Part 1: Governance of the School District
Part 2: Board of Trustees Operating Procedures
Governance of the School District
The Role of the School Board
The Superintendent as Executive Officer
Citizen Participation
Open Meetings
Executive Session
When and how are school board members elected?
Who is eligible to serve as a school board member?
What type of training must trustees complete?
Are citizens allowed to participate in school board meetings?
The Role of the School Board
The Willis Independent School District Board of Trustees meets monthly at 5:30 p.m. in the Board Room of the Cargill Educational Support Center, located at 204 West Rogers Street in Willis. A board workshop is held on Monday where issues on the agenda are discussed. The following Wednesday (the second Wednesday of the month), the Board holds the regular meeting to continue discussion of agenda items as needed and to vote on individual items listed on the agenda. Both sessions are open to the public.
No person or group of people may act in the name of the Board of Trustees, and the authority of an individual trustees exists ONLY during a legally-called meeting.
It takes four school board members to constitute a quorum. An item of business must come before the Board in the form of a motion in order for it to pass - regardless of the number of board members present.
School Board members receive no salary or other compensation for their services to the community.
The Board has control over local school matters, subject only to limitations imposed by state law, regulations of the State Commissioner of Education, and the will of local residents as expressed in school district elections. There are several key roles and responsibilities vested in the Board of Trustees. Some of those roles and responsibilities include:
- Exercise educational leadership and draft policies for the operation of local schools.
- Hire and evaluate the superintendent and delegate all administrative responsibilities.
- Authorize the appointment of teachers and other district staff members.
- Determine educational standards and goals. Evaluate outcomes.
- Approve curriculum.
- Secure money for school operational needs and building programs and authorize expenditures.
- Approve the school district budget.
- Express and represent the views of the community in matters affecting education.
- Interpret the educational programs and needs of the community in order to discharge their responsibility as a school board member.
- Call on the consultative resources available in the community and the professional district staff.
- Communicate with the community. TOP
The Superintendent as Executive Officer
The Superintendent of Schools is appointed by the Board of Trustees and acts as its Executive Officer in administering its policies in the operation of Willis ISD schools. He/She acts as an advisor in keeping the Board informed of the needs and progress of the schools. The Superintendent serves as a professional resource to the Board, and his/her recommendations normally precede action taken by the Board on questions relating to recruitment and supervision of professional staff, selection of textbooks and instructional materials, and development of curriculum.
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Citizen Participation
Citizens may sign up to address the Board during the Open Forum section of the regular monthly Board wordshop. A time limit of three minutes will be placed on citizen presentations. Written commends will be accepted in lieu of, or in addition to, an oral presentation.
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Open Meetings
The School Board must hold open meetings in order to comply with the Open Meetings Act. Meetings of the Willis Independent School District Board of Trustees are open for the public to hear discussions. In most instances, the public may listen, but not participate, in Board discussions.
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Executive Session
There are, by law, provisions for the Board of Trustees to meet in executive session after a meeting is properly called and posted. Executive sessions, which are closed to the public, are limited to the following reasons:
- Exclusion of a witness (or witnesses) from a hearing during the examination of another witness.
- Discussion of purchase, exchange, lease, of real property and negotiated contracts, prospective gifts, or donations.
- Consideration of the appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal of a public officer or employee.
- Consideration of the discipline of a public school child.
- Consideration of the deployment or specific occasions for implementation of security personnel or devices.
- Consideration of the standards, guidelines, and terms or conditions the Board will follow or will instruct its representatives to follow in consultation with representatives of employees groups in connection with consultation agreements provided for by Section 13.901 of the Texas Education Code.
Should any final action, decision, or vote be required regarding matters considered during executive session, the Board will either return to the Open Session immediately following the closed session or designate a subsequent open meeting to take action.
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When and how are school board members elected?
School Board elections are held annually on even numbered years in November. Trustees serve staggered, four-year terms so that the entire School Board is never up for election at the same time. In order to be elected, the candidate must receive a plurality of the votes cast. All registered voters who reside within the District's boundaries are eligible to vote in any school board trustee election. There are no run-off elections.
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Who is eligible to serve as a school board member?
A local school board candidate must: (1) a registered voter in the school district; (2) be a resident of the Willis ISD for six months before the filing deadline; and (3) be a resident of Texas for 12 months prior to the filing deadline.
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What type of training must trustees complete?
School Board trustees are required by law to participate in training activities accredited by the Texas Education Agency. These courses build on the skills and knowledge necessary for trustees to ensure a quality education for the children in the school district they serve.
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Are citizens allowed to participate in school board meetings?
There are several provisions in school board policy that allows citizens to address the Board.
Board policy BED permits citizens to register to address the Board on matters of general interest or concern. Patrons will observe a three-minute time limit when making these presentations.
