Minutes, Recording, and Dissemination BE
Philosophy
Accurate documentation of all Board Meetings, in accordance with State Law and Board Policy, is very important because such documentation becomes a permanent, historical record of the Board's actions, discussions, and decisions. As the Board carries out the business of the District, it is committed to do so in a transparent manner and to provide public access to its proceedings.
Policy
The Business Administrator shall keep, or cause to be kept, complete records of the action of Board Meetings through a recording and written minutes. The minutes of the Board shall be kept in an official minute book and shall be a complete record of such minutes including:
- A record of all actions taken by the Board, with the vote of each member recorded, except in cases of unanimous votes.
- Resolutions and motions must be recorded in full; reports and documents relating to a formal motion may be omitted if they are referred to and identified by title and date.
- A record of the disposition of all matters on which the Board considered but did not take action.
Copies of the minutes shall be made available to all Board Members following the Meeting at which the minutes are approved. The minutes shall become permanent records of the Board and shall be in the custody of the Business Administrator. The Business Administrator shall make them available to interested citizens upon request. If citizens do request copies, there will be a copying fee assessed based on the District's copying fee schedule.
The President of the Board and the Business Administrator, upon approval and transcribing, shall sign the permanent minutes.
Recordings and Minutes
1. Open Meetings
Written minutes and a recording shall be kept for all Open Meetings, except site visits or traveling
tours where no vote or action is taken by the Board, for which only written minutes shall be kept.
The written minutes and recording of Open Meetings shall include:
A. The date, time and place of the meeting;
B. The names of the Board Members present and absent;
C. The substance of all matters proposed, discussed, or decided by the Board, which may include a
summary of comments by Board Members;
D. A record, by individual Member, of votes taken;
E. The names of all citizens who appeared and a brief summary of their testimony; and
F. Any other information that any Member requests be entered in the recording and minutes. Utah Code 52-4-203 (1-3)
2. Closed Meetings
Recordings of closed meetings will be made except when discussing (1) the character, professional competence, or physical or mental health of an individual, or (2) the deployment of security personnel, devices, or systems.
Utah Code 52-4-206
When minutes and a recording are kept, they shall be complete and unedited recordings of all portions of the Closed Meeting. Such recordings and minutes shall include:
A. The date, time and place of the Meeting;
B. The names of Members present and absent; and
C. The names of all others present except where such disclosures would compromise the confidential nature of the issues being discussed or otherwise infringe the privacy rights
of the others present.
All recordings and minutes of Closed Meetings are hereby designated as "Protected Records" under the Government Records Access Management Act.
Utah Code 52-4-206 (5)
3. Approval of and Availability of Recordings and Minutes
The recording of an open Board Meeting is a public record and shall be available to the public for listening within three business days after the end of the meeting.
The written minutes of an open Board Meeting are public records and shall be available to the public within a reasonable time after the end of the Meeting. The Board shall establish and implement procedures for correction of and formal approval of Meeting minutes. Upon such formal approval, the written minutes of the Meeting shall be the official record of the actions taken at the Meeting.
When written minutes of a Board Meeting are made available to the public prior to receiving formal approval, they shall include the following notice in prominent, easily visible type: "These minutes have not yet been formally approved by the Board of Education and, until such formal approval, are subject to change." Utah Code 52-4-203 (4)
Any person in attendance may record all or any part of the proceedings in any open Board Meeting provided the recording does not interfere with the conduct and proceedings of the Meeting.
Dissemination
As part of its ongoing effort to keep staff and the public fully informed concerning its affairs and actions, the Board instructs the Superintendent to institute and maintain effective and appropriate procedures for the prompt dissemination of information about decisions made at all Board Meetings.
In addition to Board Meeting information on the District web site, releases to the press and brief summaries of Board Meeting actions prepared for distribution to staff members and parents are regarded as appropriate media of information for meeting the requirements of this Policy.
As determined by the Board, the Board President, Superintendent, or designee shall be authorized to speak for and behalf of the Board in providing information to the public and the media when dealing with tragic events, controversial issues, crisis situations, and other issues. The Superintendent or designee shall be authorized to speak for and behalf of the administration and staff members during similar circumstances.
BE.pdf