Derby board updates committee notices after Kansas open-meetings changes

Superintendent Heather Bohati presented revised board-committee procedures July 7 after changes tied to House Bill 2134 and the Kansas Open Meetings Act. The board discussed which committee meetings require formal public notice and how the district will post committee calendars.

Bohati said the revisions clarify which groups are "board-directed committees" and therefore must follow the KOMA notice requirements similar to regular board meetings. She told trustees that committees that give board-directed guidance (for example, a strategic-planning committee) must have formal advance notice and that the district will ask committee chairs to notify a central staff member (Tessa) a week before a meeting so staff can publish a single weekly notice for any committee meetings.

Trustees asked whether posting meeting dates on the district calendar constitutes adequate public notice. Katie (district staff responsible for the website) explained the board-appointed committee landing page will list committee meeting dates and that a Google Calendar powers district calendar feeds to the website; the district can add selected committee meetings to that calendar.

Bohati also recommended handling safety and security briefings via executive session (once in the fall and once in the spring) so the full board receives confidential cyber- and security-related updates rather than holding a publicly detailed committee meeting. Trustees discussed distinguishing informal community activities (for example, "chats" or public events) from committee meetings that could trigger notice requirements if a quorum is present.

Bohati asked trustees how they prefer to sign up for committee assignments; trustees favored circulating a Google Doc for signups and requested the district return a sign-up sheet for approval at the next meeting. The board also reviewed KASB-recommended policy updates (BBC, on board committees; and IB, on school site councils) that reflect the same KOMA-driven changes. Under the proposed approach site-council membership recommendations will be submitted to the superintendent for review rather than being approved directly by the board, consistent with state guidance referenced in the packet.

Trustees generally supported publishing a landing page for board-appointed committees and asked the administration to present a list and a sign-up mechanism at the next regular meeting.

No formal vote was required on the committee-notice approach; Bohati said she would return with a roster for approval.