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Board attorney: 2019 purchasing policy remains in effect; members debate first-/second-reading practice
Summary
Board attorney Chisholm told the board that policy 63 20 (purchasing), adopted 06/25/2019, remains in effect because there is no recorded motion to amend, repeal, or suspend it; members disputed whether an earlier first-reading vote should have bound the second reading.
Board attorney Chisholm presented a prepared letter and read relevant board policies to clarify whether the district currently has an effective purchasing policy. Citing the minutes, Chisholm said the board adopted policy 63 20 on June 25, 2019, and there is no record of a motion to repeal, amend or suspend that policy since adoption.
"The board speaks through its minutes," Chisholm said, summarizing policy 0143 and noting that minutes must be approved and are the official record of action. Several board members pushed back about the board’s practice around first and second readings. One member said the board had voted 7–0 on a first-reading option at a prior meeting and questioned how a later second-reading vote could yield a different result. Chisholm and others explained that a recorded first-reading vote does not, by itself, show repeal or suspension of the earlier policy; the minutes show the proposed revisions failed on second reading and therefore the 2019 policy remains in effect.
Board members agreed the board should consider returning to a clearer process for readings in the future and some asked staff to place the issue on a workshop agenda.
