005.  ORGANIZATION

Section 1.    Organization Meeting

      SC 401, 404, 421

The Board members shall meet and organize annually during the first week of December. Notice of the time and place of the organization meeting shall be given to all Board members by mail at least five (5) days before the proposed meeting by the Board Secretary. The organization meeting shall be a regular meeting.

Section 2.    Order

      SC 426

The organization meeting shall be called to order by the past President, who shall preside over the election of a temporary President from among the hold-over

Board members. The Board Secretary shall be secretary of the meeting. In an election year, the certificates of election or appointment of all new Board members shall be read, and a list shall be prepared of the legally elected or appointed and qualified Board members.

      SC 402

The Board Secretary or other person qualified to administer oaths may administer the oath or affirmation of office to those Board members who have not previously taken and subscribed to the same.

Additional business shall be conducted in accordance with Policy 006.

Section 3.    Officers

Nominations shall be made from the floor. The method of election shall be by roll call.

If more than two (2) candidates are nominated for any position of officer of the Reading School District and, after balloting, no candidate receives a majority vote of the entire Board’s membership, the candidate who receives the least number of votes shall be eliminated from the ballot. A second ballot shall be taken to determine if any of the remaining candidates receive a majority vote of the entire Board’s

membership. This procedure shall be repeated eliminating one (1) candidate after every ballot until one (1) candidate receives a majority vote of the entire Board’s membership. For the purposes of the election of officers only, no Board member shall be permitted to abstain from voting in these elections.

      SC 404

a.    The school directors shall annually, during the first week of December, elect               from their members a President and Vice-President who shall serve for one (1)    year.

      SC 404

b.    The school directors shall annually, during the month of May, elect a Treasurer              who shall serve for one (1) year beginning the first day of July after such         election. The Treasurer may be a corporation duly qualified and legally        authorized to transact a fiduciary business in the Commonwealth, and shall            not be a member of the Board.

      SC 436, 438

      Pol. 811

       The Treasurer shall not enter upon his/her duties until furnishing bond in                        accordance with law and with Board approval. The Treasurer shall be         compensated in the manner and at the rate determined by the Board.

      SC 404

c.    The school directors shall, during the month of May in every fourth year, elect a           Secretary who shall serve a term of four (4) years beginning the first day of July   following such election, and shall not be a member of the Board.

      SC 431, 432

      Pol. 811

       The Secretary shall not enter upon his/her duties until furnishing bond in accordance with law and with Board approval. The Secretary shall be compensated in the manner and at the rate determined by the Board.

d.    Vacancies in any office shall be filled by Board action, and such appointed                 officers shall serve for the remainder of the unexpired term.

In the event there is a vacancy in the office of President of School Directors, the Vice-President shall assume the office of President until the next regularly scheduled or special Board organization meeting, as described in Section 1 of this policy.

In the event there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice-President of the Board of School Directors, a new Vice-President shall be elected at the first regularly scheduled meeting following the vacancy in that office.

      SC 404, 405

The same school director may not hold more than one (1) office of the Board. No commissioned officer or professional employee of the Board shall serve, temporarily or permanently, as an officer of the Board.

      SC 514

      Pol. 006

Officers of the Board may be removed from office for incompetency, intemperance, neglect of duty, violation of the school laws of the Commonwealth, or other improper conduct, provided that the officer charged shall have been given due notice of the reasons and an opportunity for a hearing. Removal shall be approved by the affirmative vote of a majority of the full number of school directors.

Section 4.    Duties Of Officers

President

      SC 426, 427

The following legal duties of the Board President are:

a.      To preside at all meetings.

b.     To call special meetings as needed and whenever requested in writing by three (3) members of the Board of School Directors.

c.      As the executive officer of the Board of School Directors, to sign, together with the Secretary, when directed by the Board of School Directors any and all deeds, contracts, warrants to tax collectors, reports, accounts payable, and other papers pertaining to the business of the Board.

In exercising his/her duties as the presiding officer of the Reading School District, the President shall:

a.      Consult with the Superintendent in planning of the Board's agenda.

b.     Confer with the Superintendent on crucial matters occurring between Board meetings.

c.      Appoint and support the operation of all committees of the Board of School Directors.

d.     Be the public spokesperson for the Board of School Directors at all times except as this responsibility is specifically delegated to others.

e.      Be responsible for orderly and efficient conduct of all Board meetings.

