Bylaws are rules or procedures adopted by the Board to govern its internal operations.  The use of such bylaws helps the Board to comply with the responsibilities and duties delegated to it by law and by the local electorate, in an efficient and effective manner.  

All actions of the Board shall be taken only in official Board meetings called, scheduled, and conducted according to these bylaws and the statutes of the state.  

Board bylaws, policies and rules shall be subject to suspension for a specified purpose and limited time by vote of the Board at a meeting duly called for which the proposed suspension has been described in writing, or upon a two-thirds vote of all members of the Board when no such written notice has been given.

A.  School Board Vacancies:

A position on the Board shall be vacant, except as provided in Neb. Rev. Stat.§32-561 for military service, upon the happening of any one of the following events at any time before the expiration of the term of such office:

1)    Resignation of the incumbent;

2)    Death of the incumbent;

3)    Removal of the incumbent from office;

4)    Decision of a competent tribunal declaring the office of the incumbent vacant;

5)    Incumbent ceasing to be a resident of the District;

6)    Failure to elect at a proper election when there is no incumbent to continue in office until his or her successor is elected and qualified;

7)    Failure of a candidate elected to the Board to qualify for such office;

8)    Forfeiture of office as provided by law;

9)    Conviction of a felony or of any public offense involving the violation of the oath of office of the incumbent;

10)   Incumbent on the Board assuming another elective office as provided in subsections (2) and (3) of Neb. Rev. Stat. §32-604.; or

11)   When a Board member is absent from the District for a continuous period of sixty days at one time or from more than two consecutive regular meetings of the Board  unless excused by a majority of the remaining members of the Board.

B.      Filling a School Board Vacancy:

1)    A vacancy on the Board resulting from any cause other than the expiration of a term shall be temporarily filled by appointment of a qualified registered voter by the remaining members of the Board for the remainder of the unexpired term. A registered voter appointed or elected pursuant to this subsection shall meet the same requirements as the member whose office is vacant.

2)     If the Board fails to fill a vacancy on the Board, the vacancy may be filled by election at a special election or school district meeting called for that purpose. Such election or meeting shall be called in the same manner and subject to the same procedures as other special elections.

3)    If there are vacancies in the positions of a majority of the members of the Board, the Secretary of State shall be requested to conduct a special school district election to fill such vacancies.

Officers of the Board will be elected at the organizational meeting in January. Ballots will be distributed to Board members present at the meeting for the election of each officer. A secret ballot will be used for the election of each officer, but the total number of votes for each candidate shall be recorded in the minutes. An officer will be elected when one individual receives a majority of the votes cast for a position. No Board member is eligible to serve in more than one office at the same time. No Board member may serve more than two consecutive years in the same office.

The Board shall establish standing and special committees and may establish temporary committees.

Board members shall not serve on any District committees except those established by the Board.

Board members may be appointed to represent the Board and the District in state and local organizations.

Board members shall not serve as an officer in a school-parent organization.

In order to provide the District with the broadest views of its constituency, spouses of Board members may not serve on District planning, or advisory committees.

The Board may, at its discretion, appoint an attorney to perform desired legal services. The attorney shall serve at the Board’s pleasure and be compensated at a mutually agreeable rate.

DUTIES OF THE AUDITOR:

The duties of the independent auditor shall be as follows:

To examine the balance sheet of the District at the end of the fiscal year and the related statements of transactions in the various funds for the fiscal year then ended.

To conduct such examination in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and to include such tests of the accounting records and such other auditing procedures as are necessary in the circumstances.

To render an opinion on the financial statements prepared at the close of the fiscal year.

To prepare such financial statements for publication as may be required by law.

To make such recommendations to the Board concerning its accounting records, procedures, and related activities as may appear necessary or desirable.

To perform such other related services as may be requested by the Board.

The Board only has the legal authority to act as the governing body of the District when it is in session as provided by statutes and its internal bylaws, rules and procedures.

No member of the Board shall have the authority to bind or otherwise act for the Board or the District except when the action of an individual Board member or Board members is undertaken pursuant to a specific authority of the Board, which authority shall be wholly set forth in the minutes of the Board which granted the authority.

Materials pertaining to the meeting shall be sent out from the administration office to the Board members the Wednesday preceding the meeting or on such other date as may be established by the Board or otherwise necessary because of time constraints.

