How Board Meetings Work
All of our school board meetings are open to the public. Regularly scheduled meetings for our school board generally occur on the fourth Tuesday of the month and are held in the Wolcott Elementary School Library. All meeting dates, agendas and minutes for board meetings are published on this website.
Special meetings are occasionally held for specific purposes and are always announced in advance. The board also participates in four carousel board meetings each year, in which all eight member school districts within the supervisory union come together to conduct SU-wide business as the OSSU Board.
State law requires that school board meetings are conducted in accordance with the Vermont Open Meeting Law and Robert’s Rules of Order. All Board business takes place in public except for discussion on some specific topics where the Board meets in Executive Session. The Vermont School Board Association offers a good summary on executive session and open meeting law.
Special meetings are occasionally held for specific purposes and are always announced in advance. The board also participates in four carousel board meetings each year, in which all eight member school districts within the supervisory union come together to conduct SU-wide business as the OSSU Board.
State law requires that school board meetings are conducted in accordance with the Vermont Open Meeting Law and Robert’s Rules of Order. All Board business takes place in public except for discussion on some specific topics where the Board meets in Executive Session. The Vermont School Board Association offers a good summary on executive session and open meeting law.
Typical Board Meeting
Here is the general order of business at a regular school board meeting:
- Call to Order: the school board Chair or designee will call the meeting to order and state any announcement or recognition.
- Approval of Minutes: one of the school board members will make a motion to accept the minutes from the previous meeting; other board members may request changes to the minutes before the board votes.
- Public Comment: citizens in attendance will have a specific amount of time to communicate their comments to the board as a whole. See Speaking at a Board Meeting for tips.
- Agenda items: the board will review individual topics for informational purposes, discussion, or action. Examples may include but are not limited to superintendent reports, progress monitoring reports, budget and financial reports, policies, board self-evaluation activities, committee reports, or procurement activities.
- Next Meeting Agenda Planning: board members and the superintendent will identify agenda topics for the next school board meeting.
- Adjourn: the school board Chair or designee will formally end the meeting.
