| Parliamentary Authority
Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised shall guide the Board
in all cases in which it is not inconsistent with statute, rules of
the State Board, or these procedures.
Quorum
A quorum shall be five (5) school directors present at a
meeting. No business shall be transacted at a meeting without a quorum,
but the directors at such a meeting may adjourn to another time.
Presiding Officer
The President shall preside at all meetings of the Board.
In the absence, disability or disqualification of the President, the
Vice President shall act instead; if neither person is present, a
school director shall be elected President pro tempore by a plurality
of those present to preside at that meeting only. The act of any person
so designated shall be legal and binding.
Notice
Notice of all public meetings of the Board shall be given
by the publication of the date, place, and time of such meetings in
the newspaper of general circulation designated by the Board and the
posting of such notice at the Upper Moreland School District Administration
Building.
- Notice of regular meetings shall be given by publication and posting
of a schedule showing the date, place and time of all regular meetings
for the fiscal year at least three days prior to the time of the
first regular meeting.
- Notice of all special meetings shall be given by publication and
posting of notice at least 24 hours prior to the time of the meeting,
except that such notice shall be waived when a special meeting is
called to deal with an actual emergency involving a clear and present
danger to life or property.
- Notice of all rescheduled meetings shall be given by publication
and posting of notice at least 24 hours prior to the time of the
meeting.
- Notice of all public meetings shall be given to any newspaper
circulating in Montgomery County or a radio or television station
which so requests. Notice of all public meetings shall be given
to any individual who so requests and who provides a stamped self-addressed
envelope for such notification.
- Notice of all regular and special meetings of the Board shall
be given to school directors not later than 24 hours prior to the
time of the meeting.
If an executive session had not been previously announced publicly,
notice of the session will be given to the School Directors 24 hours
in advance of the time for convening, specifying the date, time, location,
and purpose of the executive session.
Regular Meetings
Regular meetings of the Board shall be public and shall be
held at least once every two months.
- It shall be the responsibility of the Superintendent and Board
Secretary in consultation with the Board President to prepare an
agenda of the items of business to come before the Board at each
regular meeting. Included in the agenda will be items which have been recommended by majority of a committee of the Board. Addendum items may be considered at the will of the Board President, Committee Chair or majority of the Board.
- The order of business shall be as follows, unless altered by the
chairperson or a majority of those present and voting:
| Call to Order |
| Opening Ceremony |
| School and Student Presentations and Awards |
| Recess |
| Public Comment on Matters before the Board |
| Approval of Minutes |
| Reports of Officers |
| Committee Reports |
| Liaison Reports |
| Business of Visitors |
| Superintendent's Report |
| Other Business |
Special Meetings
Special Meetings shall be public and may be called for
special or general purposes.
- The President may call special meetings at any time and shall
call a special meeting upon the presentation of requests in writing,
of three school directors. Upon the President's failure or refusal
to call a special meeting, such meeting may be called at any time
by a majority of the school directors. The order of business shall
be as follows unless altered by the chairperson; or a majority of
those present and voting:
| Call to Order |
| Reading of Notice of Meeting |
| Transaction of Business for which meeting was called |
| Adjournment |
Hearing of Citizens
A member of the public present at a meeting of the Board may address
the Board in accordance with the Board's procedures.
Voting
All motions shall require for adoption a majority vote
of those school directors present and voting except as provided by
statute or these procedures.
