Meeting Mayhem: Parliamentary Procedure and Effective Meetings

1. Meeting Mayhem: Parliamentary Procedure and Effective Meetings Brandon H. Walters, RP Alabama Association of School Boards October 7, 2013

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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!

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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)

9. 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

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.)

14. 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)

15. 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)

16. 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.

17. 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…”

18. 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.”

19. School Boards are unique Policy • Meet and Confer -AASB recommendsannouncement 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.

20. 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.”

21. 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.

22. Real World Scenario- Minutes • 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?

23. Real World Scenario- Minutes 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.

24. 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

25. 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.

26. 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.

27. 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.

28. 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.

29. 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).

30. 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.

31. 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.

32. 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.

33. 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.

34. 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.

35. Executive Session • Additional limits include quasi-judicial 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.

36. 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.”

37. 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.

38. 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

39. 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.”

40. 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.”

41. 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.”

42. 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.

43. Amendments • Amendments must be germane to the question at hand. For information on amendment germaneness, see RONR, p 136-138. • Amendments can only go to the second degree. (An amendment to an amendment.)

44. 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)

45. Real World Application- Debate • 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?

46. Real World Application- Debate • 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)

47. 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

48. 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.

49. Meeting Mayhem: Parliamentary Procedure and Effective Meetings Brandon H. Walters, RP Alabama Association of School Boards October 7, 2013