Does your school board have by-laws or does your school rely on Vt state law and Roberts Rules of Order for small boards to guide the school boards? I have seen many suggestions in the Vermont School Board Resource Guide that are included in our by-laws and am feeling that there is redundancy. We have one board member that feels by-laws are necessary, as a new board member, I am questioning the need.
VSBA Member to Member
Questions and answers from and to board members.
Have you asked your fellow board member why she/he feels it necessary to push for bylaws? There might be an answer that gives you an “aha” moment. On the other hand I believe the fewer layers of rules we work under the better.
We use a combination of Roberts Rules, our own bylaws, and the State law. Seems to work for us. I would suggest that, if current practice has been working well for your district, as a new Board member there are other areas you could familiarize yourself with that could probably be a better use of your time and energy; not to mention your Admin team and fellow Board members’ time.
As far as I know, our board does not have by-laws. At least, they have never been referred to. The guidelines provided by education law and Roberts Rules seem sufficient to me. Even more important is plain old common sense.
Our SU and the small districts all use Roberts Rules. We have as long as I have been on the board, 12 years now.
All districts and schools have unique characteristics and all therefore need their own bylaws and policies. VSBA provides many samples that are very useful as guides.
We rely on state law and Roberts Rules of Order.
Our board has a Policy and Procedure Manual and do also abide by Roberts Rules of Order.
We use a supervisory union level policy manual, state law and RRoO to guide the direction and operation of our school board.
Our board follows Robert’s Rule’s.
We do have bylaws for our board and mission statements. They have not been updated since the closure of the elementary school though.
Basically go by Roberts Rules, but meetings are so short and not well attended that we often allow deviations, especially under Hearing of Visitors.
To my knowledge, I believe we adhere to the VT State Law in regards to the conducting of business and utilize Roberts Rule as a conduit. Not sure about by laws as between the State Laws and Roberts Rule and the Ballot Box, most issues are covered. Not opposed to by-laws but I am opposed to redundancy and bureaucracy.
WE USE ROBERT RULES OF ORDER FOR SMALL BOARDS AND THIS IS CONFIRMED AT EVERY ANNUAL MEETING.