8/7/2019 Policy 1450
1/2
MONROE SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 103 No: 1450
Board of Directors Policy Title: Citizens Advisory
Committees and Task Forces
Page: 1 of 2
MONROE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
SCHOOL BOARD OPERATIONS
BOARD POLICY 1450
CITIZENS' ADVISORY COMMITTEES AND TASK FORCES
The superintendent and/or board may appoint a citizens advisory
committee or task force as
necessary to gather public input and/or establish interaction
with the community about selected
issues. Whenever the board creates such a committee or taskforce
it must decide if the committee
will be formal or informal. Working groups that meet the
criteria below must adhere to the rules
for that type of committee regardless of the title or name for
the committee.
Formal committees
Formal committees are those where membership is limited to those
appointed by the board with
certain members acting as officers (such as chair, vice-chair,
etc.). The establishment of formal
committees requires board action andsuch authorization shall
include a description of the
responsibilities and reporting relationships and shall specify
the duration of the committee's
existence. Membership may include representatives of the school
board if so established by a
majority of the board; however, in that event board members who
are not appointed to represent
the board are prohibited from attending so as to ensure a quorum
of the board is never present.
Meetings by formal committees are open to the public and the
district must provide legal notice of
such meetings at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting.
Formal committees can establish
rules for receiving public input including public testimony and
may hold public hearings if that
is within their charter. Formal committees must adhere to board
policy for the conduct of
meetings. The committee shall study school matters within their
charter and submit their findings
and recommendations to the superintendent and/or board.
If three or more board members are appointed to a formal
committee public notification of a
board meeting must be made in addition to the public notice of a
meeting by the committee.
This committee shall be formed by authorization of the
board.
Informal committees
Informal committees are those in which membership is open to
everyone who would like to
attend and there are no appointed officers. Generally such
informal committees are led and
supported by the Superintendent or employees of the district
delegated to perform such support.
Informal committees solicit input from everyone who wants to
attend and therefore do not
establish rules for public input or testimony and they are
unable to hold public hearings.
Because increased public input is the goal, meetings by informal
committees will follow the same
public notification procedures as for formal committees but the
notice will specify that board
members may be present since it is unknown in advance which
board members, if any, will
attend.
8/7/2019 Policy 1450
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MONROE SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 103 No: 1450
Board of Directors Policy Title: Citizens Advisory
Committees and Task Forces
Page: 2 of 2
Standing Committees
Policy 4210 establishes a Curriculum and Instructional Materials
Committee (CIMC) whichincludes one board representative. This
committee is considered an informal committee for the
purpose of this policy except memberships (as outlined in
Procedure 4210) are not open
(however, all meetings are open to the public). Because the
Board appoints one member of the
board as its representative, other board members may not attend
meetings of the CIMC.
Information about CIMC meetings will be posted on the district
website.
Special Rules For Board Members Who Attend Meetings
Board members appointed to represent the board on any committee
are expected to be fully active
participants and remain mindful that they represent the entire
board.
Board members who attend any meeting of an informal committee
should act as observers only
and must remain neutral so as not to influence, directly or
indirectly, the discussions and work of
the committee. Other than introductions, board members are to
refrain from interacting with the
participants during and between meetings. Once the entire board
has been briefed on the
committee's advice at the conclusion of the committee's work
then other interaction with
participants is permissible.
Board members will make every attempt to avoid creating a quorum
at any formal or informal
committee meeting (unless three members are assigned to be board
representatives on a formal
committee). To ensure this never happens board members will
notify the Superintendents office
prior to the scheduled meeting. Normally, the first two board
members to indicate they willattend and receive a positive response
back from the Superintendents office are allowed to do so.
Board members must be specific about the meeting they would like
to attend and therefore
should avoid using general statements such as, I plan to attend
every meeting to indicate their
interest. Board members should also notify the Superintendents
office if their plans change and
they will not attend so as to allow others to do so. If a third
board member notifies the
Superintendents office they would like to attend a committee
meeting, the Superintendent will
attempt to resolve the situation by seeking a volunteer to
change their plans so that only two
board members attend. Any board member who arrives at a
committee meeting and finds that
three board members are present is expected to remove themselves
if they were notified by the
Superintendent that two others were already scheduled to attend
or if they failed to notify the
Superintendents office in advance of the meeting. Failure to
leave a committee meeting in thesecircumstances makes the board
member potentially liable for creating an unauthorized meeting
of the board.
RCW 42.30.120: Violations Personal liability Penalty Attorney
fees and costs.
Approved by the board on: November 13, 2001
Revised:
