E 9000 — BOARD PROTOCOLS

Bylaws of the Board E 9000(a)

BOARD PROTOCOLS

Bringing Up New Ideas or Agenda Items

Principles: Board members and the public should have the opportunity to bring up new
ideas or subjects of interest for future Board meeting agendas and must understand the
process in order to do so. Creating a clearly defined process develops consistency,
maintains trust, and provides a process to think through issues that might have merit.
Staff focus, energy, and time, as well as other district resources must be focused on
achieving the agreed upon District vision, goals, and objectives and should not be diluted
by new projects. We must honor the intent of the Brown Act and provide opportunities for
members of the staff and the public to inform and hear Board deliberations on all agenda
items if they choose to do so.

Protocols:
1. A Board member’s first step may be to discuss the new topic or idea with the Board
President and the Superintendent.

2. Individual Board members may bring up a new idea or request a future agenda item
by explanation during “Board Member Comments”. The Board President and
Superintendent shall first determine whether the item is within the purview of the
Board. If so, the item shall be placed on a future agenda in a timely manner. All new
ideas or agenda item topics will be weighed against their effect on staff’s ability to
accomplish the District vision and goals.

3. When a member of the public submits a written request that a topic be agendized, the
President and Superintendent shall first determine whether the item is within the
purview of the Board. If it is, the President and Superintendent shall determine how
the item will be agendized and brought to a future Board meeting. if it is not within the
purview of the Board, that will be communicated to the person making the request.

Agenda Questions Asked Before A Board Meeting

Principles: Staff members’ time and expertise should be treated with respect by Board
members. Prior to a public Board meeting, if a Board member has questions of
clarification or requests for more information about an agenda item, the Board member
should let the staff member know ahead of time so as not to surprise them
and to allow them to prepare their response for the public meeting.

Protocols:
1. A Board member should read all the information in the agenda packet of a meeting
ahead of time.
 E 9000(b)
BOARD PROTOCOLS (cont.)

2. If the Board member has questions of clarification or requests for information, the
member should first email the question to the Superintendent, copying the President,
so that the Superintendent can channel the information to the appropriate staff
member.

3. Requests for information regarding agenda items should be submitted to the
Superintendent no later than 4:30 p.m. two days prior to the Board meeting.

4. The Superintendent or designated staff member will share the response with all Board
members.

Purpose of the Consent Calendar

Principles: Board members should keep in mind that the purpose of the consent calendar
is to expedite the handling of routine business.

Protocols:
1. Board members should not discuss or pull any items unless it is very important to do
so.

2. Questions on the consent calendar, once asked and answered in advance of a Board
meeting, should not be asked again at the meeting unless the Board member feels
there is information that is important for the public to know, or unless the member
wants a separate vote on the item. In the latter case, the member should ask that the
item be pulled from the consent calendar.

3. Consent calendar items should be routine and non-controversial.

Board Electronic Communications

Principles: Board members often receive inquiries and requests for action by email or on
social media. To make sure responses are consistent and to avoid violations of the Brown
Act, it is normally the President who responds to such emails addressed to the Board.
Members should be aware that access to District records is a fundamental public right,
and electronic correspondence in general is part of the public record. A Board member’s
right to have conversations with community members should not be restricted. Wherever
any of the following protocols indicate that the President should be copied or included in
an email, a Board member should disregard that instruction if by doing so a Brown Act
violation might result.

Protocols:
1. When responding to a correspondent, the Board member must always be careful to
distinguish among factual information, personal opinions, and positions or policies that
have been discussed and adopted by the Board.
 E 9000(c)
BOARD PROTOCOLS (cont.)

2. When a Board member receives a request for action not addressed to other Board
members, the member should ask permission to forward the request to the
Superintendent. If permission is not given, the member shall handle the concern as
described in the “handling concerns/complaints from the public and staff” protocol.

3. When a Board member receives a simple inquiry (not a complaint) not addressed to
the Superintendent or other Board members, the member should first determine
whether it would be important or useful for other Board members to be aware of the
inquiry. If not, and if the member has the information sought, the member may respond
to the inquiry. If the member does not have the answer, or feels that the
Superintendent should know of the inquiry, the member should respond to the
correspondent to explain that the inquiry will be forwarded to the Superintendent; then
do so, if permitted by the correspondent.

4. If emails are addressed to the entire Board or to multiple Board members, individual
Board members may respond. Any recipient of the email may forward the email to
the Superintendent. All Board members who respond must avoid using “reply-all” or
otherwise create a Brown Act violation. Inquiries regarding legal issues should be
referred to the Superintendent.

5. If a Board member becomes aware of issues of concern to members of the
community, the Board member should request to talk to the Superintendent or should
send the Superintendent an email describing the issue.

6. Board members’ electronic correspondence should be sent to and from the District
email addresses, not personal email addresses. If a Board member receives an email
at a personal address, the member may invite the sender to communicate using the
District-provided address. In any case, any response shall be from the District
address.

7. Board members should be aware that all electronic correspondence—including email
and social media—can be reprinted and distributed to the public. Responses should
be consistent with other adopted protocols.

8. Board members should not disclose their opinions on pending Board actions on social
media.

9. Board members should avoid sending emails to a quorum of the Board. When in
doubt, send messages to the Superintendent for possible distribution.

10. Avoid “reply all.”
 E 9000(d)
BOARD PROTOCOLS (cont.)

11. Emails are part of the public record and all District email correspondence is backed
up on a server. Board members should be aware that deleting an email from their
email account does not remove it from the server or prevent it from being recovered
from the server and disclosed in event of legal proceedings.

