Introduction
• A man went to a church business
meeting. He was asked to preside
over the meeting. His presiding
skills were so bad that a widespread
conflict broke out.
• Following that meeting, the man
studied every piece of material on
parliamentary procedure he could
get his hands on, so that conflict
during his meeting would never
occur again.
Introduction
The man was General Henry M. Robert, the
original author of Robert’s Rules of Order
Robert saw the need for effective
meetings back in 1876 and did
something about it.
Introduction
By attending this session, you are
taking action, like General Robert,
to make your meetings better.
I hope that you can find tips and
solutions to make your meetings
run more efficiently.
I am here to help you!
What is a meeting?
• You can find it in Alabama Code 36-25A-2.
• To simplify it, the AASB Boardsmanship
Series publication, Public Meetings and
Public Records (p.2) , breaks it down:
• A prearranged gathering of a quorum of a
board, board committee or board
subcommittee, during which the board (or
committee or subcommittee) is authorized
to exercise the powers it possesses to
approve the expenditure of public funds.
– Example: a school board's regular or
called meetings.
What is a meeting?
• A gathering, prearranged or not, when
members deliberate specific matters that,
at the time, the participating members
expect to come before the board at a later
date.
– Example: If board members gather at a
local restaurant and, for example, agree
who will be the new football coach at
the local high school, that constitutes a
meeting under the Open Meetings Act.
What is NOT a meeting?
• Attends social gatherings, conventions,
conferences, training programs, press
conferences, media events, or otherwise
gathers, so long as the members do not
deliberate on matters that they expect to
come before the board at a later date.
• Gathers, in person or electronically, with
state or federal officials to make a report,
obtain information, or seek support for
issues of importance to the board.
Quorum
• For the purpose of the Open
Meetings Act, a quorum is a
majority of the voting members,
of any such body, except that, for
ad hoc meetings, newly elected or
appointed members who have not
taken office count toward
determining if a quorum is
present. (Public Meetings and
Public Writings, p. 2)
Hierarchy of Rules
Federal Law & judicial precedent
State law & judicial precedent
Local laws or ordinances
Charter
Bylaws
Special rules of order
Rules of order (parliamentary
authority
• Standing rules
• Custom
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Parliamentary Authority
• Alabama Code 36-25A-5(a): “Unless
otherwise provided by law, meetings shall
be conducted pursuant to the governing
body's adopted rules of parliamentary
procedure not in conflict with laws
applicable to the governmental body.”
• Most boards use Robert’s Rules of Order,
Newly Revised as their adopted
parliamentary authority.
Parliamentary Authority
• In your board rules or other place where
your board adopts Robert’s Rules of Order
as the parliamentary authority, it is
recommended that those rules state “the
current edition of ‘Robert’s Rules of Order,
Newly Revised.’”
• The current edition of ‘Robert’s Rules of
Order, Newly Revised is the 11th Edition.
All references in this presentation will be
from this edition.
• This keeps the board from using out of
date material. Much has changed since
the first printing of Robert’s Rules in 1876
and your rules will likely evolve as well.
Parliamentary Authority
• Unless it conflicts with law, AASB has
indicated it is acceptable to use the rules
for small boards.
• In RONR (the shorthand reference for
Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised),
many of those rules can be found on
pages 486-488.
Parliamentary Authority
Some important notes regarding this
portion:
• The chair is not only entitled to vote, but
encouraged to do so since they represent
constituents and their silence has the
effect of silencing those represented.
• The chair, or any other member for that
matter, should vote unless they have a
conflict of interest under the law.
• In these rules, a second is not required
(unless required by law or rule.)
Parliamentary Authority
• A common refrain I hear as a
parliamentarian with a well-established
group is: “But we have always done it that
way!”
• Custom is referenced in RONR. If the
custom of your board violates the rules,
the rules win and the custom is lost.
