BCB

 

BOARD COMMITTEES & STRUCTURES

 

The officers of the School Board shall be a Chair and a Vice-Chair.  The Chair and Vice-Chair shall be elected at the biennial organization meeting, or until a successor is elected. Any vacancy in either of such offices may be filled at any meeting of the Board provided that all members of the Board have been notified prior to the meeting that the vacancy will be filled at such meeting.  The Superintendent shall be the Executive Secretary ex-officio.

 

Chair:

The Chair shall preside at all meetings, but shall have the right to vote in all matters before the School Board.  The Superintendent shall consult with the Chair on the preparation of the agenda for each meeting, shall have the authority to sign contracts and other instruments as approved by the Board in its name and behalf, and shall have such other powers and duties as the Board may from time to time determine.

 

The Chair, at the first meeting of each year, shall appoint members from the School Board to the standing and any special committees of the Board.  In addition he/she shall name a Chair for each committee, all of which members and the Chair shall serve at the pleasure of the School Board Chair.  The Chair or Vice-Chair in the Chair’s absence of each Committee may appoint a Board member, not assigned to the Committee, as an alternate for the night to constitute a quorum.  Once an alternate is assigned, he/she will remain a member of the Committee for the night; this will not exclude participation of a Standing Committee member after an alternate has been assigned.

 

Vice-Chair:

 

The Vice-Chair shall have the powers and duties of the Chair in his/her absence or during his/her disability, and such other powers and duties of the Chair as the Board may from time to time determine.

 

Duties of the Chair:

 

The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the School Board.  He/she shall call special meetings of the Board whenever he/she deems it necessary.  He/she shall, unless otherwise ordered, appoint the following standing committees:

a.

Personnel

A Chair, Vice-Chair  and up to three members

b.

Instruction

A Chair, Vice-Chair and up to three members

c.

Buildings

A Chair, Vice-Chair  and up to three members

d.

Special Services

A Chair, Vice-Chair and up to three members

e.

Policy

A Chair, Vice-Chair and up to three members

f.

Discipline

A Chair, Vice-Chair and a rotating member

e.

Finance

The Chair of the Board, the Vice-Chair of the Board, the Chair of each of the preceding committees, plus other members selected by the Board Chair up to nine members

 

The School Board shall be composed of thirteen members.  In the absence of the Chair, the Vice-Chair shall preside.


 

Duties of Secretary:

 

The secretary shall keep a record of all School Board business.  He/she shall record the minutes of all meetings and keep a record of all committee reports.  He/she shall keep an attendance record of all meetings.

 

Meetings:

 

At all regular meetings of the Board the business shall proceed according to the following order, unless otherwise directed by vote.

 

1.     Roll Call and Pledge of Allegiance (to be conducted at all meetings of the full School Board and Committee meetings)

2.     Reading and approval of the records of the previous meeting

       

3.     Report of the Superintendent and Communications

       

4.     Public Comment

       

5.     Report of the standing committees

       

6.     Report of special committees

       

7.     Old Business

       

8.     New Business

 

Meetings shall be conducted in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order

Committees

 

Personnel - Teachers, Custodians, Food Service Workers

 

This committee shall act on all teachers and other personnel nominated by the Superintendent for election, and upon all changes and salaries, in keeping with the salary schedule in force at the time.  It shall recommend its actions to the Board for approval.

 

The committee shall recommend a list of teachers and other personnel that have been nominated by the Superintendent for the coming year with any changes in salaries, for consideration and election by the Board at the regular meeting in March.  This in no way prevents the administration from nominating personnel to the total Board as provided by RSA 189-39 Statutes annotated.

 

The Personnel Committee has power to hire new Custodians, Food Service Personnel, Teachers, and Para-Educators during the months of July and August.

 

 


Instruction - Program, Curriculum

 

The Instruction Committee shall consider all changes as proposed by the professional staff in the program of studies, textbooks and supplies used in the schools.  This committee may, at any regular or special meeting, make recommendations to the Board with regard to any regular or special meeting, make with regard to any phase of the instructional program.  This committee shall recommend the purchase of supplies necessary to carry out the instructional program.

 

Building - Properties, Repairs, Maintenance

 

The Building Committee shall act upon the recommendations of the Superintendent and the Agent of Buildings in all matters pertaining to maintenance and operation of school properties.  They shall have authority to make any emergency repairs when the same do not exceed $500.00 in any instance.

