Independence School District Policies Regarding:
The role of the District’s Board is to govern the community’s public schools by making the major decisions for the District. For the District to operate efficiently and effectively, the Board as a whole will perform its role by working together as a governance team with the Superintendent in the best interest of the District’s students. As the elected governing body, the Board will be accountable to the public by faithfully fulfilling the following five responsibilities:
This role belongs to the Board as a whole and not to the any Board member individually, or to the Superintendent individually. The Board as a whole, by working with the Superintendent to make decisions that will best serve the District’s students, will govern the community’s schools.
1. Setting the Strategic Direction
The Board sets the strategic direction for the District by establishing and maintaining the District’s strategic or long-term plan that includes District priorities, goals and objectives. The Board allocates the resources and oversees the employment of the Superintendent to ensure this plan is accomplished.
2. Establishing a System of District Policies and Rules
The Board establishes the major District policies and rules, and delegates the authority to make any other rules to the administration under the Superintendent’s direction.
3. Overseeing the Employment of the Superintendent
The Board hires, directs and evaluates the performance of the Superintendent.
4. Exercising Final Decision-Making Authority for Board Matters
The Board exercises final decision making authority for matters that:
a. Are identified by law as exclusively within the province of the Board;
b. Have potential significant impact on the District as a whole;
c. Have important financial consequences for the District; or
d. Are reserved for the Board to decide, either through District policy or Board action.
5. Serving as a Liaison between the District and the Community
The Board acts as a liaison between the District and the community by promoting school programs in the community and channeling concerns from community members to the appropriate District points of contact.
Adoption Date(s): July 12, 2023
Unless authorized to act on behalf of the Board as a whole, individual Board members have no authority or power to act as a school official. Board members are expected to act as one member of a decision-making team of eight individuals consisting of seven elected Board members and one Superintendent.
Adoption Date(s): July 12, 2023
The Superintendent of Schools shall be the chief executive officer of the Board and the administrative leader of the District. The Superintendent is responsible to the Board for the execution and implementation of its policies and decisions. The execution of all decisions made by the Board concerning the internal operation of the District shall be delegated to the Superintendent. The Superintendent shall then be responsible for the delegation of responsibility and authority for the operations of the District. The Board will channel all directives from the Board to its employees or students through the Superintendent. The Superintendent also provides direction on all District matters not covered by the Board policies or decisions.
Adoption Date(s): July 12, 2023
Each principal or director will be responsible for and have authority over the actions of students, employees, volunteers, visitors, or any other person present in the school, subject to the direction of the Superintendent. The principal or director will enforce the rules and decisions of the Superintendent and the Board, and may implement and enforce additional rules as deemed appropriate for the operation of the school.
Adoption Date(s): July 12, 2023
The Board President will perform the duties pertaining to the office under applicable law and any duties that may be directed by the Board. The President will:
In the absence of the President, the Vice President shall have the power of the President and perform such duties.
Adoption Date(s): July 12, 2023
Within ten days after an election, the Board shall elect a president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. The Board will set the terms of service and compensation unless the Secretary or Treasurer is a member of the Board, in which case no compensation for services will be received. The term of office of the Secretary and Treasurer shall be for two years and until their successors are elected by the Board and qualified. Either of them may be removed by the Board for cause.
Adoption Date(s): July 12, 2023
The Board Secretary will perform the duties as may be required by law or authorized by the Board. The following are among the duties of the Board Secretary unless properly delegated to others:
Adoption Date(s): July 12, 2023
The Board may select an attorney(s) and/or law firm(s) for purposes of providing such legal services to the District. Unless the interests of the Superintendent are adverse to the Board in a legal matter, the Superintendent or designee will be the District’s representative to seek legal counsel or advice on behalf of the District or Board. Only the Superintendent or designee, the Board President, or the Board as a whole is authorized to seek legal advice or counsel on behalf of the District or Board. Individual employees, other than the Superintendent or designee, are not authorized to seek legal advice on behalf of the District or Board. Individual Board members, other than the Board President, are not authorized to seek legal advice on behalf of the District or Board without specific permission by the Board.
Adoption Date(s): July 12, 2023
Unless the law requires others to sign documents on behalf of the District or Board, the Superintendent or designee may sign documents on behalf of the District or Board. If Board approval of a document is required by law, the Superintendent or designee may sign only after Board approval. The Superintendent will establish controls to ensure that official documents are signed by the appropriate persons and steps are taken to prevent mistakes, fraud, embezzlement, and District liability.
