9130 - Committees

Policy 9130

Bylaws of the Board

Committees

Committees of the Newtown Board of Education shall be established 30 days after the first regularly scheduled meeting in December, or as needed, by a majority vote of the Board.

Committee members shall be appointed by the Chairperson of the Board of Education at a regular meeting at such time as the Board decides to create or recreate the committee. The Chairperson shall be an ex-officio member of each standing committee.

Duties of each committee shall be determined as a committee is formed.

Each committee may make a report through its Chairperson at each regular meeting of the Board of Education. Each committee may make its annual report at the meeting prior to the first regularly scheduled meeting in December.

No committee shall have power other than to recommend to the Board of Education unless specially authorized. No committee, or member of a committee, is authorized to make any contract or enter into any agreement which involves the expenditure of money, unless such contract or agreement is authorized by the Board either in regular or special meeting.

Committee of the Whole

The Board shall act as a committee of the whole on all matters coming before it except that special committees for the consideration or investigation of certain problems, or for the performance of certain Board functions, may be created by vote of the Board.

Standing Committees
Each standing committee shall be considered to be in session for one year only. The duties of the committee shall be outlined at the time of appointment, and the committee shall regularly report to the Board of Education.

Standing committees are comprised solely of Board members and must be less than a majority of the Board. Although the Superintendent may serve in an ex-officio capacity and standing committees may seek input from administrators, staff and others, only standing committee members may vote or otherwise agree upon recommendations to be made to the full Board.

Special Committees/Temporary Committees/Ad Hoc Committees

The Chairperson of the Board of Education shall appoint temporary and special committees as may be deemed necessary or advisable by the Board of Education, and the Chairperson shall be an ex-officio member of each committee.
The duties of the committee shall be outlined at the time of appointment, and the committee shall be considered dissolved when its final report has been made to the Board of Education.

Ad Hoc Committees

Any Board member interested in serving on a committee shall notify the Chairperson promptly concerning his/her interest. Any member who is interested in attending Ad Hoc committee meetings may do so. They may not take part in the discussion.

In the event of vacancies on Ad Hoc committees, the Chairperson shall have the power to appoint new committee members. All appointments expire when the committee as a whole expires.

Upon completion of the assigned task, the committee will cease to function.

Record Keeping

All committees of the Board of Education shall follow the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act as required by statute.

All committees shall keep minutes of business conducted at meetings. The minutes will be kept on file in the Superintendent’s office and available at all times to the Board of Education members. The minutes shall include the names of the committee members in attendance, listing of topics discussed and committee recommendations.

Resources

Any expenditure of town funds by an advisory committee shall be made only after submission of a budget to and approval of such expenditure by the board. Such expenditures may then be made through the Superintendent.

Legal Reference: Connecticut General Statutes

1-200 through 1-242 of the Freedom of Information Act.
1-200 Definitions.
1-225 Meetings of government agencies to be public.

Adopted: 4/10/12
Revised: 11/19/19