Board Policy Development

The Board has jurisdiction to legislate policy for the school district with the force and effect of law.  Board policy provides the general direction as to what the Board wishes to accomplish and why it wishes to accomplish it while allowing the Superintendent to implement board policy.

The written policy statements contained in this manual provide guidelines and goals to the citizens, administration, employees and students in the school district community. The policy statements are the basis for the formulation of regulations by the administration. The policies of the Board may be amended or revised by motion and/or resolution adopted at any meeting, provided notice of changes has been given. The superintendent of schools is authorized to submit written recommendations for revision of any existing policies as he deems necessary for the most efficient operation of the District. The superintendent will notify all employees whenever revisions, additions, or amendments are made. This notice procedure shall be required except for emergency situations, which shall be determined solely by the Board. The Board will determine the effectiveness of the policy statements by evaluating periodic reports from the administration.

Policy statements may be proposed by a Board member, administrator, employee, student or member of the school district community.  Proposed policy statements or ideas will be submitted to the Superintendent's Office for possible placement on the board agenda. It is the responsibility of the Superintendent to bring these proposals to the attention of the board.

The Board policy manual is available electronically. Persons unable to access the policy manual electronically should contact the Board Secretary for assistance.

Copies of changes in Board policy will also be included in or attached to the agenda of the meeting in which the final action was taken to adopt the new or changed policy.

Board Policy Adoption

The Board will give notice of adoption of new policies by placing the item on the agenda of the board meeting. This notice procedure will be required except for emergency situations. If the board adopts a policy in an emergency situation, a statement regarding the emergency and the need for immediate adoption of the policy will be included in the minutes. The board will have complete discretion to determine what constitutes an emergency situation.

The final action taken to adopt the proposed policy will be approved by a simple majority vote of the Board. The policy will be effective on the date stated in the motion.

In the case of an emergency, a new or chnaged policy may be adopted by a majority vote of a quorum of the Board. The emergency policy will expire at the close of the third regular meeting following the emergency action, unless the policy adoption procedure stated above is followed and the policy is reaffirmed.

Board Policy Suspension

Generally, the board will follow board policy and enforce it equitably. The board, and only the board, may, in extreme emergencies of a very unique nature, suspend policy. It is within the discretion of the board to determine when an extreme emergency of a very unique nature exists. Reasons for suspension of board policy will be documented in board minutes.

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The Board shall review the policy manual at least once every five (5) years. The Board may make a determination about the sections and/or series of the policy manual and the specific policies in the policy manual to be reviewed.

Once the policy has been reviewed, even if no changes were made, a notation of the date of review is made on the face of the policy statement.

It is the responsiblity of the Superintendent to keep the Board informed as to legal changes at both the federal and state levels. The Superintendent will also be responsible for bringing proposed policy statement revisions to the board's attention. If a policy is revised because of a legal change over which the Board has no control or a chnage which is minor, the policy may be approved at the next meeting, at the discretion of the Board.

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Board policy sets the direction for the administration of the education program and school district operations.  Some policies require administrative regulations for implementation.

The Board of Directors delegates to the superintendent the function of formulating regulations designed to carry out the policies of the Board. These regulations, including handbooks, curriculum guides, manuals and similar types of publications that are directive in nature, will be approved by the Board prior to their use in the school district and constitute the administrative regulations governing the schools. The Student-Parent Handbook and the Staff Handbook will be annually reviewed and revised as needed, and copies of such are to be made available to the Board of Directors to afford the individual Board Members the opportunity to observe the manner and fashion in which the administrative staff is implementing district policy.

The administrative regulations will be available no later than the first regular board meeting after the adoption of the board policy unless the Board directs otherwise.

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