The Board President and Treasurer will sign all checks. Through this policy, the Board directs signatures to be affixed to checks using facsimile signatures.
Adoption Date(s): July 12, 2023
All meetings of the Board shall be open to the public except for when the Board meets in executive session. A quorum must be present at all meetings where business is conducted. The Board may meet in regular meetings, special meetings, and work sessions. Meetings will be noticed as required by law. The Board will meet monthly on the second Tuesday of each month at 6:00 p.m., in the Administrative Building unless otherwise designated by the Board. Special meetings may be called as needed, and may be called by the Board President or a quorum of the Board. Board members may participate electronically if they can hear and be heard throughout the discussion. Electronic participation will be documented in the meeting minutes in accordance with law. The Board Secretary will publish an annual calendar of tentative Board meeting dates. The Board Secretary will also post all Board meetings as prescribed by law.
Adoption Date(s): July 12, 2023
The Board will evaluate the Superintendent annually by utilizing an evaluation tool that incorporates the evaluation principles adopted by the Missouri State Board of Education. The job performance of the Superintendent should be linked to the District’s goals in the Strategic Plan. The Board may also include other factors in the evaluation. The Superintendent will provide a progress update to the Board at least quarterly. The Board may take this time to address other job evaluation related issues with the Superintendent during this formative stage of the process. The summative evaluation incorporates the information utilized in the formative stage of the process. Board members will participate in a meeting in which a consensus evaluation will be completed. The Board will meet with the Superintendent to share the evaluation results, discuss other pertinent job performance related issues, and determine contract related issues. The Board may determine compensation issues at the time of the summative evaluation, or at a later time, no later than June 30th. The evaluation process does not preclude the Board from addressing job related issues as they arise.
Adoption Date(s): July 12, 2023
To act effectively as the elected governing body of the District, the Board and individual Board members must be well trained regarding significant education policy issues and all items over which the Board exercises decision-making authority. The Board will annually assess its training and development needs and develop a training program to ensure all Board members and officers are sufficiently trained to successfully fulfill their responsibilities.
New Board members must successfully complete eighteen- and one-half hours of orientation and training within one (1) year of the date of election or appointment. This training shall include at least two hours and thirty minutes of training that provides up-to-date and reliable information on identifying signs of sexual abuse in children and danger signals of potentially abusive relationships between children and adults, as required by law.
Any school Board member serving a term as of August 28, 2019, or elected or appointed after August 28, 2019, shall complete at least one hour of refresher training each year of any term in office related to the prevention of sexual abuse of children as required by law; except that, the refresher training shall not be required in the year in which the member completes initial orientation and training.
All programs providing the orientation and training must be offered by a statewide association organized for the benefit of members of boards or be approved by the State Board.
The District will invest in the development of the Board as a whole, Board officers, and Board members individually to ensure the successful performance of the Board’s role and responsibilities. The costs of all such training and development will be paid by the District.
Adoption Date(s): July 12, 2023
The Board may place issues on the ballot as needed or as required by law. In accordance with law, the Superintendent or designee will notify the election authority of the ballot issue and provide the Board-approved language for the ballot no later than 5:00 p.m. on the tenth Tuesday prior to the election.
In accordance with law, no expenditure of District public funds will be made to advocate, support or oppose any ballot measure or candidate for public office. To the extent allowed by law, Board members or the Superintendent or designee may adopt resolutions, make public appearances or communicate information concerning ballot measures or candidates.
Once the District receives the results, the official election results will be presented to the Board at the next regular meeting. The Board will vote to either accept the results or take action to challenge the results.
Adoption Date(s): July 12, 2023
The voters of the District will biennially elect two directors for terms of six years each on the municipal Election Day in April. An additional director will be elected every six years.
Candidate Filing
Before the seventeenth Tuesday preceding the election, the Board shall publish in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the District the opening filing date, the offices to be filled, the place for filing, the closing date for filing and a statement that candidates filing on the first day of filing will be listed on the ballot in an order assigned by random drawing. Only candidates who filed a Declaration of Candidacy form and returned the number of required petition signatures on the first day of filing are eligible for the random drawing for the order in which names will appear on the ballot. Candidates filing their Declaration of Candidacy form and required petition signatures after the first day of filing will be listed on the ballot after the candidates eligible for the random drawing in the order in which their valid Petitions are received by the Board Secretary.
