Code No. 212.7

Board of Directors

Rules of Order

An orderly board meeting allows the board members to participate in the discussion and decision about an issue confronting the school district.  It shall be the responsibility of each board member to follow the rules of order stated in this policy at each meeting and it shall be the responsibility of the presiding officer to conduct the board meeting within these rules.

The board shall follow Robert’s Rules of Order as modified by the board and stated below:

               1.      Board members need not rise to gain the recognition of the chair.

               2.      Motions will be made as a positive action.

               3.      A motion will be adopted or carried if it receives an affirmative vote from

                        more than half of the votes cast.  Only “yes” and “no” votes are counted

                        in this calculation.  It should be noted that some motions require larger

                        numbers of affirmative votes, such as to move into a closed session.

               4.      Motions shall receive a second, prior to opening the issue for  discussion

                        of the board.  If a motion does not receive a second, the chair may declare

                        the motion dead for lack of a second.

               5.      The chair may decide the order in which board members will be recognized

                        to address an issue.  An attempt should be made to alternate between pro

                        and con positions.

               6.      The chair shall rule on motions that come before the board.

               7.      The chair may rule on points of order brought before the board.

               8.      The chair shall have complete authority to recognize any member of the

                        audience regarding a request to participate in the board meeting.  Members

                        of the public who wish to participate shall follow the procedures outlined in

                        Board Policy 216, “Public Participation in School Board Meetings”.

               9.      The chair has the authority to declare a recess at any time for the purpose

                        of restoring decorum to the meeting.

             10.      The order in which names will be called for roll call votes will be as follows:

                        a.         Board members will be listed in alphabetical order by

                                    last name.

                        b.         Roll call votes will be called in alphabetical order, beginning

                                    at various positions on the list.  

                        c.         The first roll call vote will begin at the top of the list and                   

                                    proceed down.  The second roll call vote will begin with

                                    the second name and proceed down the list, with

                                    the last name called to be the first person called on

                                    the previous vote.

                        d.         A person’s absence, or presence, will have no effect on

                                    the rotation.

                        e.         The board president’s name is placed in the rotation

                                    and receives no preferential treatment due to elected

                                    position.

                        f.          The board secretary will maintain the record of rotation for

                                    roll call votes.  The sequence will continue from meeting to meeting.

             11.      The chair has the same authority and responsibility as each board member to   vote on all issues.

Legal Reference:        Iowa Code Chapters 21.2, 279.8 (2003).

Cross Reference:       200      President

                                    200      Quorum

                                    200      Methods of Voting

Approved:     April 10, 1989         

Reviewed:    February 22, 2005   

Revised:       March 22, 1994