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Article II.01 Board of Trustees Meetings: Procedures
Policy |
⇓ Procedures ⇓ |
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Article II.01 Board of Trustees Meetings ProceduresMeeting AgendaThe agenda for all regular and special Board meetings will be prepared by the College President and will be forwarded to trustees at least 48 hours prior to the meeting. Individual trustees may present an item or items for the agenda to the College President prior to agenda preparation; trustees should provide as much notice as possible for changes to the meeting agenda. Items may be placed on the agenda at the meeting by a majority vote of the Board of Trustees. Order of BusinessThe Board President will call the members to order on the appearance of a quorum at the meeting. The order of business, unless modified by the Board of Trustees, will be as follows:
DebateNo member will speak more than five minutes at any one time on any motion under discussion nor will the same member speak again until all members have had the opportunity to speak. No member will speak more than twice to the same question without consent of a majority of the Board, and no member will take more than three minutes to explain their vote. When the motion to close debate prevails, no further debate will be in order. Rules of OrderIn all matters not governed by Missouri statute or district procedures, meeting protocol will be governed by the manual known as Robert’s Rules of Order. Representatives of the Faculty Association and Student Government AssociationThe Board of Trustees will recognize a member of the Faculty Association and a member of the Student Government Association who is selected by these two bodies to be their representatives. These representatives will receive notices of Board meetings and be invited to attend. Participation by TelephoneThe Board of Trustees may allow its members to participate in meetings by telephone. If a trustee is allowed to participate by telephone, their remote participation will be documented in the official meeting minutes and he or she will be considered present, will have his or her physical absence excused, and will be counted present for purposes of convening a quorum. (RSMO 610.015) Trustees who wish to participate in a meeting by telephone will contact the Board President with as much notice as possible, and the Board President will work with the College President to arrange for a meeting location with the appropriate equipment to ensure ease of trustee interaction and public observation. The College President will take measures to verify the identity of any remotely connected participants. Voting procedures are included in the related section of this manual. Meeting MinutesMinutes of open and closed meetings, including a record of any votes taken at such meetings, will be taken and retained by the Board of Trustees. Maintenance of meeting records for the Board of Trustees is the responsibility of the Recording Secretary. The Executive Assistant to the College President, or designee, will be the Recording Secretary. The minutes will include the date, time, location, members present, members absent, and a record of any votes taken. When a roll call vote is taken, the minutes will attribute each “yes” vote, each “no” vote, and each abstinence if not voting, to the name of individual trustees. (RSMO 610.020.7) The Recording Secretary will maintain the official Minutes Book of all public and closed meetings of the Board of Trustees. Minutes are not considered official until approved by a majority of the Board of Trustees and signed by the Board President, Board Secretary, and Recording Secretary. Approval and/or correction of prior meeting minutes will be included on the agenda for each Board of Trustees meeting. All approved minutes will be maintained in a permanent file in the office of the Recording Secretary and made available for public inspection or copying during regular office hours. (RSMO 610.023) Fees for copying of public records may be assessed. (RSMO 610.026) Minutes of all closed meetings will be reviewed and approved by the Board of Trustees at the next closed meeting and will be maintained in the office of the Recording Secretary. Minutes of closed meetings are not available for inspection or copying by the public. Public RecordsThe Board of Trustees has appointed the Vice President for Administrative Services as the official Custodian of Records for the district. The Vice President for Human Resources is responsible for records related to the College President's performance evaluation and employment contract, and the Executive Assistant to the College President/Recording Secretary is responsible for other records related to the Board of Trustees. The identity and location of these individuals is available upon request. (RSMO 610.023.1) Procedures for release of public records are included in Article II.02 Release of Public Records. Public Notice ProceduresThe Office of the President will be responsible for public notice of meetings of the Board of Trustees. Notice will include the time, date, and location of each meeting, along with the tentative agenda. If the meeting is to be conducted by telephone or other electronic means, public notice will identify the mode by which the meeting will be conducted and the designated location where the public may observe and attend the meeting. If the Board of Trustees plans to meet by internet chat, internet message board, or other computer link, the notice will be posted on the institution’s website in addition to the President’s Office, and the notice will include instructions to the public for access to the meeting. (RSMO 610.020) Concurrent with the public notice being made available to the Board of Trustees, copies will be made available to any representative of the news media who requests notice of meetings of the district, and the notice will be posted prominently on the window of the Office of the President, Social Sciences Building, Office 2104, which is easily accessible to the public and is clearly designated as the principle office for business related to the Board of Trustees. Notice conforming with all of the above requirements will be given at least 24 hours, exclusive of weekends and holidays when the campus is closed, prior to commencement of any meeting of the Board of Trustees unless for good cause such notice is impossible or impractical, in which case as much notice as is reasonably possible will be given. When it is necessary to hold a meeting on less than twenty-four