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Rules of Order

Section 2-5

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  1. Generally. This Rule sets forth the rules that shall govern the conduct of business of the Board during Board Meetings.
  2. Purpose. Rules of order during a meeting are a critical component to ensuring that the business is conducted in a civil, productive, and timely manner. This Rule establishes clear and transparent rules for how the Board shall govern Board Meetings.
  3. Rules for Efficiency of Board Meetings.
    1. Early Adjournment: Board Meetings may adjourn if two-thirds of the Board Members present vote in favor of adjourning the meeting.
    2. Board Member Speaking Time: In the interest of providing equity of voice and opportunities for viewpoints of all Board Members to be heard, the Board President or Board Member acting as Chair of the meeting, shall recognize each Board Member to address the Board for a maximum of five (5) minutes per item before the Board Member is asked to relinquish the opportunity to speak. This Board Member shall not speak again on this item until the other Board Members have had an opportunity to be heard, if needed, and be limited to a maximum of three (3) additional minutes of speaking time on the item. The time provided for response to the Board Member’s question(s) shall not apply to these speaking time limits. The Board Secretary shall oversee the timing of the discussions and inform the Chair when a Board Member’s time has expired.
  4. Motion to Vote Immediately (Call for the Question). A motion to vote immediately (call for the question) is to prevent or stop all discussion on the motion before the Board. The motion requires a second and a two-thirds majority of full membership of the Board.
  5. Order of Discussion. Preference is given to first hear the maker and seconder of a motion before the Board and then Board Members are heard in the order that they have requested to speak. The manner by which Board Members request to speak shall be established by the Board President.
  6. Division of the Question. Any Board Member present can request that a motion composed of two (2) or more independent parts or ideas be divided to allow the parts to be considered and voted upon separately.
  7. Motion to Recess. The Chair may temporarily recess a meeting for a specified time, or when called to order, by the Chair of the meeting. The motion passes with a majority of the Board Members voting upon it.
  8. Withdrawing and Laying Over Agenda Items.
    1. The CEO or Board Member who initiated an agenda item may withdraw the item without prejudice before it is deemed to belong to the Board. The agenda item shall be deemed to belong to the Board when the Order of the Meeting has been stated by the Chair. After the Order of the Meeting is stated, the agenda item can only be withdrawn with the consent of the majority of the Board Members present at the meeting.
    2. Any Board Member may make a motion to Lay Over any agenda item presented by the CEO or Board Member initiated agenda item. Laying Over an agenda item shall require a majority of the Board Members voting upon the motion and shall be laid over for one meeting; provided, however, that no matter shall be so laid over for more than three (3) consecutive Board Meetings. The agenda item so deferred shall be published in the proceedings of the Board Meeting.
  9. Votes Required – Recording of Vote. The Board Secretary shall record the Ayes and Noes of the Board Members voting questions pending before the Board. The following establishes a non-exhaustive list for the minimum number of Ayes required for Board approval.
    1. Actions requiring a majority of full membership:
      1. CEO appointment
      2. School site selection, textbooks, education apparatus and equipment
      3. Establishment of Departments
      4. General Counsel appointment and removal
      5. Appointment, Promotion, and Discharge of Assistant Attorneys
      6. Establishment of Board by-laws and Rules
      7. Use of special funds to purchase tax anticipation warrants
      8. Resale of tax anticipation warrants
      9. Election of Officers of the Board, such as the President and Vice President
    2. Actions requiring two-thirds majority of full membership:
      1. Establishment of Board Policies
      2. Readoption of Board Rules and Policies
      3. Repealing, amending, or adding to by-laws, Rules, Policies, and regulations
      4. Sale of Real Estate
      5. Leases over ten (10) years that the Board enters, renews, or amends
      6. Supplemental budget for which the Board increases taxable property
      7. Supplemental budget for emergencies
      8. Transfers between appropriations
    3. Actions requiring three-fourths majority of full membership:
      1. Emergency expenditures
      2. Increase ceiling of commission paid to licensed real estate broker
    4. Actions in this section (i) shall not supersede the minimum number of Ayes needed to pass pursuant to other Rules, federal and state law or regulations, or City of Chicago ordinances.
  10. Motion to Reconsider.
    1. Reconsideration: A motion to reconsider an action taken by the Board can be approved by a majority of the full membership of the Board. The motion can only be made on the day the vote to be reconsidered was taken or, provided the motion to reconsider is included in the Order of Business, at the next Regular Meeting or at any Special Meeting held in the interval. The motion to reconsider must be made by a Board Member who did not vote with the non-prevailing side in the original vote and whose reconsidered vote could change the original outcome. In the case of a tie vote, any Board Member may initiate a motion to reconsider. Any Member can second the motion.
  11. Motion to Rescind. A motion to rescind prior action of the Board requires the same requisite votes needed to pass the prior action of the Board, such as majority or two-thirds majority of the Board. The motion to rescind shall be previously noticed to the entire Board. If the motion to rescind passes, the prior action is nullified.
  12. Line Item Veto. For any agenda item requesting authority for multiple actions/items/transactions, the Board shall have the right, at its discretion, to strike or decline approval for any one or more action/item/transaction identified on such agenda item without voiding the remainder of the agenda item. Any Board Member may make a motion to line item veto actions/items/transactions within the agenda item. Such motions must be seconded. The Board will proceed to vote on the agenda item with the line item(s) stricken from the agenda item and shall prevail in accordance with the minimum Ayes needed to pass pursuant to section (i) or as otherwise provided by law or Board Rules.
  13. Changing a Vote During a Meeting. During a meeting, excluding any recesses that take the meeting to another day, a Board Member can request to change their vote on a previous item without requiring a motion to reconsider, as long as the change does not change the outcome of the original vote and as long as there is no objection from another Board Member. The request and the change must be duly noted in the minutes of the meeting.
  14. Abstention from Voting. Board Members shall abstain and state the basis for the abstention, as to any matter that comes before the Board in which the Board Member might have any economic interest as defined by the Code of Ethics (Policy 503.1) or other conflict of interest that renders the Board Member unable to cast a vote.
  15. All other Rules of Order. Unless otherwise specified in this Rule, the Board’s conduct of business at Board Meetings shall be governed by the latest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order.

Rule References

Cross References Board Rule 2-5 was adopted as a new Section at the April 26, 2023 Board Meeting [Board Report 23-0426-RU1].
Public Comment Pursuant to Board Rule 2-6 this Rule [2-5] was subject to Public Comment from 3/17/23-4/17/23 and adopted at the April 26, 2023 Board Meeting [Board Report 23-0426-RU1].

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