Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Board Governance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board debates agenda-setting authority after member demands items be added; motion to discuss agenda process passes 4–1
Summary
A board member repeatedly pressed to have items added to the meeting agenda and challenged the president’s authority; the board voted 4–1 to add a discussion of the district’s agenda-setting process to the meeting's discussion items and later agreed to revisit the process at a workshop.
A dispute over who can put items on the board agenda dominated opening minutes of the Jan. 28 Stow-Munroe Falls Board of Education meeting and produced a vote to discuss agenda-setting procedure.
One board member repeatedly asked that specific items be restored to the agenda and questioned whether the president had power to veto items. Chair Wind and other board members responded that agendas are prepared by the superintendent in cooperation with the board president and that, under board policy and Robert's Rules of Order, a member can move to amend the agenda at a meeting.
After extended discussion the board member made a motion "to discuss the set our process for adding something to the agenda." The motion was seconded and approved by roll call, 4–1 (East Jenkins, Marletti, Siodonik and Wind voted yes; Sheehan voted no). The board then placed discussion of agenda setting at the end of the discussion block, as item 15f.
Later in the meeting the board reviewed written procedure established earlier (a draft workflow for agenda requests, internal review deadlines and a Thursday agenda-review meeting to finalize the agenda). Administration confirmed the district legal counsel had reviewed the procedure and found it consistent with board policy, but board members expressed differing views on whether the process effectively preserved members' rights and transparency. One member argued that the protocol functionally gave the board president veto authority over items; others said the procedure was intended to ensure information necessary for action was submitted in time.
Board members agreed to continue the discussion at an upcoming board workshop, and administration offered to circulate the written procedure and any legal guidance to board members before that meeting. The motion to add the agenda-setting discussion to the meeting and the later decision to send the topic to a workshop were the primary actions taken on the matter.