- The following actions require the unanimous consent of all the
remaining members of the Board:
| Appoint as attorney or solicitor of the Board
a school director who has served for two consecutive terms
of four years each, on the Board after resigning his office. |
- The following actions require the recorded affirmative votes
of two-thirds of the full number of school directors:
| transfer of budgeted funds |
| transfer of any unencumbered balances, or portion thereof,
from one appropriation to another or from one spending agency
to another |
| incur a temporary debt or borrow money upon an obligation |
| incur a temporary debt to meet an emergency or catastrophe |
| elect to a teaching position a person who has served as
an Upper Moreland Township school director and who has resigned |
| convey land or buildings to the municipality co-terminus
with the school district |
| adopt or change textbooks without the recommendation of
the Superintendent |
| dismissal, after a hearing, of a tenured professional employee |
| adopt, amend, or repeal a Board Policy |
- The following actions require the recorded affirmative votes
of the majority of the full number of school directors:
| fixing length of school term |
| adopting textbooks recommended by the Superintendent |
| appointing or dismissing the district Superintendent, principals
or teachers |
| appointing tax collectors and other appointees |
| adopting the annual budget |
| levying and assessing taxes |
| purchasing, selling or condemning land |
| locating new buildings or changing the location of old ones |
| adopting courses of study |
| establishing additional schools or departments |
| designating depositories for school funds |
| entering into contracts of any kind, including contract
for the purchase of fuel or any supplies, where the amount
involved exceeds $5,000 |
| fixing salaries or compensation of officers, teachers, or
other appointees of the Board |
| combining or reorganizing into a larger school district |
| entering into contracts with and making appropriations to
the intermediate unit for the district's proportionate share
of the cost of services provided or to be provided for by
the intermediate unit |
| dismissal, after a hearing, of a non-tenured employee |
| adoption of a corporate seal for the district |
| determination of the location and amount of any real estate
required by the school district for school purposes |
| vacating and abandoning property to which the Board has
title |
| determining the holidays, other than those provided by statute,
which shall be observed by special exercises and those on
which the schools shall be closed during the whole part of
the day |
| removal of a school director |
| declaration that a vacancy exists on the Board by reason
of the failure or neglect of a school director to qualify |
| removal of an officer of the Board |
| removal of an appointee of the Board |
| adopt, amend or repeal a procedure of the Board |
Minutes
The Board shall cause to be made and retain as a permanent
record of the district, minutes of public meetings of the Board. Said
minutes shall be comprehensible and complete and shall show:
- the date, place, and time of the meeting
- the members present
- the substance of all official actions taken
- recorded votes
- names of all citizens who appeared officially and the subject
of their testimony
The secretary shall provide each school director with a copy of the
minutes of the last meeting no later than two days before the next
regular meeting. The minutes of the Board meetings shall be approved
at the next succeeding meeting. The approved minutes shall be signed
by the Secretary of the Board and attested by the presiding officer.
Adjournment
The Board may at any time recess or adjourn to an adjourned
meeting at a specified date and place upon the majority of those present
and voting. The adjourned meeting shall take up its business at the
point in the agenda where the motion to adjourn was acted upon. Notice
of the rescheduled meeting shall be given as stated above.
Executive Session
The Board may hold an executive session before, during, or
after a public meeting or at another time. The presiding officer shall
notify members of the public at the public meeting preceding or following
the executive session that the school directors held the session to
discuss one or more of the following:
- Personnel matters
- Labor relations matters
- Litigation matters
- Real estate matters
- Privileged communications
Committee Meetings
Committee meetings may be called at any time by the committee chairperson or when requested to do so by two members of the committee. It shall be the responsibility of the Superintendent, or designee, in consultation with the committee chair, to prepare an agenda for committee meetings.
Recording of Public Meetings
Members of the public and media may record public meetings
of the Board subject to the following limitations.
- Recording may not interfere with the conduct of the meeting or
hamper participation in the meeting by anyone present.
- Any setting up or taking down of equipment used to record a public
meeting must be completed before or after the public meeting. No
such activity will be permitted during a public meeting if it would
cause a distraction or otherwise interfere with the conduct of the
meeting.
- The conduct of the meeting will not be interrupted or delayed
due to a malfunction of the recording equipment or the need to change
tapes.
- Anyone intending to record all or any part of a public meeting
must so advise the Superintendent or the President of the Board
before the meeting is convened and this fact will be announced to
the public.
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