Qualified applicants for the Board may file a Declaration of Candidacy form and the number of required petition signatures during business hours in the Superintendent's office commencing at 8:00 a.m. on the seventeenth Tuesday prior to the election and ending at 5:00 p.m. on the fourteenth Tuesday prior to the election. The candidate shall declare his or her intent to become a candidate in person and in writing to the Secretary of the Board or designee. The District will designate a location where candidates will form a line to file the necessary paperwork in order to determine the order of such filings for ballot placement.
Qualified applicants for the Board are required to file with the Secretary of the Board a petition with at least one hundred signatures of qualified registered voters of the School District of Independence prior to 5:00 p.m. on the fourteenth Tuesday prior to the election. Qualified applicants for the Board must obtain Petition forms in-person from the Secretary of the Board during the filing period and such form must be initialed by the Secretary of the Board.
The names of qualified candidates shall be placed on the ballot in order of filing except that for candidates who file a Declaration of Candidacy form and return the number of required petition signatures prior to 5:00 p.m. on the first day of filing, the District shall determine by random drawing the order in which such candidates' names shall appear on the ballot. Each candidate filing their Declaration of Candidacy form and number of required petition signatures on the first day shall personally draw a number at random at 5:00 p.m. in the Superintendent’s Office on the first day of filing. Personal representatives may only be used for the random drawing in accordance with the provisions in the section below, “Filing by Certified Mail”. The District shall record the number drawn with the candidate's Declaration of Candidacy. The names of candidates filing their Declaration of Candidacy and the required number of petition signatures on the first day of filing shall be listed in ascending order of the numbers so drawn and ahead of the names of candidates filing on a later date.
The notice of election and certification of candidates must be submitted to the election authority by the tenth Tuesday prior to the election in the manner provided by law. After the tenth Tuesday prior to the election, the candidate list may only be modified pursuant to court order, in accordance with law.
Prior to the District's certification of candidates to the election authority, a candidate may withdraw from the election by presenting to the District a notarized written statement of his or her intention to withdraw. After the deadline for certification of candidates to the election authority, a candidate may only withdraw pursuant to court order, in accordance with law.
The District will provide each candidate a copy of the Notice of Candidate's Obligation to File a Financial Interest Statement and a plain language summary of the applicable laws provided by the Missouri Ethics Commission as required by law. Candidates must comply with laws concerning eligibility, campaign financing and campaign disclosures.
Filing by Certified Mail
In accordance with law, candidates may file by certified mail if they are unable to file the Declaration of Candidacy and other necessary paperwork in person due to a physical disability or because they are members of the U.S. Armed Forces on active duty. Upon request, the District will provide potential candidates the necessary paperwork prior to the opening date of candidate filing and during the filing period.
The candidate must personally sign the Declaration of Candidacy and other documents necessary for filing that require a signature and the signatures must be notarized. In addition, the Declaration of Candidacy of a person with a physical disability who is filing by certified mail must be accompanied by a notarized statement from a licensed physician verifying the disability. A candidate on active-duty military service who is filing by certified mail must include a notarized statement from the candidate's commanding officer verifying the candidate's active duty status.
A candidate's completed Declaration of Candidacy and other necessary documents must be received by the District during the official candidate filing period in order for the candidate to appear on the ballot. If these documents are received by the District before 8:00 a.m. on the first day of filing or after 5:00 p.m. on the last day of filing, the District will not accept them and will return them to the candidate.
While the Declaration of Candidacy and other necessary documents must be sent to the District by certified mail in accordance with law, the candidate may designate a personal representative to draw a number at the designated time established by the District if filing on the first day or stand in line on behalf of the candidate for ballot placement purposes by submitting a completed and notarized form provided by the District. If filing a Declaration of Candidacy form and the number of required petition signatures on the first day, the candidate’s name will appear on the ballot based upon the random drawing. Otherwise, the candidate’s name will appear on the ballot in the order the Declaration of Candidacy form and other necessary documents are received. As long as the candidate's Declaration of Candidacy and other necessary documents are received by the District after the beginning of filing and before the close of filing on the last day of filing, the candidate's ballot placement as determined by the personal representative's participation will stand.