hours' notice, or at a place that is not reasonably accessible to the public, or at a time that is not reasonably convenient to the public, the nature of the good cause justifying that departure from the normal requirements will be stated in the minutes. Special Meeting ProceduresSpecial meetings may be called by the Board President, by the Board Secretary, or upon written request of a majority of the members of the Board. Each member will be notified of the time, place, and purpose of the special meeting at least 48 hours prior to the meeting; however, if all members of the Board waive the required notice, in writing, such a special meeting may be held at any time and for any purpose. At such a meeting, no business will be transacted other than that stated in the notice. Procedure for Authorizing a Closed MeetingIn accordance with Missouri’s Sunshine Law (RSMO 610.022), public notice of closed meetings will include the time, date and place of the closed meeting or vote and the reason for holding it by reference to one of the following exceptions allowed under RSMO 610.021:
Closed Meeting MinutesMinutes and other records pertaining to closed meetings are considered closed records of the district. The public vote authorizing the holding of a closed meeting will, unless otherwise specified in the motion being voted upon, automatically authorize the minutes and other records pertaining to said closed meeting to also be closed. Objection to Closed MeetingIn the event any member of the Board of Trustees makes a motion to close a meeting, or a record, or a vote from the public and any other member believes that such motion, if passed, would cause a meeting, record, or vote to be closed from the public in violation of any provision of RSMO 610, the latter trustee will state his or her objection to the motion at or before the time the vote is taken on the motion. The Recording Secretary will enter in the minutes of the Board of Trustees meeting any objection made pursuant to this procedure. Any trustee making such an objection will be allowed to fully participate in the meeting, record, or vote that is closed from the public over the trustee’s objection. In the event the objecting trustee also voted in opposition to the motion to close the meeting, record, or vote at issue, the objection and vote of the trustee as entered in the minutes will be an absolute defense to any claim filed against the objecting member pursuant to RSMO 610.027. Closed Meeting LocationThe Board of Trustees will only close that portion of the meeting facility needed to house the Board of Trustees in closed session. Members of the public will be allowed to remain in the meeting facility so that they may attend any open meeting that follows the closed meeting. Confidentiality of Closed Meetings, Records, and VotesThe Board of Trustees and employees in attendance are honor bound not to disclose the details or discussions of closed meetings, records, or votes. District employees who fail to keep closed information or closed meetings confidential may be disciplined or terminated. The Board of Trustees may publicly admonish trustees who fail to keep closed meetings, records, and votes confidential in violation of this procedure. VotingVoting at meetings of the Board of Trustees will be conducted in accordance with the applicable law and provisions set out in administrative procedures. General Voting ProceduresAll motions will be recorded in the minutes, including the name of the person making and seconding any motion and the record of the vote. If a roll call is taken, the record will attribute each "yea" and "nay" vote, or abstinence if not voting, to the name of the individual trustee. The Board President will have a vote on all questions. All votes taken by roll call will be cast by trustees who are physically present and in attendance at the meeting or who are participating via videoconferencing. When it is necessary to take votes by roll call due to an emergency, with a quorum of the Board physically present and in attendance and less than a quorum of the Board participating via telephone, facsimile, internet, or any other voice or electronic means, the nature of the emergency justifying the departure from normal requirements will be stated in the minutes. Where such emergency exists, the votes taken will be regarded as if all members were physically present and in attendance at the meeting. (RSMO 610.015) Any trustee, upon request, may have a brief explanation of their vote recorded on any question. Any trustee may also change his or her vote if such a request is made prior to consideration of the next order of business. Motions pass with an affirmative vote from the majority of the quorum present at the meeting unless otherwise limited by law. A majority of the entire Board must vote to enter into a contract, employ a person, approve a bill, or issue a warrant. Voting in Open SessionVoting in open session must be conducted in a manner which allows the Recording Secretary to accurately discern and record the number of persons voting for or against the motion as well as the persons abstaining from the vote. The Board of Trustees may decide to vote by roll call in open session. Any trustee who desires a roll call vote will so request it of the Board President and, upon being recognized, will proceed to cast his or her vote first, the vote then proceeding in a clockwise manner until all have voted, and the vote will be so recorded. When voting to adjourn to closed session, the specific reason for closing the meeting will be announced publicly by reference to the specific section of RSMO 610.021, and the vote will be taken by roll call. Voting in Closed SessionAll votes taken in closed session will be taken by roll call, including the vote to adjourn. (RSMO 610.015) Voting by TelephoneThe Board of Trustees may allow members to participate in meetings by telephone; however, in order to vote on an item of business, the remotely located trustee must be connected with the meeting throughout discussion of the item. If joining the meeting by telephone after an item of business has been opened, the remotely connected trustee will not participate until the next item of business is opened. Remotely connected trustees will not be allowed to cast roll call votes unless an emergency exists and a quorum of the Board is physically present. If such an emergency exists, the nature of the emergency will be stated in the official meeting minutes. Remotely connected trustees may cast votes other than roll call votes. (RSMO 610.015) Content Owner: Office of the President |