Title: Public School Academies Unit Technical Assistance Webinar
1Public School Academies UnitTechnical Assistance
Webinar
- Board Responsibility and Authority
- March 7, 2012
2Public School Academies UnitTechnical Assistance
Webinar
- Mark S. Eitrem
- Public School Academies Manager
3Caveat
- We are not attorneys nor are we subject matter
experts in any law. We are, however, relatively
knowledgeable about a wide range of subjects,
including public school academy boards and their
operations. We have compiled this information
for the general use of charter school developers
and current charter school board members.
Attorneys are subject matter experts in many of
these issues and should be consulted directly if
somebody has a specific question regarding any of
the legal issues presented within this webinar.
4Proposed Outcomes
- Articulate the general expectations for board
responsibility including meetings, agendas,
vetting and monitoring vendors, and more. - Understand the basics of FOIA, as it applies to a
nonprofit receiving federal grant funds. - Apply the requirements of the open meetings act
to nonprofits receiving federal grant funds. - Gain knowledge of parliamentary procedure, and
find out where to obtain additional resources.
5General Expectations
- Members of the Community
- U.S. Citizens
- Public Officials
- Oath of Office
- Conflicts of Interest
- Fixed Terms
6Academy Board Functions
- Hire Fire a School Leader
- Establish, Maintain and Enforce Board Policies
- Establish and Enforce Budgets
- Abide By Contracts and the Law
- Provide Strategic Vision Goals
7Topics of Board Training
- Board member roles and responsibilities
- Board and superintendent relations
- Leadership skills
- Legal issues in education
- Board accountability
- Communications
- Budget/resource allocation
- Student achievement issues
- Strategic planning
- Community engagement
- Community collaborations/partnerships
http//www.nsba.org/Board-Leadership/Surveys/Schoo
lBoardsattheDawnofthe21stCentury.pdf
8Meeting Schedules
- We recommend that Academy Boards meet once a
month. (Average is 14 meetings per year,
including special meetings) - Special Meetings can be held for any reason,
typically negotiations, budgets, discipline, or
quorem issues with a regular meeting. - Many School Boards do not meet in July.
- The first meeting in each fiscal year (July 1 to
June 30) is normally called the Organizational
Meeting. - Board Meeting Schedule is typically approved in
June.
9Organizational Meeting
- New Board Officers are Selected (Typically,
President, Vice President, Secretary and
Treasurer) - Approve Annual Contracts
- Approve Selection of Newspaper Bank
- Approve School Calendar
- Approve New Policies (if any) Handbooks
10Agenda
- Call to Order
- Roll Call
- Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting
- Approval of Current Meeting Agenda
- Public Comment (related to Board Agenda)
- Committee Reports (Standing Ad Hoc)
- Treasurers Report
- Administrators Report
- Old Business
- New Business
- Extended Public Comment (Any Issue)
- Other Business
- Adjournment
An Hour is Just About Right!!!
11Freedom of Information Act(FOIA)
- Ron Schneider
- Public School Academies Consultant
12Basic Intent of FOIA
- The Freedom of Information Act regulates and sets
requirements for the disclosure of public records
by all public bodies in the state. All public
bodies must have a FOIA coordinator.
13Key Definitions
- Public body means a state officer, employee,
agency, department, division, bureau, board,
commission, council, authority, or other body in
the executive branch of the state government, but
does not include the governor or lieutenant
governor, the executive office of the governor or
lieutenant governor, or employees thereof. It
also includes - an agency, board, commission, or council in the
legislative branch of the state government - a county, city, township, village, inter county,
inter city, or regional governing body, council,
school district, special district, or municipal
corporation, or a board, department, commission,
council or agency thereof or - any other body which is created by state or local
authority or which is primarily funded by or
through state or local authority. It does not
include private non-profit corporations. - Public record means a writing prepared, owned,
used, in the possession of, or retained by a
public body in the performance of an official
function, from the time it is created.
14Coverage
- FOIA sets requirements for the disclosure of
public records by all public bodies in the
state. All state agencies, county and other local
governments, school boards, other boards,
departments, commissions, councils, and public
colleges and universities are covered. - If you are a PSA, I recommend the PSAs and ESPs
attorneys meet so there is a clear understanding
about the FOIA process if either entity receives
a request. ( for example, review Bacon v. The
Leona Group/Walter French Academy, 2000) - If you are a sub grantee, I recommend you meet
with your attorney and have a FOIA plan.