If the candidate does not designate a personal representative for ballot placement purposes and the District receives the candidate's Declaration of Candidacy and other necessary documents the first day of filing, the candidate will be listed on the ballot after all other candidates who filed on the first day of filing. If the District receives the necessary documents on any other day of filing, the District will list the candidate on the ballot in the order the Declaration of Candidacy and other necessary documents are physically received by the District. If two or more candidates file by certified mail on the same day and the filings are received at the same time, the District will list the candidate with the earlier postmark date first. If two or more postmark dates are identical, the candidates will be listed in the order the mail is processed.
If the required paperwork is received after candidate filing has closed for the day or on a day the District's offices are closed, the candidate will be considered to have filed first on the next day filings are received.
Write-In Candidates
If candidates have filed for a position, a person interested in becoming a write-in candidate must file a Declaration of Intent to be a write-in candidate with the proper election authority prior to 5:00 p.m. on the second Friday immediately preceding the Election Day in order for the votes to be counted. If no candidates have filed for the position, filing a Declaration of Intent to be a write-in candidate is not necessary but is recommended.
No Election Held
No election will be held if, after the last date of candidate filing, the number of candidates who have filed is equal to the number of positions to be filled by the election. However, if the number of candidates filing exceeds the number of positions, the election will be held even if a sufficient number of candidates withdraw so that the number of candidates remaining after the filing deadline is equal to the number of positions to be filled.
Adoption Date(s): July 12, 2023; Updated July 9, 2024
Board members must:
Adoption Date(s): July 12, 2023
Successful Board candidates shall take an oath of office to faithfully perform the duties of the office as required by law to support the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of Missouri and laws made pursuant thereto. The oath shall be administered by the Board Secretary or by an officer/designee authorized to administer the oath of office as determined by the Board.
Adoption Date(s): July 12, 2023
Each Board member will:
Adoption Date(s): July 12, 2023
Board members will not vote to employ or appoint any person who is related to them within the fourth degree by blood or marriage. “Employ” in this context includes hiring persons to be employees of the District and approving independent contractors who provide services to the District. Persons who are related “within the fourth degree” include parents, grandparents, great grandparents, great great grandparents, spouse, children, siblings, grandchildren, great grandchildren, great great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, grand nieces, grand nephews, aunts, uncles, great aunts, great uncles, and first cousins by virtue of a blood relationship or by marriage.
Adoption Date(s): July 12, 2023
Board members will avoid situations in which their responsibilities as a Board member conflict with their private financial interests. Board members will follow all applicable laws regarding conflicts of interest. The phrase a “Business with Which a Board Member Is Associated” as used in this policy means:
Statement of Interest
Before voting, Board members who have a substantial personal or private interest in a decision before the Board will provide a written statement of the nature of the interest to the Board Secretary as described in G-275-P.
Self-Dealing
Board members may not act or fail to act due to any payment, offer to pay, promise to pay or receipt of anything of actual pecuniary value, whether received or not, to themselves or any third person. This prohibition includes a gift or campaign contribution made or received in relationship to or as a condition of the performance of any official act.
Board members will not act favorably on any matter that is specifically designed to provide a special monetary benefit to them, their spouses or dependent children in their custody. A “special monetary benefit” means being materially affected in a substantially different manner or degree than the manner or degree in which the public in general will be affected or, if the matter affects only a special class of persons, then affected in a substantially different manner or degree than the manner or degree in which such class will be affected.
Board members will not use their decision-making authority for the purpose of obtaining a financial gain that materially enriches them, their spouses or dependent children in their custody by acting or refraining from acting for the purpose of coercing or extorting anything of actual pecuniary value.
Board members will not offer, promote or advocate for a political appointment in exchange for anything of value to any political subdivision.
Board members will not accept gifts with a value in excess of $100 from a vendor who does or is attempting to do business with the District.
A Board member will not attempt to directly or indirectly influence or vote on a decision when the Board member knows the result of the decision may be the acceptance by the District of a service or the sale, rental or lease of property to the District and the Board member, his or her spouse, dependent children in his or her custody or any business with which the Board member is associated will benefit financially. If such a transaction is presented to the Board, the Board member will abstain and leave the room during any deliberation.
Confidential Information
Board members will not use or disclose confidential information obtained in the course of or by reason of their official capacities in any manner with intent to result in financial gain for themselves, their spouses, dependent children in their custody, any business with which the Board member is associated or any other person.
