Diane Blevins Posted May 7, 2007 Report Share Posted May 7, 2007 Proceedings of the Board of Trustees District No. 2, Yellowstone County High School District No. 2, Yellowstone County Billings, Montana April 20, 2007 Call to Order The Special Meeting of the Board of Trustees of School District No. 2, Yellowstone County, Montana, and High School District, Yellowstone County, Montana, was duly held at The Lincoln Center, 415 North 30th Street, Billings, Montana, April 20, 2007, at 11:30 a.m. Those present included: Trustees Sandra Mossman, Joel Guthals, Mary Jo Fox, Kathy Aragon, Dawn Achten, and Malcolm Goodrich. Superintendent Jack Copps, District Clerk Leo Hudetz, Trustees Kelker, Getz and Messerly were absent. The registered guest was Jerry Hansen. Communication from the Public The Board recognizes the value of public comment on educational issues and the importance of listening to members of the public in its meetings. The Board also recognizes the statutory and constitutional right of the public to participate in governmental operations. The Board encourages members of the public to participate in and express opinions about issues important to the District. This part of the board’s meeting is dedicated to public comment on any public matter that is not on the agenda of this meeting and is within the jurisdiction of the Board of Trustees. Members of the public may also address particular items on this agenda either now or at the time the Board considers the particular item. Jerry Hansen addressed the Board and stated he did not review the acclamation issue as well as he should have before coming to the last Board meeting with his concern. He felt the discussion on Monday evening was very positive and it was good that the Trustees were educating themselves on the matter. Tabled Item Regarding Trustee Election by Acclamation Trustee Guthals made the following motion with a second by Trustee Mossman: Motion to remove from the table the motion to declare the elementary positions by acclamation. Those voting in favor were Dawn Achten, Kathy Aragon, Mary Jo Fox, Malcolm Goodrich, and Sandra Mossman. The motion passed unanimously. Jeff Weldon, the District’s legal counsel, reviewed the history of elementary and high school Trustee elections by acclamation. Many school districts have followed the practice in the past of declaring trustee candidates winner by acclamation whether or not a mill levy election is held. Both districts can conduct elections by acclamation with resolutions as cited in Montana Code sections 20-3-313 and 13-1-304. Trustee Fox asked if a write-in candidate could not win if he/she did not file to run by April 12th. Mr. Weldon responded that was correct. Duane Winslow, Election Officer, reported everything cited by Jeff Weldon was correct. He further reported that absentee ballots have been mailed out to the voters. Trustee Guthals asked Mr. Weldon for his opinion if this Board was complying with State law. Mr. Weldon reported it was. Trustee Guthals asked Mr. Weldon if he concurred with the memo from the Office of Public Instruction, dated April 8, 2003, entitled ‘Declaring Trustee Elections by Acclamation’. Mr. Weldon stated he concurred, as he was legal counsel for the Office of Public Instruction on April 8th, 2003. Trustee Achten asked what happens now in the other two zones if we do not get any write-in candidates or there is no one to go forward to appoint. Mr. Weldon reported the vacancy goes to the County Superintendent’s office and would occur after the organizational meeting. Trustee Mossman asked if the Board refers to the elementary trustees as elementary/high school trustees. Mr. Weldon stated it is always been referred to as an elementary district until 1956 when the high school district was created. All of the Board, except two who are high school only, serve as elementary/high school trustees. Trustee Achten made the following motion with a second by Trustee Mossman: Motion to elect by acclamation in Zone 3 Mary Jo Fox for Board Trustee. Trustee Guthals asked if he could vote for the motion, as he was a high school trustee. Mr. Weldon reported he would be casting a vote on behalf of the high school district. If he were to vote on an elementary issue by mistake, it would have no affect. Trustee Guthals stated the allegation was made that the Board does not know the law or follow the law. He reported he takes the laws of the State very seriously. Administrative personnel also take the laws of this State very seriously. Trustee Guthals stated he has read the ‘School Laws of Montana’. He told Mr. Hansen, and others who criticize the Board and District, he was 100% wrong. He stated that citizens have the right to address the Board and present information for the Board to consider. But when a citizen appears before the Board and exercises that right, Trustee Guthals expected the citizen to have the responsibility of researching and understanding the information that is being presented so the Board can rely upon the credibility of the person presenting the information. Those voting in favor of the motion were Dawn Achten, Kathy Aragon, Mary Jo Fox, Malcolm Goodrich, and Sandra Mossman. The motion passed unanimously. Trustee Mossman made the following motion with a second by Trustee Guthals: Motion to approve the resolution outlined as Agenda Item D-2 of electing Kathleen Aragon by acclamation for a two-year term to the Board of Trustees of Billings Public Schools from Elementary/High School Single Member District – Zone 4 effective with the Reorganization of the Board of Trustees in May 2007. Those voting in favor were Dawn Achten, Kathy Aragon, Mary Jo Fox, Malcolm Goodrich, and Sandra Mossman. The motion passed unanimously. Trustee Mossman made the following motion with a second by Trustee Guthals: Motion to approve the resolution as outlined in Agenda Item D-3 of electing Malcolm Goodrich by acclamation for three-year term to the Board of Trustees of Billings Public Schools from Elementary/High School Single Member District – Zone 7 effective with the Reorganization of the Board of Trustees in May 2007. Those voting in favor were Dawn Achten, Kathy Aragon, Mary Jo Fox, Malcolm Goodrich, and Sandra Mossman. The motion passed unanimously. As there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 12:10 p.m. Malcolm Goodrich, Chair Diane Blevins, Recorder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.