15Public Records Open For Disclosure
- In general, all records except those specifically
cited as exceptions are covered by the Freedom of
Information Act. The records covered include - Minutes of open meetings, officials voting
records, staff manuals, final orders or decisions
in contested cases and the records on which they
were made, and promulgated rules. - Other written statements which implement or
interpret laws, rules or policies, including, but
not limited to, guidelines, manuals and forms
with instructions, adopted or used by the agency
in the discharge of its functions, are also
covered. - It does not matter what form the record is in or
the location handwriting, typewriting,
printing, photographing, photocopying and every
other means of recording. It includes letters,
words, pictures, sounds or symbols, or
combinations thereof, as well as papers, maps. - Correspondence/e-mails between Board members
employees - It does not include computer software.
16Public Records Exempt From Disclosure
- Specific personal information about an individual
if the release would constitute a clearly
unwarranted invasion of that individual's
privacy. - Investigating records compiled for law
enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that
disclosure as a public record would do any of the
following - interfere with law enforcement proceedings
- deprive a person of the right to a fair trial or
impartial administrative adjudication - constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal
privacy - Records which if disclosed would violate the
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
of 1974 (primarily student records). - Records specifically exempted from disclosure by
another statute.
17Records Exempt From Disclosure (2)
- Information subject to attorney-client privilege.
- Information subject to other privileges such as
counselor-client and those recognized by statute
or court rule. - Pending public bids to enter into contracts.
- Appraisals of real property to be acquired by a
public body. - Test questions and answers, scoring keys and
other examination instruments. - Communications and notes between and within
public bodies of an advisory nature to the extent
that they cover other than purely factual
materials and are preliminary to a final
determination of policy or action. - Basically- the document was created during
frank communications and - did not represent the final outcome.
18Records Exempt From Disclosure (3)
- Records of a public body's security measures.
- Records relating to a civil action in which the
requesting person and the public body are
parties. - Records that would disclose the social security
number of an individual. - I tried to focus on educationally related
examples of exemptions. There are several other
exemptions. You can get complete information by
checking MCL 15.231-246.
19Availability of Public Records
- A request must be made in writing and provided to
the FOIA coordinator of the public body. A FOIA
coordinator may designate another individual to
act on his or her behalf to accept requests for
processing. - A person may ask to inspect, copy or receive a
copy of a public record. There are no
qualifications such as residency or age that must
be met in order to make a request. However,
prisoners in state, county or federal
correctional facilities are not entitled to make
requests.
20Availability Of Public RecordS (2)
- Not more than five business days after receiving
a request, the public body must respond to a
request for a public record. The public agency
can notify the requester in writing and extend
the time for an additional ten business days. - The public body or agency has a responsibility to
provide reasonable facilities so that persons
making a request may examine and take notes from
public records. The facilities must be available
during the normal business hours of the public
body.
21Fees For Public Records
- A government agency may charge a fee for the
necessary copying of a public record for
inspection or providing a copy of a public record
to a requestor. A public body may also charge for
search, examination and review and the separation
of exempt information in those instances where
failure to charge a fee would result in
unreasonably high costs to the public body. The
fee must be limited to actual duplication,
mailing and labor costs. The first 20 of a fee
must be waived for a person who is on welfare or
presents facts showing inability to pay.
22Denial of a Record
- Written notice of the denial must be provided to
the requester within five business days, or
within 15 business days if an extension is taken.
A failure to respond at all, constitutes a
denial. - The public body must provide the requester with a
full explanation of the reasons for the denial
and the requesters right to submit an appeal to
the head of the public body or to seek judicial
review. Notification of the right to judicial
review must include notification of the right to
receive attorney fees and collect damages. - EnforcementA person may appeal a final decision
to deny a request to the head of the public body.
The head of the public body has 10 days to
respond to the appeal. Under unusual
circumstances, an additional 10 days may be
taken.A person also has the right to commence an
action in circuit court to compel disclosure of
public records. The suit must be filed within 180
days after the public body's final decision to
deny a request. - The action may be brought in the county where the
requester lives, the county where the requester
does business, the county where the public
document is located, or a county where the agency
has an office.
23Penalties for Violation of the Act
- If the circuit court finds that the public body
has arbitrarily and capriciously violated FOIA by
refusal or delay in disclosing or providing
copies of a public record, it may, in addition to
any actual or compensatory damages, award
punitive damages of 500 to the person seeking
the right to inspect or receive a copy of a
public record.
24Recommendations
- Clearly identify a FOIA coordinator.
- All Board and staff members should report all
FOIA requests to the coordinator. - The FOIA coordinator should work with the PSAs
and ESPs attorneys whenever needed and the
information/process shared with the board and
authorizer. No surprises upline! - Err on the side of caution. If your entity
receives any public revenue- most people will
view you as a public body. - Consider public relations and perceptions. Your
community usually expects anyone who leads or is
developing a public school, to be open and
transparent. That includes following the FOIA
process.