Sale, Rental or Lease of Property
Property Other Than Real Estate: No Board member will sell, rent or lease any personal property to the District for consideration in excess of five hundred dollars' value per transaction or five thousand dollars' value per year to the Board member, to his or her spouse, to a dependent child in his or her custody or to any business with which he or she is associated unless the transaction is made pursuant to an award on a contract let or sale made after public notice and competitive bidding, provided that the bid or offer accepted is the lowest received.
Real Estate: No Board member will perform a service or sell, rent or lease any real property to the District for consideration in excess of five hundred dollars' value per transaction or five thousand dollars' value per year to the Board member, to his or her spouse, to a dependent child in his or her custody or to any business with which he or she is associated unless the transaction is made pursuant to an award on a contract let or sale made after public notice.
Employment
The District will not employ a Board member for compensation, even on a substitute or part-time basis. Board members may provide services as a volunteer without remuneration.
Independent Contractor Services
No Board member will perform a service as an independent contractor for consideration in excess of five hundred dollars' value per transaction or five thousand dollars' value per year to him or her, to his or her spouse, to a dependent child in his or her custody or to any business with which he or she is associated unless the transaction is made pursuant to an award on a contract let or sale made after public notice and competitive bidding, provided that the bid or offer accepted is the lowest received.
Businesses That Employ Board Members
A Board member may participate in discussions and vote on motions for the District to do business with entities that employ the Board member so long as the business is not owned by the Board member and the Board member will not receive any financial benefit from the transaction. The Board member may need to provide a statement describing his or her personal or private interest as described in G-275-P.
Purchases Involving Federal Funds
In addition to the requirements of this policy, Board members must follow the of the District’s purchasing rules and are also subject to the conflict-of-interest provisions of federal law.
Adoption Date(s): July 12, 2023
The Board hereby adopts this regulation as its policy establishing and making public its own method of disclosing financial interests of Board members, candidates and specified administrators, in accordance with law. Financial interest statements (also known as personal financial disclosure statements) as described below will be filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission (MEC) and the Board on or before May 1st for the preceding calendar year, unless the person filing is a Board candidate. Candidates must file their reports within 14 days after the last day to file for office. The reports will be made available for public inspection and copying during normal business hours. If a candidate fails to timely submit their report, they are disqualified from the election and removed from the ballot. The District will contact the County Clerk regarding the candidate’s removal from the ballot.
This policy dealing with the financial interest statement will be adopted in an open meeting every other year by September 15th. A certified copy of this policy will be sent to the MEC within ten days of adoption.
School Board members and candidates will report the following transactions if they occurred during the previous calendar year. If no such transactions occurred, the Board member or candidate will not be required to file.
1. Each transaction in excess of $500 per year between the District and the individual or any person related within the first degree by consanguinity or affinity to the individual. The statement does not need to include compensation received as an employee or payment of any tax, fee or penalty due the District and other transfers for no consideration to the District. The statement will include the dates and identities of the parties in the transaction.
(1) "First degree of consanguinity or affinity" includes parents, spouse or children by virtue of a blood relationship or marriage.
2. Each transaction in excess of $500 between the District and any business entity in which the individual has a substantial interest. The statement does not need to include any payment of tax, fee or penalty due the District or payment for providing utility service to the District and other transfers for no consideration to the District. The statement will include the dates and identities of the parties in the transactions.
Before voting, Board members who have a substantial personal or private interest in a decision before the Board will provide a written statement of the nature of the interest to the Board Secretary. The written statement will be recorded in the minutes. Board members who have disclosed the interest in a financial interest statement filed or amended prior to the vote will be in compliance with this requirement. A substantial personal or private interest exists when the Board member or his or her spouse or dependent children in his or her custody, either singularly or collectively, directly or indirectly:
Adoption Date(s): July 12, 2023; Updated June 11, 2024
Any member of the Board of Education failing to attend three consecutive regular meetings of the Board, unless excused by the Board for reasons satisfactory to the Board, shall be deemed to have vacated their Board seat. The Secretary of the Board shall certify to the Board that a vacancy exists. The vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as other vacancies occurring on the Board.
A Board member attending a regularly scheduled meeting electronically, either by phone, videoconference, or other electronic means, shall be considered as being in attendance for purposes of this policy.
Adoption Date(s): July 12, 2023
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