Lyme School Board

Policy Manual

Policy: BDE
School Board Committees and Representation

School Board Representation:

The School Board, by majority vote, may authorize one or more of its members to serve on special committees or to act as a Board representative to other groups or committees on any matter pertaining to the business or policies of the schools (e.g., Budget Committee, Library Committee, SDC, ITE). No opinion, decision, or commitment on behalf of the Board, however, can be made without a vote of the Board at a warned School Board meeting.

School Board Committees:
The Chair of the Board appoints Board committee members and the chair of the committee.

Determination/Formation:
The need for committees or Board representation shall be determined by the Board as a whole. The Board shall:

• determine need by consensus,
• clarify reason and charge for committee or representation,
• designate interval at which it will receive reports,
• provide guidelines regarding encumbrance/expenditure of funds, decision-making, timelines, report requirements, etc.,
• clarify need for support, i.e., space to meet, postage, etc.

Member Responsibility:
Any Board member appointed as a Board committee member or representative shall:

• become informed regarding specific topic or responsibility to which assigned,
• establish schedule, providing advance notice to Board and school office of meeting dates,
• keep minutes of meetings,
• provide leadership on topic or assignment at School Board meetings,
• ensure no opinion, decision, or commitment on behalf of the School Board as a whole is given unless specifically authorized to do so, and seek such clarification when needed,
• ensure any announcement or press release is cleared with the Board.

Dissolution:

• Committees appointed to accomplish a specific goal shall be dissolved upon
• accomplishment of the goal.
• Committees appointed for the school year shall be dissolved at the close of school in the school year in which they are established.
• Committees may be dissolved for good cause at any time by majority vote of the Board.
• If requested, the dissolving committee will provide a summary of activities or task-completion report for the Board.

The School Board Chair and the Superintendent or Assistant Superintendent are non-voting, ex-officio members of all committees of the Board. Additionally, any Board member may attend and participate in the discussion of any meeting of any Board committee, whether said member is appointed or not; however, only appointed Board members shall vote on committee consensus decisions.

The existence of School Board committees and representation should be reviewed by the Board annually at its organizational meeting to determine if continuation is desired or necessary.

ADOPTED: 8 September 1977
REVISED: 14 October 1993
13 July 1995
12 November 1998