25Open Meetings Act (OMA)
- Karla Browning
- Public School Academies Consultant
26Michigans Open Meetings ActAct 267 of 1976
- Intent of the Act is to
- strengthen the right of all Michigan citizens to
know what goes on in government by requiring
public bodies to conduct nearly all business at
open meetings (MI Attorney Generals Office)
27Michigans Open Meetings ActAct 267 of 1976
- In a nutshell
- All meetings of a public body shall be open to
the public and shall be held in a place available
to the general public. All persons shall be
permitted to attend any meeting except as
otherwise provided in this act. 15.261(3)
28Michigans Open Meetings ActAct 267 of 1976
- Questions
- Does this apply to my nonprofit?
- What defines a meeting?
- What are posting requirements?
- What about special and emergency meetings?
- When is closed session appropriate?
- What records should we keep?
- What is the publics role?
- What are some dos and donts?
29Michigans Open Meetings ActAct 267 of 1976
- Does this apply to us?
- Sec. 2(a)
- Public body means any state or local
legislative or governing body, including a board,
commission, committee, subcommittee, authority,
or council, which is empowered by state
constitution, statute, charter, ordinance,
resolution, or rule to exercise governmental or
proprietary authority to perform a governmental
or proprietary function - Case law????
30Michigans Open Meetings ActAct 267 of 1976
- What is a meeting?
- When a quorum of a public body is gathered for
the purpose of deliberating toward or rendering a
decision on public policy - Includes committees
- Includes discussion/deliberation via phone and
email - Chance encounters can constitute a meeting,
depending what gets discussed
31Michigans Open Meetings ActAct 267 of 1976
- What are posting requirements?
- The law states that within 10 days of the first
meeting of a public body in each calendar or
fiscal year, the body must publicly post a list
stating the dates, times and places of all its
regular meetings at its principal office. - For special and irregular meetings, public bodies
must post a notice indicating the date, time and
place at least 18 hours before the meetings. - Exceptions for emergency meetings involving
health, safety and welfare
32Michigans Open Meetings ActAct 267 of 1976
- Sec. 5(1)
- A meeting of a public body shall not be held
unless public notice is given as provided in this
section by a person designated by the public
body.
33Michigans Open Meetings ActAct 267 of 1976
- What records are required?
- Minutes available to the public
- Date and time of meeting
- Place of meeting
- Board members present and absent
- Every decision made by the board and roll call of
votes - Record of other votes
- Purpose of closed session
- Corrections, if any, of minutes from prior
meeting - Not a verbatim transcript
- Draft minutes available within 8 business days
- Final minutes available within 5 days after
meeting in which they were approved
34Michigans Open Meetings ActAct 267 of 1976
- What about closed session?
- Defined as a meeting or part of a meeting of a
public body which is closed to the public.
15.262.2 - Only allowed for discussions on certain
specifically cited topics - Evaluation, discipline, dismissal of public
employee if the employee requests - Student discipline if requested by student or
parent - Collective bargaining strategy sessions
- By 2/3 vote of the board to discuss
- Purchase or lease of real property
- Pending litigation
- Employment
- Board controls who is present
35Michigans Open Meetings ActAct 267 of 1976
- Additionally.
- You cannot vote in closed session, including
straw votes - You must reflect the closed session in your
minutes - Time
- Reason
- Can keep separate minutes (AG recommendation)
36Michigans Open Meetings ActAct 267 of 1976
- What is the publics role?Sec. (3)1
- The right of a person to attend a meeting of a
public body includes the right to tape record, to
videotape, to broadcast live on radio, and
telecast live on television the proceedings of a
public body at a public meeting. - Sec. 3(5)
- A person shall be permitted to address a
meeting of a public body under rules established
and recorded by the public body. - An individual can share information during public
comment. Case law has made it difficult to
enforce the established rules. - The board is not required to respond to the
public.
37Michigans Open Meetings ActAct 267 of 1976
- Do
- Post notices timely
- Record minutes as required by law
- Refrain from engaging with the public during
meetings - Strive for full transparency
- Hold meetings face-to-face
- Dont
- Deliberate via phone or email
- Deliberate by texting during a meeting
- Conduct informal polls in closed session
- Discuss board business during chance meetings
where a quorum is present
38Michigans Open Meetings ActViolations
Penalties
- What happens if we violate OMA?
- Sec. 11
- Allows the public to sue and collect damages, and
establishes criminal penalties for willful
violations of the law. - If a suit is successful, a person is entitled to
court costs and actual attorney fees.
