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RULES OF ORDER

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The Wake County Board of Education shall follow the rules of order set forth below:

 A.  Order of Business

1.   Items shall be placed on the agenda according to the order of business.  The order of

      business for each regular meeting ordinarily shall include but not be limited to the following:

a. Call to order and determination of a quorum

            b. Pledge of Allegiance

            c. Comments by Board Chair, Superintendent, and Board Members

            d. Discussion/Approval of Agenda

e.  Public comments

f.  Recognition (as needed)

            g.  Information items

            h.  Consent and Action Items

            i.  Closed session (as needed)

            j. Adjournment

2.   The order of business will be set by the Chair and subject to adoption by the Board with a majority vote at the beginning of each meeting.

3.    If the Board conducts a public hearing on an issue the Chair may prohibit public comment on that issue at a regular Board meeting.

 

B.  Role of the Board Chair

1.   The Chair shall preside at Board meetings. 

            2.   To address the Board, a member must be recognized by the Chair.

3.   Rule motions in or out of order, including the right to rule out of order any motions patently offered for obstructive or dilatory purposes.

4.   Determine whether a speaker has gone beyond reasonable standards of courtesy in her/his remarks and to entertain and rule on objections from other members on this ground.

            5.   Address questions of parliamentary procedure with counsel from the board attorney

                  as needed.

 

            6.   Call a brief recess at any time.

 

            7.   Refer any item on the agenda to committee prior to Board consideration.

            8.   Adjourn in an emergency.

9.   The Chair shall preside at Board meetings unless she/he becomes actively engaged in debate on a particular proposal in which case she/he may designate the vice chair to preside over the debate.  The Chair shall resume the duty to preside as soon as she/he has spoken on the matter.

C.  Motions

1.   The Board shall proceed by motion. 

            2.   Any Board member, except the presiding officer, may make a motion.

            3.   A motion must be seconded.

            4.   A member may make only one motion at a time.

            5.   A substantive motion is out of order while another substantive motion is pending.

6.   A motion shall be adopted by a majority of the votes cast, a quorum being present, unless otherwise required by these rules, the laws of North Carolina, or another policy of the Board.

7.   A motion that is defeated may be renewed at any subsequent meeting unless a motion to prevent reconsideration has been adopted.

D.  Debate

            1.   The Chair shall state the motion and then open the floor to debate on it. 

            2.   The Chair shall preside over the debate according to the following general principles.

                        a. The introducer is entitled to speak first.

b. A member who has not spoken on the issue shall be recognized before someone who has already spoken.

c. To the extent possible, the debate shall alternate between opponents and proponents of the measure.

E.  Procedural Motions

In addition to substantive proposals, the following procedural motions and no others shall be in order.  Unless otherwise noted, each motion is debatable, may be amended, and requires a majority vote for adoption.

In order of priority (if applicable), the procedural motions are as follows:

1.   To Adjourn.  The motion to adjourn may be made at any time. It may interrupt deliberation of a pending matter, may not be amended, and is not debatable.

2.   To Take A Recess.  The motion to take a recess may be made at any time, must include the length of time of the recess, may interrupt deliberation of a pending matter, may not be amended, and is not debatable.

3.   Call to Follow the Agenda.   The motion to call to follow the agenda must be made at the first reasonable opportunity or it is waived, may interrupt a speaker, is not debatable, and may not be amended.

4.   Rulings of the Chair.  The motion to appeal the rulings of the Chair must be made at the first reasonable opportunity or it is waived, and the motion may not be amended.

5.   To Suspend the Rules or Board Policy. For adoption, the motion requires a two-thirds (2/3) vote of members present, but in no case may the rules be suspended by the affirmative vote of less than the number required for a quorum (minimum 5).

6.   To Amend an Agenda.

7.   To Divide a Complex Motion and Consider It by Paragraph.

8.   To Defer Consideration.  Consideration of a substantive motion that has been deferred expires one hundred (100) days thereafter unless a motion to revive consideration is adopted.

9.   Call of the Previous Question.  The motion is not in order until every member has had an opportunity to speak.

10.  To Postpone to a Certain Time of Day.

11.  To Refer to a Committee.  Sixty days (60) after a motion has been referred to a committee, the introducer may compel consideration of the measure by the entire Board, regardless of whether the committee has reported the matter back to the Board.

12.  To Amend.  An amendment to a motion must be pertinent to the subject matter of the motion, but it may achieve the opposite of the motion' intent.  The motion may be amended, but no further amendments may be made.

13.  To Revive Consideration.  The motion is in order at any time for one hundred (100) days after a vote to defer consideration.  A substantive motion whose consideration has been deferred expires one hundred (100) days thereafter unless a motion to revive consideration is adopted.

14.  To Reconsider.  The motion must be made by a member who voted with the prevailing side.  It must be made at the same meeting as the vote was taken.  It may not interrupt deliberation on a pending matter but is in order at any time before actual adjournment.

15.  To Rescind or Repeal.  This motion requires a two-thirds vote.

16.  To Ratify.

17.  To Prevent Reconsideration for Six (6) Months.  The motion is in order immediately following the defeat of a substantive motion and at no other time.  For adoption, the motion must receive a vote equal to the number required for a quorum.  It is valid for six (6) months or until a new Board member is appointed, whichever occurs first. 

F.  Voting

1.   Every member of the Board must vote unless excused by the majority vote of the remaining members. 

2.   Failure to vote by a member who is physically present and not excused from voting on the motion shall be recorded as an affirmative vote.

3.   Proxy voting by Board members is not permitted.

4.   Board members must be present at a meeting to participate in voting. An exception to this rule may be made only under the following circumstances:

a.   the member is absent due to a serious, ongoing illness or family emergency, or

b.   the member is absent due to other extenuating circumstances deemed sufficient   by a two-thirds vote of the Board, and

c.    the member notifies the Board Chair of the desire to participate under this exception at least four (4) hours prior to the meeting, and

d.    the member is simultaneously present by electronic means for public comment and Board discussion on the agenda item(s) (e.g., conference call) prior to voting.

G.  Closed Session

            1.   The Board may hold closed sessions as provided by General Statute 143-318.11. 

2.   The Board shall commence closed session by majority vote to do so and end it in the same manner.

H.  Quorum

1.   A majority of the actual membership of the Board, excluding vacant seats, shall constitute a quorum.

2.   A member who has withdrawn from a meeting without being excused by majority vote of the remaining members present shall be counted as present for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present.

To the extent not provided for in these rules and to extent that the reference does not conflict with the spirit of these rules, the Board shall refer to Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised, for unresolved procedural questions.

Legal References: G.S. 143-318.11, Session Law 2011-138. Cross Reference:  Board Policy 1519 (Board Resolutions)

Adopted:  May 24, 1976

Revised:  January 17, 1983

Revised:  October 19, 1987

Revised:  March 15, 1993

Revised:  December 20, 1993

Revised:  March 13, 2000

Revised:  June 24, 2004

Revised:  January 23, 2007

Revised:  September 15, 2009 Revised:  February 5, 2013