In carrying out this responsibility, s/he shall:

1.       Call the Board meeting to order at the appointed time.

2.       Announce the business to come before the Board in its order on the printed agenda.

3.       Enforce the Board's policies relating to the order of business and public participation.

4.       Recognize persons who desire to speak and protect the speaker who has the floor from interference.

5.       Explain motions as necessary.

6.       Restrict discussion to the question when a motion is before the Board.

7.       Refer discussion to the question when a motion is before the Board.

8.       Put motions to a vote stating definitely and clearly the vote and result thereof.

The President shall have the right, as other Board members have, to offer resolutions, discuss questions, and to vote.

Vice-President

      SC 428

The following legal duties of the Vice-President are, in case of the absence of the President, to:

a.      Preside at all meetings.

      Pol. 616

b.     Call special meetings whenever requested by three (3) members of the Board of School Directors to pay bills, without prior approval of the Board, in those cases where the district receives a discount or other advantage by such prompt payment.

c.      When directed by the Board of School Directors, to execute any and all deeds, contracts, warrants to tax collectors, and other papers pertaining to the business of the Board.

d.     Perform all duties imposed upon the President.

      Pol. 616

The Board of School Directors may also, at the request of the President, authorize the Vice-President to sign checks or vouchers for the payments of current expenses and salaries.

Section 5.    Appointments

The Board shall appoint:

      SC 508, 683

a.    A tax collector, where a tax collector is not elected to collect taxes, there is a                vacancy, or an elected tax collector refuses to qualify or furnish bond.

      SC 1410

b.    School physician(s).

      SC 1410

c.    School dentist(s).

      SC 434

The Board may appoint:

a.      Assistant Secretary, who shall not receive financial compensation, but s/he shall be bonded.

      SC 2401

b.     Independent auditor.

      SC 516

c.      Delegates to a state convention or association of school directors.

      SC 406, 1089

d.     Assistants, clerks and other employees the Board deems necessary.

      SC 514

      Pol. 006

Appointees of the Board may be removed from office for incompetency, intemperance, neglect of duty, violation of the school laws of the Commonwealth, or other improper conduct, provided that the appointee charged has been given due notice of the reasons and an opportunity for a hearing. Removal shall be approved by the affirmative vote of a majority of those present and voting.

Section 6.    Legal Counsel

      SC 324, 406

The Board of School Directors may appoint and pay qualified attorneys as solicitor and assistant solicitor at its discretion to advise and represent the school district, neither of whom shall be a member of the Board.

The solicitor shall be appointed to a two-year term at the December regular meeting of the Board in order for the solicitor's term of office to commence on January 1 of each even-numbered calendar year. The Board shall appoint the assistant solicitor to a two-year term at the December regular meeting of the Board in order for the assistant solicitor's term of office to commence on January 1 of the odd-numbered calendar year.

The Board shall prepare a biannual evaluation of the performance of the solicitor and assistant solicitor based upon an evaluation procedure and instrument developed by the Finance, Legal, and MIS Committee of the Board, subject to the approval of the entire Board. Such evaluation shall be accomplished not later than September 30 of the second year of the term of office of the solicitor and assistant solicitor.

It shall be the duty of the school district solicitor and assistant solicitor to advise the Board and the Superintendent on the specific legal problems submitted. S/He shall attend all regular and special meetings and executive sessions of the Board and shall be sufficiently familiar with Board policies and requirements of the Pennsylvania School Code to enable him/her to offer the necessary legal advice.

The Board of School Directors of the Reading School District employs the following in the area of legal counsel:

a.      Solicitor.

b.     Assistant solicitor.

c.      Labor negotiator.

d.     Bond counsel.

Section 7.    Professional Consultants

In order to pursue its educational mission, the Board of School Directors may from time to time engage the services of qualified professional consultants to provide new insights and ideas for dealing with difficult problems. Assistance sought from consultants may include but will not necessarily be limited to:

a.      Conducting fact finding studies, surveys, and research.

b.     Providing services requiring special expertise.

c.      Assisting the Board in developing special program recommendations.

Prior to engaging consultants, the Board of School Directors shall require submission of a written proposal which can be incorporated into a contract in order to satisfy the requirements set by the Board.

Section 8.    Resolutions

The Board may at the organization meeting, but shall prior to July 1 next following, designate a:

      SC 621

a.    Depository(s) for school funds.