39Michigans Open Meetings ActViolations
Penalties
- Sec. 12(1)
- A public official who intentionally violates
this act is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by
a fine of not more than 1000. - Sec.13 (1)
- A public official who intentionally violates
this act shall be personally liablefor damages
of not more than 500to a person or group
bringing the action. - Larger fines and jail time for subsequent offense
40Resources
- Open Meetings
- Legislatures synopsis
- http//www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/publicatio
ns/openmtgsfreedom.pdf - MDEs Open Meetings Page
- http//www.michigan.gov/mde/0,4615,7-140-54504_186
68_18689-71728--,00.html - AG OMA Handbook
- http//www.michigan.gov/documents/ag/OMA_handbook_
287134_7.pdf
41Parliamentary Procedure
- Neil Beckwith
- Public School Academies Consultant
42Roberts Rules of Order
- Outcomes
- Understand reasons for using RRs.
- Understand some basic protocols identified in
RRs. - Identify resources for more information.
43Roberts Rules of Order
- Foundational Thinking Behind Use of RRs
- Subgrantees are public entities Provides
non-profits receiving CSP funds a proven method
for conducting fair and orderly (oversight)
meetings. - Right of free deliberation
- Questions of concern should be thoroughly
discussed prior to action. - Silence means consent
- Organizations are ruled first by state, local,
federal laws and adopted organizational
procedures.
44Roberts Rules of Order
- True/False Quiz
- According to RRs, a President votes only to
break a tie. - Once a quorum is established, it continues to
exist if additional members leave during a
meeting. - A motioner can modify or withdraw a motion at
any point while it is being considered by a
board. - A vote is not official until the chair announces
it as carried or lost.
45Roberts Rules of Order
- Quiz cont.
- The President may make a motion.
- A motion to adjourn need not wait until the
agenda has been completed. - If a member calls the question then debate
automatically ends on the motion. - Motions to reconsider previously decided
motions(from same meeting) must be accepted only
from members that voted with the prevailing side
originally.
46Roberts Rules of Order
- Answers
- False
- False
- False
- True
- True
- True
- False
- True
47Roberts Rules of Order
- Some General Processes for Good Meetings
- Have an agenda creation and approval process-Not
controlled by any one member. - Have process to manage public comment.
- Remarks should be directed to the Chair.
- Obtain the floor.
- Make motions in the affirmative.
- ____ is moved and seconded. This moves it to the
floor for discussion. - Minutes are a record of what is done not said.
48Roberts Rules of Order
- Steps to follow in the Making Motions phase of
a meeting. - STEP 1. A member is recognized and makes a
motionCommon Mistake Members do not wait to be
recognized and typically start to discuss their
motion before completing STEP 2, STEP 3, and STEP
4 below! - STEP 2. Another member seconds the motionCommon
Mistake The person seconding the motion dives
into the merits of the motion. - STEP 3. The presiding officer restates the motion
to the assemblyCommon Mistake Motion is
restated differently from the wording of the
maker! Beware because the motion that is adopted
is the one stated by the presiding officer, not
the one stated by the maker of the original
motion.
49Roberts Rules of Order
- STEP 4. The members debate the motionCommon
Mistake Debate gets out of control in terms of
demeanor, duration, or relevance! Members talk at
each other rather than through the chair. - STEP 5. Presiding officer asks for the
affirmative votes then the negative
votesCommon Mistake The presiding officer
states 'All in favor' and fails to tell the
members what to do as a matter of voting (for
example, say aye, raise your hand', etc.) or
the negative vote is never requested or counted! - STEP 6. The presiding officer announces the
result of the voting instructs the corresponding
officer to take action and introduces the next
item of business.Common Mistake Presiding
officer fails to pronounce the result of the
voting! No one is instructed to take action.
Commonly, dead silence follows because the
presiding officer does not transition to next
item..
50Roberts Rules of Order
- Call to Order
- Roll Call
- Minutes
- Special Committees
- Public Comment
- Business of the Meeting(from agenda, includes
motions/votes) - Old/Unfinished-not concluded, postponed, tabled.
- New Business-announcements, informational
programs, speakers.
- I call this meeting to order
- Will the secretary please do roll call?
- We have quorum. Will the secretary read the
minutes of the last meeting? - It has been moved and seconded that (state-
restate motion)is there any further discussion? - We will now vote on the motion that All in favor
51Roberts Rules of Order
- http//www.robertsrules.org/motions.htm
- http//www.robertsrules.org/rulesintro.htm
- http//roberts-rules.com/parl01.htm
- http//www.gvgc.us/files/Rosenbergs-Rules-of-Order
.pdf
52Points of Contact
- Beatrice Barajas, Secretary
- Kim Sidel, Analyst
- Neil Beckwith, Consultant
- Karla Browning, Consultant
- Ron Schneider, Consultant
- Mark Eitrem, Supervisor
- (517) 373-4631
- MDEPSAGRANT_at_MICHIGAN.GOV
- http//www.michigan.gov/charters