VSBA Draft
Governance Reform Proposal Legislation
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§ 261a. Duties of supervisory union board[1]
The board of each supervisory union shall ensure, through the development of policies, job descriptions, strategic plans and accountability systems, that the superintendent or his or her designee:
(1) set policy to coordinate
curriculum plans among the sending and receiving schools in that supervisory
union. The curriculum plans shall meet the requirements adopted by the state
board under subdivision 165(a)(3)(B) of this title;
(2) take reasonable steps to assist assist
each school in the supervisory union to follow its respective
curriculum plan as adopted under the requirements of the state board pursuant
to subdivision 165(a)(3)(B) of this title;
(3) if students residing in the supervisory union
receive their education outside the supervisory union, periodically annually
review the compatibility of the supervisory union's curriculum
plans with those other schools;
(4) in accordance with criteria established by the state board, establish and implement a plan for receiving and disbursing federal and state funds distributed by the department of education, including funds awarded under P.L. 89-10, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 as amended;
(5) provide for the establishment of a written policy
on plan and
implement professional development programs forof
teachers employed in the supervisory union. and
periodically review that policy. The policy may provide
financial assistance outside the negotiated agreements for teachers'
professional development activities and may require the superintendent periodically
to develop and offer professional development activities within the supervisory
union;
(6) provide or, if agreed upon by
unanimous vote at a supervisory union meeting, coordinate provision of the
following educational services on behalf of member districts:
(A) special education;
(B) except as provided in section 144b of this title, compensatory and remedial services; and
(C) other services as directed by the state board and local boards;
(7) employ a person or persons qualified to manage
the supervisory union accounts and the accounts of the school districts within
the supervisory union;
(8) at the option of the supervisory union, provide the following services for the benefit of member
districts according to joint agreements under section 267 of
this title:
(A) centralized purchasing;
(B) construction management;
(C) budgeting, accounting and other financial management;
(D) teacher negotiations;
(E) transportation; and
(F) other appropriate services as
provided for in joint agreements under section 267 of this title;
(9) require that the superintendent as executive
officer of the supervisory union board be responsible to the
commissioner and state board for reporting on all financial transactions within
the supervisory union. On or before August 15 of each year, the superintendent,
using a format approved by the commissioner, shall forward to the commissioner
a report describing the financial operations of the supervisory union for the
preceding school year. The state board may withhold any state funds from
distribution to a supervisory union until such returns are made;[2]
(10) submit to the town auditors of each member school district, on or before January 15 of each year, a summary report of financial operations of the supervisory union for the preceding school year, an estimate of its financial operations for the current school year, and a preliminary budget for the supervisory union for the ensuing school year. This requirement shall not apply to a supervisory district. For each school year, the report shall show the actual or estimated amount of state aid for special education awarded to the supervisory union, including the amount generated by, and the amount allocated to each school district within the supervisory union;
(11) on or before June 30 of each year, the supervisory union board shall adopt a budget for the ensuing school year.
§ 242. Duties of superintendents
The superintendent shall be the chief executive officer for each school board in the supervisory union or district, and shall:
(1) promulgate administrative rules
as necessary to carry out the policies adopted by the school board
relating to the educational or business affairs of the school district;
(2) identify the educational goals and objectives of
the school district and prepare plans to achieve theose
goals and objectives for adoption adopted by
the school boards in the supervisory union;
(3) recommend that the school board employ or dismiss persons as necessary to carry out the work
of duties assigned to the supervisory
unionschool district;[3]
(4) furnish the commissioner data and information
required by the commissioner; and be responsible to the
commissioner and state board for reporting on all financial transactions within
the supervisory union. The state board may withhold any state funds from
distribution to a supervisory union until such returns are made;[4]
and
(5) provide for the general supervision of the public schools in the supervisory union or district.
§ 244. Appointment and Duties of principals
(a) The principal shall be employed by the school board of the district following the receipt of recommendations made by the superintendent.
(ba) The
principal shall perform all duties specifically assigned by law or by the
superintendent of the school district including the administration of policies
adopted by the school board. The performance by the principal
of
his or her duties shall be answerable to annually
evaluated by the superintendent who
shall make recommendations as to the principal’s continued
employment to the board of the school district
employing the principal. in the performance of
his or her duties.
(c) The
principal shall employ such persons as may be necessary to
carry out the work of the school and shall dismiss any
employee when necessary.[5]
(d) Annually, the principal
shall inform each secondary student and the student's parents or guardians of
the right to opt out of the federal requirement that student contact
information be provided to military recruiters or institutions of higher
education pursuant to 20 U.S.C. § 7908(a). A school board shall enable the
secondary student and the student's parents or guardians to disallow provision
of student contact information to either military recruiters or institutions of
higher education, while allowing provision of information to the other. For
purposes of this subdivision, "secondary student" means a pupil in
grade 9, 10, 11, or 12.[6]
(e)
Annually, the principal shall inform students
and their parents or guardians of their options for school choice under
applicable laws or policy.
