School board attorney: individual members lack authority to act alone; recommends formal visitation and closed‑session wording

Nikki, an attorney from Sands Anderson representing the New Kent County School board, told members at a work session that the board is the governing legal entity and individual members do not have authority to act on behalf of the board except when the board has formally delegated that authority.

That distinction matters because it affects how members may request information, visit schools, handle constituent complaints and participate in personnel or student‑discipline matters, Nikki said.

“As a board, that is the legal entity. And so at any given time, the will of the board is what three of you want to do. So no individual member has any specific authority unless the rest of the board has given it to you,” Nikki said. “You can only act through duly authorized agents. So for you, that’s your CEO, the superintendent.”

Nikki said most boards establish protocols — for example, authorizing the chair to communicate with the superintendent or to request information — and that adopting clear protocols reduces legal risk. She pointed members to Code of Virginia provisions governing school boards and noted that board policy should be followed to protect the board…