Board Members’ Role in Public

Principles: Board members are a resource to the community about pending decisions,
issues, and new programs. The final authority rests with the Board as a whole, not
individual Board members.

Protocols:
1. Board members will represent the District in a positive manner and refrain from making
disparaging comments about the District in public.

2. As new programs and issues are introduced, or critical incidents occur, the
Superintendent or staff will prepare talking points for Board members covering the
scope of the issue or critical incident.

3. The Board and Superintendent will link, when possible, the program and issue to the
vision, goals, and strategic plan of the District.

4. When a Board member is approached by a community member about a pending
decision, issue, or new program, the Board member will provide relevant information.

5. The Board member will remind the public that the role of the Board and the individual
Board members is to make decisions that benefit all students and the community.

6. The Board member will remind the public that deliberation leading to decision making
will take place at open, public Board meetings.

7. When the Board has reached a consensus or voted on an issue, any Board member
who disagrees with the majority decision will nevertheless work in concert with the
majority to implement the decision.

8. If asked about the decision of the Board, the Board member should make an effort to
convey the Board’s decision.
 E 9000(e)
BOARD PROTOCOLS (cont.)

Handling Concerns/Complaints from the Public and Staff

Principles: Board members should be responsive to the community and be good listeners.
It’s important for members of the governance team to be consistent in their responses to
staff and the community. Board members need to stay within their function and not
attempt to personally “fix” the problem. There are staff members whose job it is to remedy
or deal with student and staff situations. Students and staff members have due
process and confidentiality rights that cannot be violated. Keep in mind that the school
Board is potentially the “court of last resort” and members who have been too involved
early in a situation may not be able to participate in a final hearing.

Protocols:
1. When someone expresses a complaint or concern in private to a member of the Board,
the member should listen politely and ask clarifying questions as appropriate,
remembering that the member of the Board is hearing only one side of the story.

2. Then, depending on the severity and nature of the complaint, the member should
either refer the individual to the appropriate staff member, such as a teacher or
principal, or ask for permission to share the complaint with the Superintendent.

3. If no permission is given, the member should suggest that the individual talk with the
Superintendent and not share the information. If permission is given, the member
should communicate with the Superintendent the conversation s/he had with the
individual.

4. The member should make sure the complainant understands the appropriate order of
whom to contact (teacher, then principal, then District staff) and is aware of any formal
forms or policies that might assist them (e.g., the Uniform Complaint Form on the
website).

5. The member should clarify that one Board member has no individual authority to fix a
problem.

6. If through conversation a Board member becomes aware of issues of concern to
members of the community or staff, the Board member should request to talk to the
Superintendent or should send the Superintendent an email describing the issue.
Unless the individuals who raised the issue have given their permission to do so, the
Board member should not include their names when reporting the conversation to the
Superintendent.

7. If the complaint is regarding the Superintendent, the complaint should be referred to
the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources.
 E 9000(f)
BOARD PROTOCOLS (cont.)

Requests for Information

Principles: Board members should be sensitive to the workload of the staff and as to
whether their requests are necessary for effective decision making and to further the
goals of the District. Staff should communicate effectively with Board members to clarify
the urgency and nature of the Board member’s request.

Protocols:
1. Board members will be mindful of the workload of staff and will self-monitor requests
to ensure that one Member’s request will not divert an inappropriate amount of time
from staff efforts to achieve District goals.

2. Board members should always direct requests to the Superintendent and ask other
staff members for information only if directed to do so by the Superintendent.

3. If the Superintendent feels a request is unreasonable or too time consuming, the
Superintendent should discuss the issue with the Board member.

4. Answers to information requests will be distributed to all Board members.

5. When Board members request information that is not readily available, the
Superintendent and/or staff will provide a time frame for when to expect an answer if
it will take longer than one or two days.

VISITING SCHOOLS
Principles: While Board members have the right and responsibility to visit schools
periodically, they should be sensitive to the regular operations of the school. They should
be sure that their visits do not disrupt the educational process or the work of
administrators or other school staff. Board members’ visits to schools should be
scheduled in advance, and Board members should observe the same procedures as
other visitors.
Protocols:
1. When visiting a school to attend a public event, such as a student performance,
athletic event, back to school night, open house, etc., Board members will not be
required to notify the Superintendent or school staff in advance.

2. When planning to visit a school during the day, Board members will be aware that
their presence impacts the work of the principal, support staff, and teachers. They will
be aware that unannounced visits can interfere with normal school operations.

3. To avoid conflicts, such as multiple Board members visiting a school within the same
week, Board members will notify the Superintendent when they intend to visit a school.
 E 9000(g)
BOARD PROTOCOLS (cont.)

The Superintendent should be notified as soon as possible, at least 24 hours in
advance.
4. If the Superintendent is aware of a potential conflict, he will work with Board members
to reschedule visits in order to minimize the impact on the school.

5. If a Board member wishes to meet with the principal, he/she will make an appointment
at least one day prior to the visit. If the principal is not available on the day of the
intended visit, the meeting will be scheduled at the earliest time that can be arranged.

6. Board member visits to classrooms should be arranged by the principal. A Board
member should be accompanied by the principal or other site administrator when
visiting classrooms. Visits to classrooms should be brief in order to prevent disruption
of the instructional program.

7. Board members may work with the Superintendent to schedule school visits to be
accompanied by the Superintendent.

8. If a Board member is invited by a teacher to visit a classroom, the Board member
should inform the principal of the visit.

Chino Valley Unified School District
Exhibit approved: March 7, 2019
Revised: September 5, 2019