 

Special Services - Transportation, School Lunch, Health Insurance, Athletics

 

The Special Services Committee upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools shall act on the different routes for suitable transportation of the eligible children attending the Rochester Schools.  This committee shall, after approval by the Board, have full supervision of the parties to whom contracts are awarded for such transportation.

 

This committee shall request bids on all insurance programs concerning the Rochester schools and submit those bids along with their recommendations to the Board for approval.

 

This committee shall act upon the recommendations or the Superintendent concerning matters of Health and School Lunch programs and shall submit its recommendations to the Board for approval.

 

Finance - Budget

 

The Chair and Vice-Chair of the School Board and the Chair of each standing committee shall be members of the Finance Committee. The Chair of the School Board shall be Chair of the Finance Committee.  In addition to these members, one other School Board member, to be appointed by the Chair of the School Board, shall also serve as a voting member of the Finance Committee.  In no event shall the members of the Finance Committee be fewer than five or more than nine.

 

The Finance Committee shall meet as necessary and carefully examine all accounts and claims contracted or authorized by the School Board. A financial statement will be presented to the School Board each month.

 

In the case of an emergency, this committee shall have the power to approve the expenditures recommended by the Superintendent of any necessary amount, not voted by the Board or delegated to any other committee or person, despite the fact that this amount may exceed $500.00 in any one instance.


 

Discipline

 

The Discipline Committee shall act on cases of disruptive, truant, or other pupils who are referred by administration.   This committeemeets twice per month if cases warrant the meeting.  Authority is given to it by the School Board to act on all discipline cases recommended by the administration.  Authority also comes from School Board policy and State Law (NH RSA 189:15 – NH Code of Administrativ Rules, Section Ed 306.04(f)

In cases of suspensions and expulsions the committee shall act within the provisions of New Hampshire State Law and School Board Policy.

 

In cases of hearings recommended by the administration, the cases may be heard as follows:

 

a.     A report of the administration concerning the case with no parties present.

b.     A hearing with the student in question and parents.

c.     A hearing with student only or with parents only, or with other people concerned with the issue only.

d.     A hearing with all concerned present.

 

In accordance with State Law, either party may appeal the decision to the School Board or the State Board of Education.

 

The hearing will be chaired by a Committee Chair as appointed by the School Board Chair.  In the absence of the Chair, the Vice-Chair or a temporary one may be appointed by the Chair or the Committee.

 

The Committee may request written statements instead of an interview.

 

The Committee reserves the right to determine how a hearing is to be conducted.

 

Rules of operation:

 

a.     Brief introduction of the problem by the administration before parties appear before the Committee.

b.     When parties arrive, a brief introduction statement is made by the Chair.

c.     The meeting opened up for questioning by Committee.

d.     The party in question is allowed to make a statement or ask any questions.

e.     At conclusion of the hearing the parties are excused; the Committee then conducts a further review and makes a decision if  possible.

f.     If no decision is possible, the Committee will ask for more information.

g.     All decisions are made in writing.  The party in question is notified by Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested, and a copy is given to others concerned with the case and entitled to receive confidential records.

 

Minutes of the meetings will be made and reported to the School Board for review.  These minutes as reported to the School Board will have student’s names deleted, but the student’s names will be in the official School Board records.


 

Policy Committee

 

This committee shall recommend to the Board any policy revisions or new policies prepared and presented by the Superintendent.  It shall recommend its actions to the Board for approval.

 

This committee shall review Board actions that may require inclusion in the Board policy manual, seek public input between the first and second reading of new policies and advise the Superintendent on the development of new policies.

 

 

Committee Limitations

 

No committee shall have the right to authorize the expenditure of any amount in excess of that amount available in the budget without a vote of the Board, except under provisions for emergency expenditures.

 

Issuance of High School Diplomas

 

The issuance of diplomas at graduation shall be restricted to the Rochester and Wakefield Superintendent, Rochester and Wakefield School Board members, and the Spaulding High School Principal.

 

 

 

Adopted:          April 8, 1993

Amended:        March 9, 2006

Amended:        May 8, 2008

Amended:        March 12, 2009

Amended:        August 12, 2010