while Board Meetings are for the purpose of the Board conducting the business of the District in public, and are not public forums for the purpose of securing interaction with the public, the Board recognizes that flexibility is desirable to allow meaningful public interaction with the Board as well as meaningful dissemination of information concerning Board actions.

Excluding only closed session materials, or materials that were unavailable or in incomplete form or otherwise protected from disclosure by policy, law or advice of legal counsel, the entire Board Packet every Regular or Workshop Meeting of the Board will be published, along with the Agenda, on the District Website approximately 24 hours before the scheduled meeting date.

• The Open Session (public portion) of every meeting of the Board will begin at a designated time

• Closed Session items for which there is a corresponding action item to be considered during the public portion of the meeting will be scheduled prior to the beginning of the public session

• The consent agenda includes items of routine and/or recurring nature, grouped together under one action item

Public Comments at a Board Meeting

• Citizens who have signed up to address the Board at the regular monthly Meeting of the Board will be given the option of doing so at the conclusion of the Superintendent’s Report portion of the agenda (please read and complete the Public Comment Guidelines and Registration Form) .  If comments relate to a particular Item on the Board Agenda, citizens will be given the option of sharing their comments following the administration’s presentation of the agenda item, but prior to Board deliberation.  Board members may request permission from the Presiding Officer of the meeting to seek clarification of the Citizen(s) speaking on the agenda item.  All such dialogue will be strictly controlled by the Presiding Officer of the Board, and all Citizens shall respect the fact that Board Members are forbidden by law from discussing or commenting upon any subject which is not on the posted Board Agenda.

• The presiding officer shall determine the time limitation for each speaker. Typically, each speaker will be limited to five minutes, unless the time is otherwise increased or decreased prior to the beginning of the public comments portion of the agenda. Groups of five or more people wishing to speak on a single subject will be asked to appoint a spokesperson to express the views of the group.

 Communication with Board Members

Employees, students, parents or other members of the public who bring concerns or complaints to an individual Board member for the purpose of seeking remedy or perspective shall receive guidance that reflects:

1.       a commitment by the Board individually and collectively be approachable and open to members of the public;

2.       an understanding by each Board member that information provided to a Board member, in some specific situations, could cause the Board member receiving the information to be disqualified from participating in future hearing(s) or action by the Board specific to the issue; and

3.       adherence to the Board’s policies (DGBA, FNG and GF) regarding complaints and grievances.

Board members shall notify the Superintendent’s office of the complaint.  As necessary, the Superintendent or designee shall guide the complainant to the appropriate staff member.  When the concern or complaint directly pertains to the Board’s own actions or policy, for which there is no administrative remedy, the Trustee may request that the issue be placed on the agenda.  Anonymous calls or letters will not receive the Board’s attention, discussion, or response and will not be referred to the administration for action.