(RONR, p. 19)
School boards are unique
• According to AASB, a majority vote
means majority of members, not just
those present. Two-thirds vote means
two-thirds of the members, not just
those present.
• Board rules on the public (i.e.
speaking at meetings, etc)
School boards are unique
Superintendent’s Recommendation
• No amendment. Simple up or
down vote on recommendation.
• Example from AASB of something
not allowed: The superintendent
recommends the system build a
new baseball field. A board
member moves that we renovate
the field house at the existing
baseball field.
School Boards are unique
Policy
Boards of education set policy
16-1-30(b) [in part]
• “The local board of education shall,
upon the written recommendation of
the chief executive officer, determine
and establish a written educational
policy for the board of education and
its employees and shall prescribe rules
and regulations for the conduct and
management of the schools…”
School Boards are unique
Policy
• Meet and Confer
-Some boards may have time limits
regarding meet and confer in their
rules, but there is no time specified
in the law. It simply states that the
chief executive officer
(superintendent) will “consult with
the applicable local employees'
professional organization. Input by
the applicable professional
organization shall be made in
writing to the chief executive
officer.”
School Boards are unique
Policy
• Meet and Confer
-AASB recommends announcement
of a policy at a meeting,
consultation with the applicable
organization, and then action at the
next meeting. This provides time to
confer and for the applicable
organization to provide their input in
a reasonable amount of time.
Minutes
• Alabama Code 36-25A-4:
“A governmental body shall maintain
accurate records of its meetings,
excluding executive sessions, setting
forth the date, time, place, members
present or absent, and action taken at
each meeting. Except as otherwise
provided by law, the records of each
meeting shall become a public record
and be made available to the public as
soon as practicable after approval.”
Minutes
• Make sure the minutes are accurate
with the required information.
• Make sure you know what you’re
approving.
• This becomes the official record of the
board and can be used later to show
action (or inaction) by the board.
• For more on minutes, including a
sample form for them, refer to RONR, p.
468-475. But do not forget that which
is required by the Open Meetings Act.
Real World ScenarioMinutes
• A board voted to close an
elementary school at the June
meeting. At the July meeting, when
we’re ready to approve the minutes
of the previous meeting, one
member moves to “correct” the
minutes to delete reference to that
vote. He thinks if the motion passes,
it “undoes” the action at the
previous meeting. Is this accurate?
Real World ScenarioMinutes
NO!
• All the action does by striking that
section from the minutes is make
the minutes incomplete and
inaccurate.
• The minutes are a record of that
which occurred. Removing
something from the minutes does
not undo that action or invalidate
an action.
Notice
Different meetings under the Open
Meetings Act have different notice
requirements.
Those include:
• Meetings requiring 7 day notice:
– annual organizational meetings
• Meetings requiring 24 hour notice:
– regular and called meetings, budget
hearings
Notice
• Meetings requiring 1 hour notice
– Emergency meetings and meetings to
accept a resignation
• No notice required
– Non-meetings, quasi-judicial actions,
formal hearings
All notices must identify the board by
name and include the date, time and place
for the meeting. The notice also must
include a general description of the nature
and purpose of the meeting.
For additional information on notice, see
Public Meetings and Public Records by
AASB, pages 3-4.
Agendas
From Public Meetings and Public Writings,
(p. 4):
• If a preliminary agenda is drafted, it must
be posted in the same manner as the
notice of the meeting.
• The Open Meetings Act does not appear
to require the board to send the
preliminary agenda to parties who
receive direct notification of the meeting
but doing so is the better practice,
particularly if the agenda can be mailed
easily. Matters that were not included on
the preliminary agenda may be discussed
at the meeting, consistent with board
policy.
Agendas
There’s no magic formula for the perfect
agenda. But there are practices that should
be kept in mind when drafting an agenda.
These are suggestions from The School Board
President’s Handbook, slightly modified:
• How many items will be considered? (Also
meaning, how long will your meeting last?)
