Code Number: 201.1
President
It is the statutory duty of the Board to annually elect a Board President who shall serve a one-year term of office.
The duties of the President shall be as follows:
- To preside at all meetings of the Board;
- To sign, with the Secretary or any other proper officer of the District authorized by the Board, deeds, bonds, contracts, warrants or other instruments which the Board has authorized to be executed, except in cases where the signing and execution thereof shall be required by law to be otherwise signed or executed, and except as otherwise delegated by the Board pursuant to Iowa law;
- To appear on behalf of the Board in all actions brought by or against it, unless individually made a party to such action, in which case, this duty shall be performed by the Board Secretary;
- To sign by original or facsimile signature, all District payments drawn and to authorize electronic funds transfers as required by law, except as otherwise delegated by the Board pursuant to Iowa law;
- To develop the agenda for each regular and special meeting of the Board in consultation with the Superintendent, Board Vice President and Board Secretary;
- To serve as a primary spokesperson for the Board to the press and as a liaison to staff and the public;
- To establish and maintain an effective working relationship with the Superintendent, including assisting in the identification and clarification of the roles, shared responsibilities and goals of the Board and the Superintendent on an ongoing basis;
- To assign Board members to Board Committees; and
- Such other duties are 1) required by statute, 2) generally incident to the office of President, or 3) prescribed by the Board from time to time.
The President, in addition to presiding at Board meetings, will take an active role in Board decisions by discussing and voting on each motion before the Board in the same manner as other Board members. Before making or seconding a motion, the President may, but is not required to, turn over control of the meeting either to the Vice President or another Board member.
The President shall have the authority to call special meetings of the Board and such other powers as are granted by statute or Board policy.
In addition to the foregoing, the Board expects that the President will maintain a working knowledge of parliamentary procedure and of current Board policies and will be available should Board members have concerns.
Vice President
The Board shall annually elect a Board Vice-President who shall serve a one-year term of office.
The duties of the Board Vice President shall be as follows:
- To perform the duties of the President in the absence of the President or in the event of the President’s inability or refusal to act, and when so acting have all the powers of, and be subject to all the restrictions on, the office of President;
- To assist the President in the development of the agenda for each regular and special meeting of the Board in consultation with the Superintendent and Board Secretary;
- To consult with the President regarding the President’s assignment of Board members to Board Committees; and
- To perform such other duties as from time to time may be assigned to the Vice President by the President or by the Board.
Nomination Process
Any Board member or Board member-elect who is interested in seeking the position of President or Vice President should provide a statement of interest including any information they deem pertinent to their qualifications for such position. The statement of interest should be submitted to the Board Secretary for distribution to each Board member and Board member-elect no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday preceding the annual or organizational meeting as the case may be.
The nomination and voting process for President will be completed prior to the nomination and voting process for Vice President. The presiding officer will call for nominations. Once a nomination is made, it may, but need not be, seconded.
The presiding officer will allow for all desired nominations to be made and will indicate when nominations are closed. Each nominee will be invited to read their statement of interest, after which the voting will commence.
Voting Process
A ballot vote will be used for elections, but a roll call or voice vote may be taken if the Board so determines by majority vote.
Ballot Vote
In accordance with the Iowa Open Meetings Act, secret ballots are not allowed, and the vote of each member present shall be made public at the meeting and the minutes will show the results of each vote taken and information sufficient to indicate the vote of each member present.
Balloting for each office takes place immediately after nominations for that office are closed. The ballots are taken and counted for the office of President, and the result is announced, after repeated balloting if necessary, before nominations are taken for the office of Vice President.
Each ballot must clearly state the name and position of the nominee being voted for and identify the voting Board member. Ballots will be submitted in such form as directed by the presiding officer, provided that each ballot form shall include the names of all nominees for the position being voted on. Completed ballots are collected and counted by a teller (the Board Secretary or other person appointed by the presiding officer) who reports the number of votes and names of voters for each nominee. The presiding officer shall then announce the results and where a nominee has the requisite majority vote, the presiding officer declares that the nominee elected. If no nominee receives a majority, the presiding officer announces that there has been no election for that office and new ballots shall be distributed, and the process repeated until a nominee is elected.
Ballots and tally reports shall be maintained by the Board Secretary until the time for any recount request has passed.
Voice Vote
For a voice vote, if multiple nominations are made for an office, voting will take place in the order in which the nominations were received. Voting ends once a nominee receives the requisite number of votes for passage (an affirmative majority vote of those members present and voting). For example, if there are three nominees and the first nominee gets the requisite number of votes on the first vote, no vote will be taken on the remaining two nominees since the first nominee will have been duly elected to fill the position.
- First Adoption:
- 1992-10-13
- Revision Adoption:
- September 9, 1997/ July 15, 2003/ April 27, 2009/ January 23, 2012/ October 13, 2014/ February 25, 2019
- Reviewed Dates:
- October 15, 2018/ December 17, 2018/ January 21, 2019/ February 22, 2019
- Legal Reference:
- Iowa Code §§279.1, .5, .20, .33; 291.1, .4