(f) The
principal shall annually:
(i)
inform parents of students with life-threatening allergies and life-threatening
chronic illnesses of applicable provisions of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973 and other applicable federal statutes, state statutes, federal
regulations, and state rules;
(ii) inform appropriate school staff of their responsibilities;
and
(iii) provide necessary training to carry out these
responsibilities.
(g) The
principal may make available school facilities and equipment
for specified public purposes if such purposes appear, in the judgment of the principal, to
be in the best interests of the district and are an efficient, economical, and
appropriate use of the facilities and equipment.
(b) Without the approval of the state board of education, high school principals shall not be charged with supervisory responsibility outside of the high school.
§ 562. Powers of electorate
At a school district meeting, the electorate:
(1) Shall conduct meetings in accordance with Roberts Rules of Order, unless other rules of order are specifically adopted at a meeting;
(2) Shall elect a moderator at the annual meeting who shall preside at the district meetings, regulate the business thereof, decide questions of order, and make a public declaration of every vote. The moderator may administer oaths to district officers and newly elected school board members. In the moderator's absence, a moderator pro tempore shall be chosen to preside;
(3) May elect a school district clerk at the annual meeting who shall keep a true record of all proceedings at each district meeting, certify its records, make an attested copy of any records of the district for any person upon request and tender of reasonable fees therefor, if so appointed serve as secretary of the school board, and perform such other duties as may be required by law;
(4) May authorize the school board to retain a public accountant, licensed in this state, to examine the accounts of the treasurer and the school board at the close of each fiscal year and at such other times whenever necessary, and report to the district whether the same are correctly cast and properly vouched;
(5) May vote annual salaries for school board members;
(6) May authorize the payment of actual and necessary
expenses of school board members when traveling in the performance of duty;
(7) May authorize the school board to enter into leases of real property for more than three years, to purchase buildings or sites for school purposes, to locate and erect schoolhouses, and to sell, or otherwise dispose of, schoolhouses or sites for same;
(8) Shall authorize at each annual school district meeting an amount of money from all revenue sources to be expended by the board for the support of public schools; and, except for one-time purchase items which the board warns as a separate article, the board shall determine how the authorized funds shall be expended;
(9) May authorize the school board to borrow money by issuance of bonds, or notes not in excess of anticipated revenue for the school year;
(10) Shall elect school board directors and other school district officers.[7] as
are required for each class of school district.
§ 563. Powers of school boards; form of vote if budget exceeds benchmark and district spending is above average
The school board of a school district, in addition to other duties and authority specifically assigned by law:
(1) Shall determine the educational policies of the school district. Board
policies shall be of general application to the district,
shall be in writing, codified, and made available to the public. Board policies
shall be adopted at regular or special school board meetings. A school board
shall give public notice of its intent to adopt a board policy, stating the
substance of the proposed policy, at least ten days prior to its adoption. A
school board may also approve or disapprove rules and regulations proposed by
the principal or superintendent for the conduct and management of public
schools in the district.Where applicable, the
school board shall ensure compliance of the school district with the policies
and procedures adopted by the supervisory union pursuant to Section 261a
of this Title.[8]
(2) May take any action, which is required for the sound administration of the school district. The commissioner, with the advice of the attorney general, upon application of a school board, shall decide whether any action contemplated or taken by a school board under this subdivision is required for the sound administration of the district and is proper under this subdivision. The commissioner's decision shall be final.
(3) Shall have the possession, care, control and management of the property of the school district, subject to the authority vested in the electorate or any school district official.
(4) [Repealed.]
(5) Shall keep ensure that the
school buildings and grounds are kept in good repair, suitably
equipped, insured and in safe and sanitary condition at all times. The school
board shall regulate or prohibit firearms or other dangerous or deadly weapons
on school premises. At a minimum, a school board shall adopt and implement a
policy at least consistent with section 1166 of this title and section 4004 of
Title 13, relating to a student who brings a firearm to or possesses a firearm
at school.
(6) Shall have discretion to furnish May
establish policies as needed to provide instruction to pupils who
have completed a secondary education and to administer operate,
or contract for the provision of, early educational programs.
(7) May relocate or discontinue use of a schoolhouse or facility, subject to the provisions of section 821 and section 822 of this title.