• Identification of items. Action items and
information items require different forms of
preparation and action, so each should be
distinctly identified. The identification on
an agenda should include sufficient
explanation everyone, including the public,
to be able to identify the item under
consideration.
Agendas
• Public comment.
– Visitor comments and questions are
valuable. The agenda should provide for
hearing visitors. Hearing them earlier rather
than later is preferred. Board policy should
clearly define the method by which members
of the public are allowed to speak.
• Policy governing items placed on the
agenda.
– A responsibility of the president and
superintendent is to ensure items are placed
on an agenda only after the board and staff
have sufficient information for deliberate,
rational action.
– The board never should take action until it
has given due consideration of a matter
based on all available information.
Agendas
• On advice from AASB, the agenda can
be changed at the meeting or a motion
to suspend the rules can be adopted to
take up something not on the agenda.
• The parliamentary rule on the motion
to “suspend the rules” is that it must
be seconded, is neither debatable nor
amendable and requires a 2/3rds vote
(RONR 261).
Agendas
• Do you have certain items on your
adopted agenda set to come up at a
particular time?
– Example: Agenda lists “Resolution x will
be considered at 7:20 p.m.”
• The motion to “Call for the Orders of
the Day” can be applied to make the
group stick to the agenda and the
time listed. However, the orders of
the day can be set aside by the
group by 2/3rds vote.
Agendas
Some groups may choose to list times or
exclude them in their agenda.
• Do you have a time to adjourn listed on your
agenda? Is your meeting so productive that
you want to keep going? You can do that! You
may extend your time by a motion to extend
time, much like a motion to suspend the
rules.
• Do you want to adjourn strictly at a particular
time with absolutely no run over, even if there
is unfinished business? You can do that too.
Call for the orders of the day, as previously
discussed. The unfinished business will take
place at your next meeting.
• For more information on Agendas, please see
RONR, p. 371-375.
Consent Calendar
• A consent calendar (RONR, p. 361-362)
is tool to expedite business by helping
dispose of a large number of items that
are routine or non-controversial.
• If your board adopts a rule to use a
consent calendar, they may also provide
that items on the calendar are
undebatable and/or unamendable. It
should also state who has the ability to
place items on the calendar.
• If a member wished to debate or amend,
they would simply ask it be removed
from the consent calendar. The matter
then returns to the general place of
consideration on the agenda.
Real World Application:
Consent Calendar
• Board agenda has five items. The rule
allowing for a consent calendar allows
the board president and superintendent
to compile the consent calendar.
• The president and superintendent chose
items 2, 3, and 5 for the consent
calendar. No one asks to remove an item
from the calendar and a vote is taken,
thus approving the items on the
calendar.
• Items 1 and 4 will come up under new
business, since they were not approved
as part of the consent calendar.
Executive Session
• An executive session is “[a]
portion of a meeting of a
governmental body from which
the public is excluded…”
(Alabama Code 36-25A-2)
• There are ten reasons a board can
go into executive session, which
are listed in Alabama Code 36-
25A-7.
Executive Session
• Additional limits include quasijudicial proceedings under which
school boards may enter.
• However, items almost always
considered in executive session
(as advised by ASSB) include
student discipline and termination
hearings, excluding those who file
Statements of Economic Interest.
Executive Session
• As previously stated in Alabama
Code 36-25A-4, minutes are not kept
in executive session, which
conflicts with RONR. When a
conflict arises between the law and
the parliamentary authority, the law
takes precedence.
• Alabama Code 35-25A-5 states, in
part, “Unless permitted by this
chapter, existing statute, or
constitutional amendment, no votes
shall be taken in executive
sessions.”
Executive Session
To enter Executive Session, the following
must take place:
– have a quorum present
– convene for a properly noticed,
prearranged public meeting
– adopt a motion to go into executive session
for one of the reasons authorized by the
Open Meetings Act
– pass the motion by majority vote
– record in writing each member's vote
– announce whether the board will
reconvene in public after the session and,
if so, approximately what time.
