Parliamentary Procedure GSBA New Board Member Orientation 2010 Parliamentary Procedure GSBA New Board Member Orientation 2010

BOE Meeting BOE Meeting Meetings must be orderly and efficient. It is the responsibility of the Board Chair to understand and apply both LEGAL REQUIREMENTS and BOARD ADOPTED PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURES. The board can change parliamentary rules— only the legislature can change legal requirements.

Bloopers and Blunders Discuss what went wrong The audience gains control of the board meeting, an audience member makes a motion and it passes Only board members can make and second motions The board chair is responsible for crowd control

Board member ignores the agenda and opens the meeting with a motion to abolish any discussion of the devil and witchcraft in schools Georgia Code (e) (1) Prior to any meeting, the agency holding such meeting shall make available an agenda of all matters expected to come before the agency at such meeting. Failure to include on the agenda an item which becomes necessary shall not preclude considering and acting upon such item.” Board members seeks to throw the devil out of school Board members seeks to throw the devil out of school

Tips on handling an agenda Who should prepare the agenda? How can the agenda be amended? Can the agenda be changed after adoption? Once a subject has been discussed and voted on can it ever be brought up again? Discussion of motion to reconsider/rescind Is an agenda required for executive session?

Open Meetings Law Georgia Code “The chairperson shall execute and file with the official minutes of the meeting a notarized affidavit stating under oath the subject matter of the meeting or the closed portion thereof was devoted to matters within the exceptions provided by law, and identifying the specific relevant exception.” The agenda for executive session is limited to the topics identified in the motion to go into executive session.

Executive session Executive session A board may go into executive session to discuss the acquisition of real estate but not the sale of real estate A board may close a meeting to discuss “the appointment, employment, compensation, hiring, disciplinary action, dismissal, or periodic evaluation of an employee…” A board may close the meeting to discuss “pending or potential litigation, settlement, claims or other judicial actions…”

Open Meetings Law The minutes must reflect the names of those voting for going into executive session Participating in an illegal meeting is a misdemeanor and may be grounds for a recall Work sessions are subject to the same legal requirement as any other meeting.

Board Chair faces angry board Should the board chair allow board members to vent their emotions, get their anger out in the open, confront other board members with charges and personal attacks? Has this ever happened in Georgia? HEADLINE :Bedlam Rocks the School Board.”

Personal attack RR P. 41 Personal attack RR P. 41 “Debate must be confined to the merits of the pending question. Speakers must address their remarks to the chair, maintain a courteous tone, and should avoid injecting a personal note into the debate. To this end, they must never attack or make allusion to the motives of members.”

Parliamentary Procedure The board should adopt a parliamentary guide so that the board chair can be consistent in protecting the rights of the majority and the minority. Robert’s Rules of Order can be adapted to small boards. The board should have a procedure for changing or amending the rules.

Steps in handling a motion Six steps in handling a motion A member makes a motion A member seconds the motion The chair states the motion Discussion Vote Announce results

Consent Agenda A work session is often used for informal discussion of issues to see if the board has reached consensus on an issue. Items where there is a consensus can be placed on the consent agenda where all of the items on the consent agenda can be adopted with one vote. Any member has the right to have an item pulled from the consent agenda and placed on the discussion agenda.

Consent Agenda Personnel items may be handled using the consent agenda procedure. However, any member has the right to have any name pulled from the list for a separate vote When an item is pulled from the consent agenda by a board member, the chair should identify where the issue will be placed on the main agenda.

Lay on the table Delaying consideration to a later date is an appropriate way to deal with some issues Some board members may want more time to study an issue It is a common practice for boards to lay a proposed policy change on the table for 30 days or until the next meeting A motion to lay on the table is not debatable

Other ways to delay action A motion to postpone to a definite time or to postpone indefinitely is debatable Once an item has been made, seconded and presented by the chair for discussion, it belongs to the body as a whole—not the maker of the motion. The board as a whole must give permission for withdrawal of a motion.

Situation 1 Members stray from the motion being debated Robert’s Rules p.41 “Debate must be confined to the merits of the pending question. Speakers must address their remarks to the chair, maintain a courteous tone, and should avoid injecting a personal note into the debate.” If the problem persists, the chair may call on the board for instructions on how to deal with this.

Situation 2 The chair violates procedures The board chair is obviously violating proper procedures by showing contempt for those who oppose his/her position. People who want to speak are ignored, and the chair rules all “points of order” out of order.

Situation 2 chair violates procedures Robert’s Rules of Order p. 625 “All persons present at a meeting have an obligation to obey the legitimate orders of the presiding officer…” If a board member does not agree with the orders of the chair, a member of the board can appeal the ruling of the chair.

Situation 3 The board chair expels a member of the board for their unruly behavior. The chair orders the police to remove the board member from the room because of their disruption of the meeting.

Situation 3 Board member expelled by the chair While members of the audience can be expelled by the chair for their failure to follow the instructions of the chair, the expulsion of a board member raises legal issues. Some boards choose to adopt an ethics policy which spells out such consequences as verbal reprimand, a resolution of censure or other consequences approved by your board attorney.

Situation 4 A member makes a motion and the motion is seconded. After debate on the motion is concluded, the chair calls for a vote on the main motion. The motion fails 5-4. The chair rules that the motion actually passes because one of the votes against the motion came from someone who seconded the motion. The chair claims that if you second a motion you must vote for it.

Situation 4 seconding a motion Robert’s Rules of Order p. 34 “A second merely implies that the motion should come before the meeting and not that he/she necessarily favors the motion.”

Other situations that may arise during a meeting Dispute erupts over what should go into the minutes. O.C.G.A “Said minutes shall,as a minimum, include the names of the members present at the meeting, a description of each motion or proposal made, and a record of all votes. In the case of a roll call vote the name of each person voting for or against a proposal shall be recorded….”

Other situations that may arise during a meeting One person dominates the meeting by talking all the time During debate on a heated issue, a board member blurts out “I call the question” and the board chair says “The question has been called. We will now vote on the pending motion.” One members wants his remarks on a motion included in the minutes.

Other situations that may arise during the meeting With four members of a five member board present, the vote is 2 YES 0 NO and 2 ABSTAIN. Does the motion pass? The board chair declares “I will only vote to break a tie.” A majority of the board wants to elect a new chair in the middle of the year. Can they?

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