The Levelland ISD School Board is currently undergoing another election year with Districts Two and Four both being up for election in May.
Currently, Treva Potter has filed for re-election for District Four. Brooke Obenhaus of District Two has yet to file for re-election and no challengers have filed for either seat.
The following Levelland ISD School Board Operating Procedures are as follows for those interested in filing: Reports, containing routine information, will usually be in written form from the Superintendent and will be emailed to Board members. Public informational reports will be posted on the website when appropriate.
The Superintendent will meet with the Board President on a routine basis to discuss issues of the district.
Emergencies: Superintendent will call the Board President and will in turn inform the rest of the Board.
Information the Superintendent deems that the Board needs to know ASAP – Superintendent will contact the Board President and will in turn inform the rest of the Board.
Board members should immediately refer any rumors or information requiring investigation by the District to the Superintendent.
Any communications from the Superintendent to Board members should be handled in a confidential manner. These are not communications prepared for release to the public.
The Board will communicate with its community through regular Board meetings, regular publications, public hearings, and other methods as needed.
Individual Board members cannot speak in an official capacity outside the Board room.
The Board President is the primary communication link between the Board and Superintendent. However, any Board member is authorized to talk directly with the Superintendent when they feel the need.
The Superintendent and the Board President will meet prior to the official posting of the agenda for the next regularly scheduled meeting and develop the agenda.
Any Board member may request that an item be included on the agenda for a meeting, and the Superintendent shall include on the agenda of any meeting all Board member- requested topics that have been timely submitted. Agenda items must be specific to the discussion item.
In accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act, no item can be placed on the agenda less than 72 hours in advance of the meeting, except in an emergency as defined by the Texas Open Meetings Act.
The Board President is primarily responsible for the conduct of any Board meeting. The Vice President shall fulfill this responsibility in the President’s absence.
Board meetings must be held within the boundaries of the district except as otherwise required by law or to hold a joint meeting with another district.
Four Board members constitutes a quorum for meetings of the Board.
When closed meetings are allowed, the Board shall first convene with a quorum in open session, then move into the closed session. Following the closed session, if any action is to be taken, it must be taken in public after reconvening the open session. The Board can discuss only those items listed on the agenda as limited by law.
Information discussed during closed sessions must remain confidential. Legitimate reasons for closed sessions are as follows: -Attorney consultation -Discussion of real property acquisitions -Prospective gifts or donations to district - Personnel matters - Student discipline - Employee-Employee complaints - School Security -Assessment instruments Board members are reminded that only those discussion items allowed by State law may be discussed in closed session.
Special called meetings will be coordinated between the Superintendent and Board President.
Regularly scheduled monthly meetings shall occur on the second Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m., of every month, and are held in the LISD Central Office Board Room.
An Open Forum for public comment is provided at the beginning of each Board meeting. The Levelland ISD Board Policy contains specifics. Board members should refrain from direct discussion with any person making comments during this time.
At Regular Board meetings, audience participation will be permitted on any topic, regardless of whether the topic is an item on the agenda posted with notice of the meeting. At all other Board meetings, audience participation shall be limited to items on the agenda posted with notice of the meeting. Audience participation at a Board meeting is limited to the 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 recognized by the presiding officer. At the Open Forum time on the agenda, members of the audience may address the Board for no more than five minutes. The Board will not entertain comments on individual personnel or on individual students in public session.
Specific factual information or recitation of existing policy may be furnished in response to inquiries, but the Board shall not deliberate or decide regarding any subject that is not included on the agenda posted with notice of the meeting.
To put the meetings in perspective, the meetings are not “public meetings,” but rather a Board meeting “held in public.”
Robert’s Rules of Order for small meetings are utilized.
- All discussions shall be directed solely to the business currently under deliberation. The Board President has the responsibility to keep the discussion to the motion at hand and shall halt discussion that does not apply to the business before the Board.
- The Board President shall recognize a non-Board member prior to that person giving his/her comments.
Regular meetings are held the second Wednesday of each month at 6:00 p.m. 72-hour public notice is required. Special meetings are held at the Board President’s discretion or on request of two or more Board members. A 72-hour public notice is required. Emergency meetings are held when the Board President or two or more members determine an emergency or urgent public necessity exists. Two-hour public notice is required.
The Board President will vote on all agenda items for which action is required. In the event of a tie vote, the motion is defeated.
The Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) policy service is the current entity which produces both original and updates for our Policy Manual, based on input from the Board. A periodic review of all policies is necessary to ensure that current District practices are in concert with the Policies that are in place, as well as to identify local Board policies which are in need of update. The Superintendent and Board President work together to ensure this is completed.
New Board members are encouraged to complete TASB’s curriculum for new Board members entitled “TASB ISD.” This will ensure that a new Board member receives the training that is important for his/her first year as a Board member. Information is available from TASB on this program.
New Board members should make contact with the Superintendent after they are sworn in, and coordinate the completion of the initial 3 hours of Board member orientation.
New Board members shall complete a District orientation with the Superintendent and a Board orientation with the Board President during their first month oftheir term.