      SC 106

b.    Newspaper(s) of general circulation as defined in law.

      SC 421

c.    Normal day, place and time for regular meetings.

d.    Normal day, place and time for open committee meetings.

Section 9.    Committees

When specifically charged to do so by the Board, committees of Board members shall conduct studies, make recommendations, and act in an advisory capacity, but shall not take action on behalf of the Board.

Committees shall consist of no more than three (3) members.

Each Board member, with the exception of the Board President, will serve on one (1) or more than one (1) committee(s).

The President may appoint at the organization meeting, or not later than the regular stated monthly meeting following, members of the Board to the following standing committees, where they shall serve a term of one (1) year:

a.      Personnel/Negotiations/Benefits.

b.     Programs.

c.      Co-Curricular/Athletics.

d.     Finance/Legal/MIS.

e.      Facilities/Museum.

f.       Ad Hoc Committees (Technology).

g.      Community Relations And Policy.

h.      General Resolutions.

Business Advisory Committee

The President of the Reading School District Board of Directors will appoint a standing Business Advisory Committee with the following mission.

The mission of the Business Advisory Committee is to work in concert with the Reading School District Board of Directors and administration to create and maintain an effective and efficient school system. Specifically, the Business Advisory Committee will:

a.      Analyze/Scrutinize district fiscal and operational information and related data.

b.     Advise on appropriate measures to take for immediate and long-term fiscal health.

c.      Recommend operational efficiencies.

d.     Advocate with local, state and federal officials for adequate, equitable funding for the school district.

Functions

The following rules shall govern the functions of the standing committees:

a.      All standing committees are urged to meet monthly, if possible, previous to the regular monthly meeting of the Board.

b.     In the regular stated meeting of the standing committees, all members of the Board shall have a voice but no vote.

c.      In conducting committee hearings, the chairperson of each committee shall preside while the business pertaining to his/her committee is under discussion and consideration.

d.     Each committee shall make a monthly report to the Board of School Directors at its monthly meeting.

e.      The committee may make recommendations for Board action but it may not act for the Board of School Directors.

f.       The Board President and Superintendent of Schools shall be ex-officio members of all committees.

g.      All standing committees shall be dissolved at the end of the Board calendar year.

The duties and functions of the Committee Chairperson shall be to:

a.      Set the day, time and place for the monthly meeting. The Board Secretary's office should be contacted and informed of the day, time and place for the meeting. The other members of the Board will then be informed.

b.     Present the agenda at the committee meeting after establishing the items in cooperation with the other Board members, the Superintendent and appropriate administrators.

c.      Conduct the meeting and direct the Superintendent to prepare resolutions or other items of business to be formulated for formal presentation at the Committee of the Whole meeting.

d.     Present the committee agenda including resolutions for a first or second reading at the Committee of the Whole meeting for discussion by the entire Board.

e.      Present the committee agenda including resolutions for a first or second reading at the Board meeting for approval, rejection or to table any items on the agenda.

The committee structure is so devised as to allow a small group of individuals to present and discuss various issues pertinent to the individual committee. With this in mind, the following guidelines have been established:

a.      It is the purpose of the committee structure to have committee members draw up an agenda to be presented to the larger group for discussion and approval or rejection.

b.     It is the Chairperson who is in charge of the meeting and is responsible for formulating the agenda for the respective committee.

c.      It is the intent of the committee structure to condone preliminary meetings in order to have the freedom to discuss, revise, and draw upon the expertise of other sources to formulate the items on an agenda to be presented to the larger group of individuals.

d.     It should be remembered that any member should be allowed to attend any committee and permitted to participate in the discussions.

e.      In the committee structure, Board members are reminded that a conversation between two (2) Board members of a three-person committee could be construed as a "meeting" and therefore be in violation of Act 84, since a meeting is defined as "any prearranged gathering of an agency which is attended or participated in by a quorum of the members…" (emphasis added), and the definition of the word agency includes "all committees thereof."

Standing Committees Of Other-Than Board Members

Standing committees of other-than-Board members will be appointed/reappointed each year during Board reorganization, under the same process used for standing committees of Board members. The Board leadership and/or their designees will meet monthly with standing committees of other-than-Board members.

Ad Hoc Committees

Ad hoc committees may be created, charged, and assigned a fixed termination date, which may be extended by the President.

Members of committees shall serve until the committee is discharged.