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Kenosha policy committee recommends clarifying language on how board members place items on agendas
Summary
A Kenosha School District policy committee reviewed changes to the board's agenda-preparation policy, debated whether three board members should be able to request agenda items and agreed to recommend adding the phrase "from three or more of seven board members" and return the draft for a second reading by the full board.
The policy committee reviewing proposed changes to the Kenosha School Board's agenda-preparation and dissemination policy discussed a disputed change that would let three board members submit items for the agenda and would limit the number of minority-led agenda requests to two per meeting.
The committee's discussion focused on two issues: whether the board president would retain discretion to refuse a request and whether the policy should require a majority (four of seven) to place an item on the agenda rather than permit a smaller group to do so. The committee agreed to recommend adding the phrase "from 3 or more of 7 board members" to the draft and to forward the edited language back to the full board for a second reading and possible adoption.
Committee members repeatedly contrasted the practical difficulty of convening a four-member majority without creating a walking quorum with the board's longstanding practice that a majority is required to carry an action. Several members said the change would give minority board members a way to bring items for discussion without guaranteeing passage. One committee member raised concern that use of the word "may" in the draft left too much discretion with the board president; another argued that policy language should use mandatory terms such as "shall" or "must" if the board wants to bind the president's discretion.
During the meeting the group also reviewed policy 88-50 ("school board committees"), which a speaker read aloud to remind members that standing committees serve in an advisory capacity and that "all policy suggestions provided by a board committee shall be subject to ratification and approval by the board." That passage was used as the committee's procedural guide for deciding how to proceed: the committee can edit and recommend language but the full board must ratify any final policy change.
The committee chair said the edited draft would be sent back to the board for the second reading; committee members asked that staff provide the original version that the board referred to committee so members could compare versions line-by-line. No formal vote on a final substitute was recorded in the committee transcript; committee attendees reached a consensus to recommend the revised language with the added phrase "from 3 or more of 7 board members." The policy will be placed on the board's agenda for a second reading where the board can accept, reject or amend the committee's recommendation.