Typically, all annual Board member training requirements can be completed at annual conventions. However, there are Board training sessions that are scheduled throughout the year at various convenient locations.
All Board members will work through the Superintendent on any matters pertaining to the execution of Board policy or other District matters. The Superintendent is the one who is tasked with the execution of Board policy and must be given the opportunity to do so.
Each Board member must understand their role. The Board member is elected as a “Board member,” not a Representative, and as such is tasked with making decisions that are in the best interest of the District.
Any complaints received by Board members should be referred to the Superintendent for disposition. There is a Board policy in place which outlines the procedures for filing a grievance and those procedures should be followed. If at all possible, the individual with a complaint should be asked to confer with the appropriate teacher or campus administrator first. Complaints should be resolved at the lowest administrative level.
Three policies provide the process to handle complaints: - Employee complaints/ grievances - DGBA - Student and parent complaints - FNG - Public complaints - GF All three policies rely on the “Principal-Superintendent-Board” chain of command and resolution. A formal procedure is used in which written complaints are filed first with the Principal. A presentation before the Board is the final step in the complaint process. Occasionally complaints are inadvertently brought first before the Board during the open forum portion of a regular Board meeting.
The Board is under no obligation to hear such complaints before administrative remedies have been pursued. The Board President should direct the person to the appropriate complaint process. Complaints are heard in Board meetings as scheduled agenda items, which will allow the Board to take action on the complaint during the same meeting. The lack of a response by the Board upholds the administrative decision at Level Two. Announcing the decision in the complainant’s presence constitutes communication of the decision.
Board members shall request information and/or reports through the Board President or Superintendent. If the Board President or Superintendent questions the request, the request goes to the full Board for a majority vote. Members may also request information by Board action or by the request of an individual member made in a Board meeting after discussion by the Board as a whole.
The Superintendent, as requested or as directed by the Board President, will gather the information and/or report and disseminate it in a timely manner to the entire Board.
A Board member should never involve themselves in a situation where they are deemed to be “trying to run the campus.” Board members shall not go unannounced into any individual building or teacher’s classroom for the purpose of evaluation. Upon arrival at the campus, Board members must check in at the Principal’s office. Remember, an individual Board member has no authority, unless the Board as a whole grants that authority.
The Board shall prepare a written Summative Superintendent Evaluation annually and oral Formative Superintendent Evaluations quarterly. The Board may conduct and communicate oral evaluations to augment scheduled evaluations at any time. The written evaluation consists of three parts: an assessment of priority performance goals (Part 1), a review of general job performance responsibilities (Part 2), and the Commissioner-Recommended Student Performance Domain (Part 3).
Each Board member completes the approved appraisal instrument and delivers it to the Board President for consolidation prior to the Board meeting. The evaluation is conducted in closed session by consensus.
The Board shall furnish the Superintendent with a copy of the completed evaluation and shall discuss its conclusions with the Superintendent in closed meeting.
The Superintendent and Board function as a team of eight. A Self-Evaluation to determine team needs shall be conducted by consensus annually, usually in September or October.
District goal setting should be revisited periodically to ensure that the goals are in line with the vision that the Board has for the District.
With the vision and goals in place, the Board is in a position to embark upon strategic planning, a very involved process facilitated by an outside entity if deemed necessary.
This process is critical to the District, as it establishes the direction and criteria from which all District decisions are based.
Campus and District Improvement Plans are generated, in part, from the direction set in this planning process.
Election of Board officers is held in May each year following the regular Board member election held on the first Saturday in May. The current Board President shall declare all offices open for nominations.
The offices of Board President, Vice President and Secretary are elected in that order. Role and Authority of Board Member and/or Board Officers. No Board member or officer has authority outside the Board meeting. No Board member can direct employees in regard to performance of their duties.
The Board President shall: - preside at all Board meetings - appoint committees - call special meetings - sign all legal documents required by law or Board policy - The Board Vice President shall act in the capacity of Board President in his/her absence.
- The Board Secretary shall: - ensure accurate records of Board meetings are kept
- call meeting to order and conduct election for President pro-tem in absence of the Board President and Board Vice President.
- sign notices of Board meetings, official minutes, and other documents as required.
The Board President shall be the official spokesperson for the Board to the media/press on issues of media attention. All Board Members who receive calls from the media/press should direct them to the Board’s spokesperson and notify the Board President and the Superintendent of the call.
The Board encourages input; however, anonymous calls or letters will not receive Board attention, discussion or response and will not result in directives to administration.
This Operating Procedures document constitutes the procedures and practices by which the LISD School Board conducts the business of the Board. In addition, all legal and local policies contained in the District’s Policy Manual shall be adhered to. Should a conflict arise between this document and any policy contained in the District’s Policy Manual, the District’s Policy Manual shall prevail.
The Operating Procedures should always reflect current Board practices. As such, a periodic review should be conducted in a regularly scheduled meeting of the Board.
Any necessary changes or additions should be made and copies distributed to all Board members and the Superintendent.
The LISD School Board Operating Procedures on the LISD Website will be updated with any revisions and that document will always be considered the current document.