Board policy GF relates to public complaints which allows citizens to appeal certain decisions to the Board that have been made at campus or administrative levels.
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Board of School Trustees
Standard Operation Procedures
Adopted: May 12, 2003
DEVELOPING BOARD MEETING AGENDA
A. Placing Items on Agenda
1. The tentative agenda is created by the administration and presented to the Board President
2. Board members must request through the Board President at least three working days in advance any item they wish to have considered for placement on the agenda.
3. The Board President, the superintendent, or any two board members can place an item on the agenda.
4. In accordance with Texas Open Meetings Law, no member can place an item on the agenda less than 72 hours in advance of a meeting, except in an emergency as per Texas code.
B. Items for Executive Session
The board can only go into executive session for reasons specifically authorized by statute.
Use of Consent Agenda
The following items will be placed under the consent agenda:
Annual review of Region VI and TEA items
Budget amendment
Tax refunds under $500
Gifts, donations, and bequests Financial information
Minutes of regular and special Board meetings
Minutes of joint meetings with City Updates of board policy
Routine personnel items
Routine bid recommendations
If requested by a Board member, an item listed under the consent agenda shall
be immediately withdrawn for separate discussion and acted upon individually.
MEMBER CONDUCT DURING BOARD MEETINGS
Persons addressing the Board (Persons have several options for addressing the Board on agenda or non-agenda items.)
A person may address the Board on an agenda or non-agenda item by completing a note card located on the sign-in table inside the Board Room and giving the card to the administration before the meeting begins. Each speaker is limited to six minutes with a maximum of thirty minutes for public comments.
If several persons sign up to address the Board on a single item, a spokesperson will be selected to speak for the group.
Board response to persons addressing the Board
The Board President, when necessary, may direct the Superintendent to investigate item(s) and report back to the Board through transmittal or at a designated meeting.
The Board President shall recognize Board members prior to any member asking clarifying questions or making statements to the Board.
When appropriate, the Superintendent or Board President will provide specific factual information in response to inquiries by members of the public. However, members of the board will not discuss any matter with the public at a meeting.
Discussion of individual employees or students by the Board or audience.
The Board will not hear complaints or grievances about employees or students in public session.
Formal Hearings
During the formal hearing, the Board is assembled only to gather information. The board will not answer questions or enter into dialogue except with their attorney in the case of an employee hearing.
Rules for the formal hearing will be strictly adhered to.
Public Forums
Purpose of this meeting is to inform the public and to gather information.
Board President will chair this meeting.
Community members wishing to voice complaints will be directed to the Superintendent.
Board shall observe the parliamentary procedures in Robert's Rules of Order.
All discussion shall be directed solely to the business currently under deliberation.
The Board President has the responsibility to keep the discussion to the motion
at hand and shall halt discussion that does not apply to the business before
the Board.
The Board President has the right to recognize a Board member prior to giving their comments.
Voting
All members, including the Board President, will vote on all action items.
A member will not abstain from voting except in the case of a personal conflict of interest.
INDIVIDUAL BOARD MEMBER REQUEST FOR INFORMATION OR REPORTS
'A board member may request existing information and/or reports through the Board President to the superintendent. If the information does not exist and a report must be generated, it must be requested by majority vote of the board.
The Superintendent will gather the information and/or report and disseminate it in a timely manner to the Board.
Board members are encouraged to advise the Superintendent of questions or concerns on agenda items before the Board meeting.
CITIZEN REQUEST/COMPLAINT TO INDIVIDUAL BOARD MEMBER
When a citizen complains to a board member, the Board member shall:
Remind the citizen of due process and that the Board member must remain impartial in case the situation goes before the Board.
Refer citizen to appropriate person in the chain-of-command.
Board member shall inform Superintendent of complaint.
When appropriate, the superintendent or designee shall communicate with the citizen in a timely manner and follow-up with the Board member.
EMPLOYEE REQUEST/COMPLAINT TO INDIVIDUAL BOARD MEMBER
When an employee complains to a board member, the board member shall: Issue chain-of-command to employee.
Remind employee of the due process procedure and remain impartial. Refer employee to appropriate person in the chain-of-command.
Board member is encouraged to talk with Superintendent in a timely fashion.
BOARD MEMBER VISIT TO SCHOOL CAMPUS
Board members are encouraged/expected to attend special events on campuses to represent the Board in support of activities.
Board members are not to go into teachers' classrooms or campuses for the purpose of evaluation or investigation.
Board members must notify principal of visits to campuses when they are not attending a scheduled activity.
COMMUNICATIONS
The Board President will meet with the Superintendent on a routine weekly basis.
Information sent to any Board member will be distributed to all Board members.