Amendments
Amendments are simply changes to
an original motion. There are
various ways to amend a motion.
• Strike out
• Insert (or add)
• Strike out and insert
• Substitute
Amendments
Examples
• Strike out
– “I move the Jupiter High School have a
bake sale on Saturday.”
– An example of motion to amend by
striking out: “I move to amend by
striking the words ‘on Saturday.’
– The motion, if the amendment is
adopted, would then read: “I move the
Jupiter High School have a bake sale.”
– “I move the Jupiter High School have a
bake sale on Saturday.”
Amendments
• Insert
– “I move the Jupiter High School have a
bake sale on Saturday.”
– An example of the motion to amend by
inserting: “I move to amend by inserting
the words ‘Friday and’ in front of
Saturday.’
– The motion, if the amendment is
adopted, would then read: “I move the
Jupiter High School have a bake sale on
Friday and Saturday.”
– “I move the Jupiter High School have a
bake sale on Friday and Saturday.”
Amendments
• Strike and Insert
– “I move the Jupiter High School have a
bake sale on Saturday.”
– An example of the motion to amend by
striking and inserting: “I move to amend
by striking the word ‘on Saturday’ and
inserting the words ‘next month.”
– The motion, if the amendment is
adopted, would then read: “I move the
Jupiter High School have a bake sale on
Saturday next month.”
– “I move the Jupiter High School have a
bake sale next month.”
Amendments
• Substitution
– Substitution is a more complex form
of strike and insert where it could be
entire paragraphs that might be
stricken and inserted. Rather than
doing it paragraph by paragraph, one
can simply introduce a substitute
amendment to take care of a larger
document in order to save time.
Amendments
• Amendments must be germane to
the question at hand. For
information on amendment
germaneness, see RONR, p 136138.
• Amendments can only go to the
second degree. (An amendment to
an amendment.)
Debate and Discussion
•
•
•
•
What’s the difference?
In RONR, they are the same.
“Before a member in an assembly can make a
motion or speak in debate—the parliamentary
name given to any form of discussion of the
merits of a motion…” (RONR, p. 29)
“Debate must be confined to the merits of the
pending question. Speakers must address their
remarks to the chair, maintain a courteous
tone, and—especially in reference to any
divergence of opinion—should avoid injecting a
personal note into debate.” (RONR, p. 43)
On the same page, it states the presiding
officer should not enter into discussion of the
merits of pending questions EXCEPT IN
COMMITTEES AND SMALL BOARDS. (Emphasis
added)
Real World ApplicationDebate
• Every time a motion is being
considered, board member Betty
Sue uses the discussion to talk
about her cats and grandchildren,
which are clearly unrelated to the
items being considered.
• What can the board president or
other members do?
Real World ApplicationDebate
• A member can raise a point of order.
– “It is the right of every member who
notices a breach of the rules to insist on
their enforcement.” (RONR, p. 249)
– “If the chair notices a breach, he corrects
the matter immediately; but if he fails to do
so—through oversight or otherwise—a
member can make the appropriate Point of
Order.” (RONR, p. 249-250)
• Robert’s Rules gives the chair the power
to “enforce rules relating to debate and
those relating to order and decorum
within the assembly.” (RONR, p. 450)
Sources
• Code of Alabama, 1975
• Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly
Revised, 11th Edition
• Public Meetings and Public
Records, published by AASB
• The School Board President’s
Handbook, published by AASB
• Parliamentary Procedure in Local
Government - Second Edition,
published by the National
Association of Parliamentarians
Disclaimer
The advice given in this
presentation is of a general nature
as it relates to parliamentary
procedure. The contents of this
presentation is not intended as
legal advice. If you have questions
of a legal nature, please consult
your board attorney or other legal
counsel. If you have questions
regarding specific procedures,
consult a qualified parliamentarian.