BB 9200 — Limits of Board Member Authority
Section: 9000 - Board Bylaws
Status: Active
Adopted: 2012-12-11
Revised: 2022-11-17
Policy text
LIMITS OF BOARD MEMBER AUTHORITY
The Governing Board recognizes that the Board is the unit of authority over the district and that a Board member has no individual authority. Board members shall hold the education of students above any partisan principle, group interest, or personal interest.
Unless agreed to by the Board as a whole, individual members of the Board shall not exercise any administrative responsibility with respect to the schools or order, demand, or request the services of any school employee. Individual Board members shall submit requests for information to the Superintendent. Board members shall refer Board-related correspondence to the Superintendent for forwarding to the Board or for placement on the Board’s agenda, as appropriate.
Individual Board members do not have the authority to resolve complaints. Any Board member approached directly by a person with a complaint should refer the complainant to the Superintendent or designee so that the problem may receive proper consideration and be handled through the appropriate district process.
A Board member whose child is attending a district school should be aware of their role as a Board member when interacting with district employees about their child. Because their position as a Board member may inhibit the performance of school personnel, the Board member should inform the Superintendent or designee before volunteering in their child’s classroom as a professional courtesy. Their position as a Board member should not interfere with their ability to be engaged in their child’s education, volunteer, or assume similar duties available to other parents. Board members have a responsibility as elected officials to avoid any misunderstanding about their individual authority.
The Superintendent or designee shall provide a copy of the state’s open meeting laws (Brown Act) to each Board member and to anyone who is elected to the Board but has not yet assumed office.
Board members and persons elected to the Board who have not yet assumed office are responsible for complying with the requirements of the Brown Act.
Legal
200-262.4 Prohibition of discrimination
35010 Control of district; prescription and enforcement of rules
35100-35351 Governing boards, especially:
51101 Rights of parents/guardians
54950-54962 The Ralph M. Brown Act, especially: