FILE: BCB
SCHOOL BOARD MEETING PROCEDURES
It is the desire of the Caddo Parish School Board that meetings be formal enough for orderly procedure, but informal enough to be natural, to encourage free discussion, and to promote group thinking and action. In matters of procedures not covered by law, School Board policy, or the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), meetings of the School Board, including committee meetings shall be governed by Robert's Rules of Order (Revised). The President shall be entitled to discuss and vote on all matters before the School Board.
The President of the School Board, or, in his or her absence, the First Vice-President, shall conduct all meetings. In the absence of both, the Second Vice-President shall preside. The presiding officer shall first recognize members based on the maker of the motion and the member who seconds the motion. Thereafter, the presiding office will recognize members of the School Board who wish to be heard in the order that they request to speak utilizing the electronic system. No member of the School Board shall speak without having first been recognized.
Each School Board member shall be given an opportunity to express without interruption, his or her views on any agenda item. Each school board member shall limit his/her comments to five (5) minutes. The President may stop any discussion which does not apply to the motion last made. He/she may also stop the discussion of a matter if the School Board has previously agreed to confine discussion to a definite period of time, and that time period has been used.
Public participation in School Board meetings shall be permitted during the public comment period on each item of the agenda on which a vote is to be taken. Members of the public may ask that their comments be made at the time the item is called for action. Other persons may be recognized in School Board meetings upon approval of the School Board. The President of the School Board shall have complete authority to remove any person(s) who willfully disrupts a meeting to the extent that orderly conduct of the meeting cannot be maintained.
CONSIDERATION OF AGENDA ITEMS
Agenda items shall be considered and discussed in the following manner:
The President of the School Board shall read aloud a description of the agenda item.
After introduction of the agenda item and before any discussion of the item by School Board members, the public attending the meeting shall be given an opportunity to speak on the agenda item in accordance with policy BCBI, Public Participation in School Board Meetings.
The Superintendent shall briefly describe the agenda item and state whether the Superintendent has any recommendation for the agenda item.
If any School Board member has requested the agenda item or has adopted or is associated with the agenda item, the School Board President shall then recognize that School Board member first for the purpose of making a motion; in the event that School Board member declines to make a motion, then the School Board President shall recognize any other member for the purpose of making a motion on that agenda item.
If no School Board member has requested the agenda item or has adopted or associated with the agenda item, the School Board President shall recognize any School Board member for the purpose of making a motion of that agenda item.
After a motion has been made and seconded, the School Board President shall recognize the maker of the motion for the purpose of speaking to the merits of the motion, after which the School Board President shall recognize the School Board member who provided the second to the motion, for the purpose of speaking to the merits of the motion.
The motion shall then be open for debate and discussion by the entire School Board.
The School Board President shall make a reasonable attempt to call on School Board members for the purpose of speaking to the merits of the motion in the order in which each School Board member requests an opportunity to speak.
All discussion and argument on the motion shall be limited to the merits of the motion. School Board member comments shall be limited to five (5) minutes. School Board members shall not, at any time during the School Board meeting, question the motivations or intentions of any School Board member or any motion agenda item. The School Board President shall immediately admonish any School Board member who begins to speak beyond the merits of any motion or any School Board member who questions the motivations or intentions of any School Board member of any motion or agenda item.
School Board members shall not speak to any individual motion more than two (2) times, unless granted permission by the School Board. The two-time speaking limitation shall not apply when a School Board member is asking questions of staff or a speaker.
If at any time a School Board member believes that these rules are not being followed, the School Board member may call such to the attention of the School Board President by making a “point of order” inquiry.
All School Board members shall be respectful and display common courtesy to each other in all their dealings with each other, School Board employees and the public.
All discussion and argument during meetings shall be addressed to the School Board President, who shall be addressed as “Mr. President” or Madam President” as whichever may be the case. School Board members shall refrain from addressing or speaking to the School Board room audience when speaking to a motion.
Adopted: February 23, 2016
Ref: La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:81, 42:15
Board minutes, 2-5-64, 6-4-87, 10-87, 4-19-95, 11-27-01, 2-21-06
Caddo Parish School Board