Board Meeting Procedures
What You Will See...
Regular meetings of the Board of Trustees are conducted the third Monday of each month unless formally changed by the Board of Trustees, and the Notice of Meeting/Agenda must be posted 72 hours prior to the meeting as required by the Open Meetings Act. The superintendent's office prepares the Board agenda and delivers it to the Board of Trustees on the Monday one week prior to the regular monthly meeting. The complete agenda includes detailed back-up material on each item. This provides an opportunity for the trustees to request and receive a thorough briefing and ask questions of the superintendent. This procedure also enables individual Board members to be prepared to vote yes or no on most items before they arrive at the meeting. The meeting is conducted by the Board President using Robert's Rules of Order. The trustees move through the prepared agenda, viewing educational presentations by the staff, meeting honored students and teachers, awarding contracts for building construction, formulating policies for implementation by the administrative staff, and employing personnel.
Attending a Board Meeting...
Regular meetings of the board begin at 6:00 p.m. in the auditorium of the San Felipe Del Rio CISD Student Performance Center and Administration Building located at 315 Griner St. Members may meet in closed session, as authorized by the Texas Government Code in accordance with Section 551, may, in private consultation with the board's attorney, discuss the purchase, exchange, lease, or value of real property and/or personnel. Action may be taken following the closed session. The Board will reconvene into a public open meeting following the closed session. A closed meeting can occur at any time during the meeting as needed. Special meetings of the Board of Trustees will begin at 6:00 p.m. unless otherwise specified in the Notice of Meeting.
Addressing the Board...
Communicating with the Board of Trustees: If a District resident, employee, or vendor wishes to formally communicate with the Board for a purpose other than appeal of a complaint [see Board Policies DGBA, FNG, or GF], the individual may:
1. Send a letter with the information to be shared with the President of the Board at the District’s central office, P.O. Box 428002, Del Rio, TX 78842; or
2. Sign up to make comments at a regular board meeting regarding either agenda or non-agenda topics as described below. Audience participation at a Board meeting is limited to the public comment portion of the meeting designated for that purpose. At all other times during a Board meeting, the audience shall not enter into discussion or debate on matters being considered by the Board, unless requested by the presiding officer.
Process for Speaking at Board Meetings: The San Felipe Del Rio CISD Board of Trustees welcomes citizen inquiries/public comment at board meetings. In order to provide an efficient process at the board meetings, please complete the Citizen Inquiries/Public Comment on Agenda Items Form and submit it either in person to the superintendent’s office or via email to the address listed on the form by 10:30 am on the day of the meeting. Your support of the district and the Board of Trustees is greatly appreciated. (Citizen Inquiries/Public Comment on Agenda Items Form) (Send to:publiccomment@sfdr-cisd.org)
Board’s Response: Specific factual information or recitation of existing policy may be furnished in response to inquiries by the superintendent, but the Board shall not deliberate or make decisions regarding any subject that is not included on the agenda posted with the notice of the meeting. The Board may consider a proposal to place the subject of a public comment on the agenda of a subsequent meeting, in which case it may be discussed by the Board. Each citizen inquiry will receive a written response, and the citizen inquiry form is accessible on the district's website under the Citizen Inquiry link on the Board of Trustees' web pages.
Complaints and Concerns: The presiding officer or designee shall determine whether a person addressing the Board has attempted to solve a matter administratively through resolution channels established by policy. If not, the person shall be referred to the appropriate policy to seek resolution as follows: Employee complaints – DGBA; Student or parent complaints –FNG; Public complaints – GF.
Disruptions: The Board shall not tolerate disruption of the meeting by members of the audience. If, after at least one warning from the presiding officer, any person continues to disrupt the meeting by his or her words or actions, the presiding officer may request assistance from law enforcement officials to have the person removed from the meeting.