Board will keep Superintendent informed via telephone calls or personal visits. Board will communicate with the community through public hearings, regular Board meetings, and regular publications.
Individual Board members cannot speak in an official capacity outside the Board Room.
EVALUATION OF SUPERINTENDENT
The Board President will obtain input from all other members on Boardapproved indicators.
The Superintendent's evaluation will be conducted in December of each year in Executive Session by consensus.
EVALUATION OF THE BOARD
The Superintendent and the Board evaluations are the same. The TEAM OF EIGHT concept is compelling!
Evaluation of the Board will be conducted in Executive Session by consensus. Evaluation of the Board will be conducted every February.
CRITERIA AND PROCESS FOR SELECTING BOARD OFFICERS
The Willis School Board will have three elected officers who are elected by the sitting board members. The three offices shall be: President, Vice President, and Secretary. The election process will consist of three separate elections with the President being elected first followed by the Vice President and Secretary.
Ballots
There will be two sets of ballots for each office; one set of ballots will be marked as "Election Ballots" and the second set will be marked as "Run Off Ballots" and will available if needed.
Voting
The secretary will then inform all members that the first election is for President. Members will take the ballot marked "President", mark the name off of any person who has requested to be removed from consideration. Board Members will then vote for the candidate of their choice by marking the appropriate box with an "X" with a red ballpoint pen. When all votes have been cast, the Superintendent will collect the ballots. The Superintendent will then count the votes and the Business Manager will verify the count. When the Superintendent and Business Manager agree on the count, the Superintendent will announce the newly elected President. The candidate who receives the most votes shall be declared the winner. The next election will be for the office of Vice President and will follow the same procedure as that of President. The name of the newly elected President will be removed from the ballot for Vice President and, Secretary. The election for secretary will follow with the newly elected Vice President's name being removed from the ballot for Secretary.
Ties for an Office
In the event of a tie, the candidates who were involved in the tie will go into a runoff. All Board Members will vote for one of the candidates in the runoff, with the candidate receiving the most votes declared the winner.
Suggested Criteria for Board Officers:
Accessibility
Board officers should be very easily accessible to the Superintendent, the other board officers, and fellow board members. Occasions may arise where other officers are not available and the Superintendent may need to contact a board officer, or other board members might need to contact an officer.
Attendance
Good attendance is necessary to keep an officer informed and up-to-date on current situations in the district. Our staff and our students in this district are expected to maintain good attendance and board members should set the standard.
Time
In accepting a position as a board officer, an individual must have the time to commit to the responsibilities of the office. Although some offices do require much of an individual's time, other offices may require a considerable amount of time.
Experience
Previous experience on the Board, although not necessary, would be a valuable asset to an officer in conducting meetings and the duties of his/her office. Elections
Election of Board officers will take place at the first regularly scheduled meeting in May, after votes from the school Board elections have been canvassed. The election of officers shall be the first item of business on the agenda for that night. The newly elected officers will assume their offices immediately.
Reorganization
The Board may reorganize at any time it feels the need to do so during the year. To reorganize requires a majority vote.
ROLE AND AUTHORITY OF BOARD MEMBER AND/OR BOARD OFFICER
(Set down by state statute.)
No Board member or officer has authority outside the Board meeting.
No Board member can direct employees in regard to performance of duties.
The Board President shall:
Preside at all Board meetings
Appoint committees
Call special meetings
Sign all legal documents required by law
The Vice-President shall:
Act in capacity of President in the absence of the President
Sign or countersign warrants or other documents as necessary
The Secretary shall:
Keep, or cause to be kept, an accurate record of the proceedings of Board meetings
Send, or cause to be sent, all notices of Board meetings
Act in role of President in the absence of the President and Vice-President Sign or countersign warrants and other documents as necessary
ROLE OF BOARD IN EXECUTIVE SESSION
Board can only discuss those items listed on the executive session agenda and as limited by law.
Board must vote in public session.
Discussions during executive session must remain confidential.
MEDIA INQUIRIES TO THE BOARD
The Board President shall be the official spokesperson for the Board to the media/press on issues of media attention.
All Board members who receive calls from the media should direct them to the Board's President or designee.
ANONYMOUS PHONE CALLS AND/OR LETTERS
The Willis ISD Board of Trustees encourages input; however, anonymous calls or letters will not receive Board attention, discussion, or response and will not result in directives to the administration.
RESPONSE TO SIGNED LETTERS
The Willis ISD Board of Trustees encourages input. A signed letter will be forwarded to Superintendent and a response using standard format will be sent by Board member. The Superintendent will respond and send copy to full board.
REVIEWING BOARD OPERATING PROCEDURES
Standard Board Operating Procedures will be reviewed and updated annually and will be part of Board training.