(8) Shall establish and maintain a system for receipt, deposit,
disbursement, accounting, control, and reporting procedures that meets the
criteria established by the state board pursuant to subdivision 164(15) of this
title and that ensures that all payments are lawful and in accordance with a
budget adopted or amended by the school board. The school board may shall
authorize a subcommittee, the superintendent of
schools, or a his or her designee,ated employee
of the school board to examine claims against the district for
school expenses and draw orders for such as shall be allowed by it payable to
the party entitled thereto. Such orders shall state definitely the purpose for
which they are drawn and shall serve as full authority to the treasurer to make
such payments. It shall be lawful for a school board to submit to its treasurer
a certified copy of those portions of the board minutes, properly signed by the
clerk and chair, or a majority of the board, showing to whom, and for what
purpose each payment is to be made by the treasurer, and such certified copy
shall serve as full authority to the treasurer to make the payments as thus
approved.
(9) Shall establish with the advice and consent of the auditor
of accounts and the commissioner, a system of accounts
for the proper control and annually
reporting onf
school district finances and for stating the annual
financial condition of the school district.
(10) Shall prepare and distribute to the
electorate, not less than ten days prior to the district's annual meeting, a
report of the conditions and needs of the district school system, including the
superintendent's, supervisory union treasurer's, and school district
treasurer's annual report for the previous school year, the balance of any
reserve funds established pursuant to 24 V.S.A. § 2804, a summary of the town
auditor's report as to fiscal years which are audited by town auditors as
required by 24 V.S.A. § 1681, a summary of the public accountant's report as to
fiscal years which are audited by a public accountant, and a notice of the time
and place where the full report of the town auditor or the public accountant
will be available for inspection and copying at cost. Each town auditor's and
public accountant's report shall comply with 24 V.S.A. § 1683(a). At a school
district's annual meeting, the electorate may vote to provide notice of
availability of the report required by this subdivision to the electorate in
lieu of distributing the report. If the electorate of the school district votes
to provide notice of availability, it must specify how notice of availability
shall be given, and such notice of availability shall be provided to the
electorate at least 30 days before the district's annual meeting.
Subdivision
(11) shall apply to budgets for fiscal years 2010 (school year 2009-2010)
through 2014 (school year 2013-2014) only.
(11)(A) Shall prepare and distribute
annually a proposed budget for the next school year according to such major
categories as may from time to time be prescribed by the commissioner.
(B) If the proposed budget contains education
spending in excess of the Maximum Inflation Amount, and the district's
education spending per equalized pupil in the fiscal year preceding the year
for which the budget is proposed was in excess of the statewide average
district education spending per equalized pupil in that same fiscal year, as
determined by the commissioner of education, then in lieu of any other
statutory or charter form of budget adoption or budget vote, the board shall
present the budget to the voters by means of a divided question, in the form of
vote provided in subdivision (ii) of this subdivision.
(i) "Maximum Inflation Amount" in this
section means:
(I) the statewide average district education
spending per equalized pupil, as defined in subdivision 4001(6) of this title,
in the fiscal year preceding the year for which the budget is proposed, as
determined by the commissioner of education, multiplied by the New England
Economic Project Cumulative Price Index percentage change, as of November 15
preceding distribution of the proposed budget, for state and local government
purchases of goods and services for the fiscal year for which the budget is
proposed, plus one percentage point; plus the district's education spending per
equalized pupil in the fiscal year preceding the year for which the budget is
proposed, as determined by the commissioner of education;
(II) multiplied by the higher of the following
amounts as determined by the commissioner of education: (aa) the district's
equalized pupil count in the fiscal year preceding the year for which the
budget is proposed; or (bb) the district's equalized pupil count in the fiscal year
for which the budget is proposed.
(ii) Form of vote.
=us "School Budget Question #1:
Shall the voters of the School District approve a
total budget in the amount of [$ ], which includes the Maximum Inflation Amount
of education spending?
=us "School Budget Question #2:
If Question #1 is approved, shall the voters of the
School District also approve additional education spending of [$ ]?"[9]
(AC) At a
school district's annual meeting, the electorate may vote to provide notice of
availability of the school budget required by this subdivision to the
electorate in lieu of distributing the budget. If the electorate of the school
district votes to provide notice of availability, it must specify how notice of
availability shall be given, and such notice of availability shall be provided
to the electorate at least 30 days before the district's annual meeting. The
proposed budget shall be prepared and distributed at least ten days before a
sum of money is voted on by the electorate. Any proposed budget shall show the
following information in a format prescribed by the commissioner of education:
(i) all revenues from all sources and expenses, including as separate items any assessment for a union school district or a supervisory union of which it is a member, and any tuition to be paid to a technical center;
(ii) the specific amount of any deficit incurred in the most recently closed fiscal year and how the deficit was or will be remedied;
(iii) the anticipated homestead tax rate and the percentage of household income used to determine income sensitivity in the district as a result of passage of the budget; including those portions of the tax rate attributable to the union school and supervisory union assessments; and
(iv) in the case of a school district:
(I) other than a union school district, the definition of "education spending," the number of pupils and number of equalized pupils in the school district, and the district's education spending per equalized pupil in the proposed budget and in each of the prior three years; or
(II) in the case of a union school district, the amount of the assessment to each of the member districts and the amount of the assessments per equalized pupil in the proposed budget and for the past three years.
