Board committee reviews draft changes to policy on informal meetings and sets recusal review with legal

At a recent Policy & Governance committee meeting, board members reviewed a redlined draft of policy 200-3 R1 that would formalize a rotating schedule of three-member informal meetings with constituents and add guidance about when members must recuse themselves from later quasi‑judicial hearings. The committee discussed legal limits on private meetings, proposed a monthly rotation by alphabetical order beginning each organizational year, and asked staff to work with legal on explicit recusal language before returning the policy for final consideration.

The proposed language, presented by staff member Chase, was described as intended “to make this policy reflective of the changes you discussed last time and address some of the concerns that were in the first paragraph.” The draft ties the new provision to the district’s existing 200-series policy framework (the presenter said the draft mirrors language in policy 02/2003) and sets up a standing rotation so three board members are available each month to meet with residents or community groups.

The committee’s discussion focused on two issues: preserving board…