Board debates conduct policy wording, adopts clustered policy changes and removes parenthetical nondiscrimination language from food-service policies
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Summary
Board members discussed whether to describe conduct that harms the district as "prohibited" or merely to "avoid" it, then approved a packet of policy updates and removed a parenthetical nondiscrimination phrase from several food-service policies for consistency with prior Title IX edits.
The Luxemburg-Casco School District Board of Education debated language in a proposed board-member conduct policy before approving a group of policy updates.
During review of the conduct language (100-series policies), one board member asked who decides when conduct "compromises the reputation or legal position of the district." Another board member said the only enforceable consequence is a board sanction, and noted it would be situational. Some board members said using the term "prohibited" risked compelling speech; others said the board should make clear it expects members to avoid conduct that harms the district.
After discussion, the board moved forward with the policy packet. The meeting record shows clustered votes on the 100-series definitions and other policy groupings; motions were approved by voice votes.
Separately, the board reviewed several 8000-series policies related to food service and nondiscrimination language. Members noted that earlier Title IX edits had removed similar language elsewhere, and the board voted to delete the parenthetical phrase that included "gender identity and sexual orientation" from a set of food-service policies (policy numbers cited in discussion included portions of the 8500 series and related policy numbers). A board member and staff agreed to go back and ensure consistency across the policy manual.
A staff member described the records-retention implications of personal-device communications during a broader policy discussion: if board members and staff use personal phones to communicate about district issues, the district may have an obligation to archive and produce those records in response to records requests. The board discussed whether the district should provide district devices or rely on procedures to capture personal-device communications when necessary.
The board approved the clustered policy motions and the nondiscrimination edits by voice vote.