at the previous meeting to move that the minutes are a true and accurate record of that meeting. Any trustee can move the appropriate motion. Originals are to be filed in a separate folder in a secure place, and are to be retained indefinitely. Tabling documents When written information is used in support of a discussion, it should be tabled so that it can be examined by those present. It then forms part of the official record. Public-excluded business, or 'in committee' For the rules for excluding the public, refer to LGOIMA (schedule 2A). Members of the public, including the media, are excluded from the meeting when it moves into committee, unless specially invited to stay. The motion to allow that must be passed while the meeting is still open to the public. The publicly excluded part of the meeting is most often used to discuss personnel or financially sensitive issues. A record of what happened while the public was excluded must be kept. These minutes are to be filed in a separate minute book and must be approved and signed off. These minutes are not for general public viewing, but can be requested by the public under the Offical Information Act. Boards may contact the NZSTA trusteeship helpdesk for assistance if they receive such a request. Attendance of the general public Members of the public are entitled to: • know in advance when and where meetings are to be held • read copies of the agenda in advance of the meeting (including copies of all written reports and other documents that are relevant to matters to be discussed in open meeting) • attend the meeting to watch and listen • take notes Members of the public are not entitled to: • take part in the meeting by word or action (but the board can resolve to grant a member of the public speaking rights) • communicate with the trustees during the meeting unless the trustee leaves the meeting • be present when the meeting goes 'into committee' Procedures on conflict of interest Conflict of interest could cover the following: • Pecuniary interest arises where a trustee may be financially advantaged or disadvantaged as a result of decisions made by the board. This could be a trustee who has submitted a tender for a contract that the Board is in the process of awarding (refer section 103A of the Education Act 1989). In this instance the trustee concerned must leave the meeting while the topic is discussed and the decision is made. • The Board is considering a response to a document put out by NZSTA regarding teachers' pay and conditions, and the staff representative is a teacher • The Board is considering pay or salary deductions following a strike by staff • The Board is discussing the Principal's Performance Agreement and salary or allowance adjustment • A trustee who has a student who has been verified under ORS and resources for this student are being discussed at the meeting • A trustee has a student who has been suspended. A trustee who has identified a Conflict of Interest should: • Publicly declare a conflict of interest, state the general nature of the interest and have the declaration recorded in the minutes; • Withdraw from the meeting while the matter is discussed; • Not vote on the matters; and not discuss the matter with the Board or attempt to influence the vote. Board of Trustees Chairperson: ________________________ 22/02/11 Policy reviewed February 2011. Next review date February 2014. |
