Policy 2:250

Board of Education

Board of Education Meeting Proceedures

Minutes

The Board Secretary shall keep written minutes of all Board of Education meetings (whether open or closed), which shall be signed by the President and the Secretary. The minutes include:

1. The meeting’s date, time, and place;
2. Board of Education members recorded as either present or absent;
   A notation of the presence or absence of the Superintendent and a notation of other staff members;
   A record of any corrections to the minutes of the previous meetings and the action approving them;
   A record of all communications presented to the Board;
   A record of the hearing of all petitions of citizens;
   A record of reports of Board members or staff members;
   A record of each motion placed before the Board;
3. A summary of the discussion on all matters proposed, deliberated, or decided, and a record of any votes taken;
4. On all matters requiring a roll call vote, a record of who voted “yea” and “nay”;
5. If the meeting is adjourned to another date, the time and place of the adjourned meeting;
6. The vote of each member present when a vote is taken to hold a closed meeting or portion of a meeting, and the reason for the closed meeting with a citation to the specific exception contained in the Open Meetings Act authorizing the closed meeting;
7. A record of all motions, including individuals making and seconding motions;
8. Upon request by a Board member, a record of how he or she voted on a particular motion; and
9. The type of meeting, including any notices and, if a reconvened meeting, the original meeting’s date.

The minutes shall be submitted to the Board of Education for approval or modification at its next regularly scheduled open meeting. Minutes for open meetings must be approved within 30 days after the meeting or at the second subsequent regular meeting, whichever is later.

At least semi-annually in an open meeting, the Board: (1) reviews minutes of all closed meetings that are currently unavailable for public release, and (2) decides which, if any, no longer require confidential treatment and available for public inspection. The Board may meet in a prior closed session to review the minutes from closed meetings that are currently unavailable for public release.

The Board's meeting minutes must be submitted to the Board Treasurer at such times as the Treasurer may require.

The official minutes are in the custody of the Board Secretary. Open meeting minutes are available for inspection during regular office hours within 10 days after the Board's approval, they may be inspected in the District's main office in the presence of the Secretary, the Superintendent or designee, or any Board of Education member. Minutes from closed meetings are likewise available, but only if the Board of Education has released them for public inspection. The minutes shall not be removed from the Superintendent's office except by vote of the Board of Education or by court order.

The Board's open meeting minutes shall be posted on the District website within 10 days after the Board approves them; the minutes will remain posted for at least 60 days.

Verbatim Record of Closed Meetings

The Superintendent, or the Board Secretary when the Superintendent is absent, shall audio record all closed meetings. If neither is present, the Board President or presiding officer shall assume this responsibility. After the closed meeting, the person making the audio recording shall label the recording with the date and store it in a secure location. The Superintendent shall ensure that: (1) an audio recording device and all necessary accompanying items are available to the Board for every closed meeting, and (2) a secure location for storing closed meeting audio recordings is maintained close to the Board's regular meeting location.

During the Board's semi-annual meetings to review the closed session minutes, the Board will also review the audio recordings of closed meetings in order to determine whether: (1) there continues to be a need for confidentiality, or (2) the recordings no longer require confidential treatment and are available for public inspection. At no time will an audio recording be released that would violate State or federal privacy or confidentiality requirements, including, but not limited to, any matter concerning: (1) a named student, (2) an employee's or applicant's personnel file and personal information, (3) school security plans, (4) communications between the Board and an attorney representing the District, and (5) all information exempted from disclosure under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILC 140/1 et seq.

After 18 months have passed since being made, the audio recording of a closed meeting is destroyed provided the Board approved: (1) its destruction, and (2) minutes of the particular closed meeting.

Individual Board members may listen to verbatim recordings when that action is germane to their responsibilities. In the interest of encouraging free and open expression by Board members during closed meetings, the recordings of closed meetings should not be used by Board members to confirm or dispute the accuracy of recollections.

Adopted: March 20, 2006
Revised: July 18, 2011