The Superintendent and the President of the Board shall construct the agenda. Members of the Board can request that an item be placed on the agenda by submitting the request to the Superintendent or Board President. Items to be considered for placement on the agenda must be presented in writing to the Superintendent or Board President seven (7) days prior to the meeting. Items may be placed on the agenda at the discretion of the Superintendent and Board President or in writing and signed by any two Board Members. An item of an emergency nature may be added at the meeting by a two-thirds vote.

New administrative rules or revisions of existing rules may be approved or rejected under the following procedures:

1. The proposed new rules or revision of an existing rules shall be submitted to the Board in writing at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Board.

2. The proposed new rules or revisions of existing rules may be approved or rejected at the meeting.

3.  The approval or rejection of the proposed rules shall be by a majority vote of all members of the Board.

A majority of the members of the Board shall constitute a quorum. The affirmative vote of a majority of those members present at any meeting having a quorum shall be considered sufficient for action except for actions required otherwise by law or these policies and rules.

The order of business for regular Board meetings will be as follows:

            A.      Call to Order - Opening of the meeting by the Board President

            B.      Pledge of Allegiance

            C.      Roll Call

            D.      Vote to Excuse Absent Members (if applicable)

            E.      Showcase/Employee of the Month, recognition of outstanding students, staff members, and community members / organizations.

            F.       Public Comments on agenda items - this is the proper time for public questions and comments on agenda items only.

            G.      Routine Matters

                     *1.      Approval of minutes of the preceding regular meeting of the Board of Education
                     *2.      Approval of Bills and receive Treasurer's Report and place on file
                      3.      Summary of Previous Board Committee of the Whole Meeting

            H.      Information Items

                     1.       Superintendent's Report
                     2.       Board Comments/Announcements
                     3.       Report from Student Representatives

            I.       Unfinished Business

            J.       New Business

            K.      Reports

            L.       Future Agenda Items/Board Calendar

            M.      Public Comments - This is the proper time for public questions and comments on any topic.

            N.      Adjournment

*All items indicated by an asterisk (*) will comprise the Consent Agenda and may be acted on in a single motion. Items may be deleted from the Consent Agenda by request of any Board member.

Unless otherwise provided in the Board’s policies or rules, the Board shall conduct all of its meetings in accord with Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised.

The minutes of the meetings of the Board shall include:

a. The classification (regular, adjourned, closed, emergency, or special), date, and place of meeting.

b. The call to order stating time, person presiding, and office.

c. The record of the roll call of Board members.

d. A notation of the presence or absence of the Superintendent. A notation of other staff members and others present if the persons will participate in the meeting.

e. A record of any corrections to the minutes of the previous meetings and the action approving them.

f. A record of all communications presented to the Board.

g. A record of the hearing of all petitions of citizens.

h. A record of any reports of Board members or staff members.

i. A record of each motion placed before the Board including the member making the motion and the member seconding, if any. The ayes and nays shall be recorded by name for each Board member present.

j. Special marking to indicate policy matters.

k. The manner in which the advance publicized notice of the time and place of each meeting was given.

l. The substance of all matters discussed.

m. A record of how each Board member voted on any action taken on any question or motion duly moved and seconded. The minutes shall also record if the Board member was absent or not 

n. The total number of votes for each candidate for each Board officership.
 

If the Board votes to hold a closed session, the minutes shall record the vote of each Board member on the question of holding a closed session, the entire motion for the closed session, and the time when the closed session commenced and concluded. If a Board member challenges the continuation of a closed session on the grounds that the session has exceeded the reason stated in the original motion to hold a closed session or if the member contends that the closed session is neither clearly necessary for (a) the protection of the public interest or (b) the prevention of needless injury to the reputation of an individual, the challenge and its disposition by the Board shall be recorded in the minutes.

When it is necessary to hold an emergency meeting without reasonable advance public notice, the nature of the emergency shall be stated in the minutes. Complete minutes of such emergency meetings specifying the nature of the emergency and any formal action taken at the meeting shall be made available to the public by no later than the end of the next regular business day.

The minutes shall be permanently filed and indexed for reference purposes. The minutes of all meetings and the evidence and documentation received or disclosed in open session shall be public records and open to public inspection during normal business hours. Minutes shall be written and available for inspection within ten working days or prior to the next convened meeting, whichever occurs earlier.

All reports requiring Board action, resolutions, agreements, and other written documents shall be made a part of the minutes by reference, and shall be placed in the District as a permanent record subject to state law.