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Conduct of Meeting

114.02

Conduct of Meeting

  1. Roberts Rules of Order shall be used as a guide in the conduct of all meetings of the Board of Trustees and its committees.
  2. Presentation of items of business shall follow the Agenda, unless varied by the Chair.
  3. The Board welcomes attendance at its meetings by members of the public and College employees and encourages their interest in the conduct of the affairs of the College.  The Board also welcomes the orderly expression of concerns by members of the public or organizations relating to the welfare of the College and welcomes questions or comments from members of the public and employees.  In order that Board meetings may be orderly and serve the purposes of the College, the following additional rules shall govern visitor participation in Board meetings:
    1. Citizens or organizations wishing to present written or oral proposals or petitions regarding matters of interest to the citizens, organizations, or the Board shall summarize such proposals in writing and furnish them to the Secretary of the Board seven days prior to the meeting.  Such proponents or petitions shall be assigned a period not to exceed ten minutes on the meeting agenda during the period for Communications from Visitors for any comments or additional oral materials the proponent or petitioner wishes to furnish in regard to the proposals.  In the event an opponent to the proposal or petition is present, such opponent shall be given a like period of time to address the Board.  The Chair may limit the number of citizen petitions to be heard at a particular meeting in the interest of time but shall cause any petition not heard to be placed on the agenda for the next meeting.
    2. Members of the public and employees of the College may be heard without prior written notice on matters on the agenda, may make comments, or may ask questions of the Board by requesting permission of the Chair during the Communication from Visitors portion of the meeting 
      1. Agenda Items
        1. The Chair shall during Communication from Visitors on the agenda ask whether any members of the public wish to be heard on any agenda item.  At the commencement of consideration of that item on the agenda during the course of the meeting, the citizen shall be called upon and permitted to address the Board on such item.  Speakers for or against an item on the agenda shall be limited to a total of five minutes of meeting time for his, her, or their statement.  If more than one person wishes to address the Board, the time shall be divided among them.  If there are proponents and opponents present, each side shall have a total of five minutes available for a statement of their position.
        2. Although citizens may address the Board on agenda items, it is usually beneficial to the Board and citizen (or Board and citizen or organization) to inform the Secretary of the Board of the citizen's or organization's desire to speak and to give a general outline of concerns at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting.  The advance notice permits the administration to solicit further helpful information and may avoid delay in acting on or responding to the item or concern.
      2. Persons Addressing the Board: Persons addressing the Board shall address the Board as a whole or shall address the Chair.  No more than two persons shall address the Board on the same topic on the same side of an issue.
      3. Questions
        1. All questions to the Board shall be directed to the Chair.  The Chair, in consultation with the President if desired, shall determine whether the question will be answered at the Board meeting, and if so, whether by the Chair or by a member of administration.
        2. Questions directed to individual Trustees shall be deemed out of order and are not permitted.  Individual Trustees may pose questions to the citizen speaking.  Presentations by the citizen and citizen response to any questions by the Board shall be orderly.  After the allotted time has lapsed, the citizen or citizens shall not address the Board further unless requested to do so by the Chair.  The Board shall not respond to questions asked during the course of the meeting except as permitted herein.  Persons attending the meeting shall not be permitted to interject comments or questions during the Board's discussion of the matter.  The Board is not obligated to act upon items presented by members of the public, employees, or organizations or to answer questions at the time such question is presented.  The Board will make a good faith effort to respond to questions within a reasonable time.  In order to permit time to consider other items on the Board's agenda, the time allowed under Communication from Visitors shall not exceed 20 minutes.  The Chair may, for good cause, extend the time limitations provided.  The Chair may terminate the privilege of addressing the Board of any speaker who does not conduct himself or herself in an orderly, decorous, and respectful manner.
  4. The Chair shall serve as spokesperson for the full Board at all meetings of the Board.
  5. The rules shall apply to committee meetings to the extent they are germane.

Revised: 10-23-1989
Cabinet Reviewed: 10-08-2024