(12) In accord with regulations of the state board of
education, Sshall
employ a full or part-time principal to administer each
school in the district, and shall dismiss a
principal when necessary.such persons as may be
required to carry out the work of the school district and dismiss any employee
when necessary. The school board shall consider the recommendation
of the superintendent before employing or dismissing a principal any
person.
(13) Shall prepare annually, on or before August 5, a report for the school
district containing, on forms prescribed and furnished by the commissioner, a
classified statement under oath of the accrued expenditures of the school
district for the preceding school year for school purposes, and such other
information as the commissioner prescribes. Such report shall be
prepared in triplicate, one copy shall be retained by the superintendent, and
one copy shall be sent to the school district clerk and the other sent to the
commissioner on or before August 15. A district shall not be
entitled to receive any portion of school money distributed by the state unless
such returns are made.
(14) Shall provide, at the expense of the district, subject to the approval of the superintendent, all text books, learning materials, equipment and supplies.
(15) Shall exercise the general powers given to a legislative branch of a municipality.
(16) May execute contracts on behalf of the school district, including contracts providing for binding arbitration, by its chair or any person designated whose appointment is recorded in the minutes of the board.
(17) Shall employ a public accountant at least once in each period of three years to audit the financial statements of the school district. However, if the town has voted to eliminate the office of auditor under section 2651b of Title 17, the school board shall employ a public accountant annually to audit the financial statements of the school district pursuant to that section. The school board may authorize an audit in conjunction with another school district or a supervisory union.
(18) [Repealed.]
(19) Shall allow any high school student, who meets the academic requirements of the high school, to graduate and receive a diploma in less than four years.
(20) Shall establish policies and procedures designed to avoid the appearance of board member conflict of interest.
(21) Shall have the authority to engage in short-term borrowing to cover the costs of those portions of projects approved by the state board and which will be reimbursed by the state board under sections 3447-3456 of this title but which payments will be delayed. However, the board shall borrow under this subdivision only amounts which it would receive if the state board could fund its obligation and may borrow no earlier than the time it would have received the funds. The state shall not pay for costs of borrowing funds under this subdivision.
(22) May apply for grants and may accept and expend grants or gifts. The board shall include, in its annual report, a description of all grants or gifts accepted during the year and associated expenditures.
(23) May, at the expense of the district, present informational materials to the electorate on any matter to be voted. However, such materials shall be limited to those that are reasonably designed to inform, educate and explain to the electorate the board's position on the matter.
(24) Shall adopt a policy which, in accordance
with rules adopted by the state board of education, will integrate
home study students into its schools through enrollment in courses,
participation in cocurricular and extracurricular activities and use of
facilities.
(25) Shall, if it is a school board of a school district which maintains a secondary school, upon request, award a high school diploma to any Vermont resident who served in the military in World War II, the Korean War, or during the Vietnam era, was honorably separated from active federal military service, and does not hold a high school diploma. The state board shall develop and make available an application form for veterans who wish to request a high school diploma.
(26) Shall carry out the duties of a local education agency, as that term is defined in 20 U.S.C. § 7801(26), for purposes of determining pupil performance and application of consequences for failure to meet standards and for provision of compensatory and remedial services pursuant to 20 U.S.C. §§ 6311-6318.
(27) Annually, shall inform each secondary student
and the student's parents or guardians of the right to opt out of the federal
requirement that student contact information be provided to military recruiters
or institutions of higher education pursuant to 20 U.S.C. § 7908(a). A school
board shall enable the secondary student and the student's parents or guardians
to disallow provision of student contact information to either military
recruiters or institutions of higher education, while allowing provision of
information to the other. For purposes of this subdivision, "secondary
student" means a pupil in grade 9, 10, 11, or 12.
(28) Annually, shall inform students and their
parents or guardians of their options for school choice under applicable laws
or policy.
(29) Shall assign an employee to annually:
(A) inform parents of students with
life-threatening allergies and life-threatening chronic illnesses of applicable
provisions of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and other
applicable federal statutes, state statutes, federal regulations, and state
rules;
(B) inform appropriate school staff of their
responsibilities; and
(C) provide necessary training to carry out these
responsibilities.
(30) May make available school facilities and
equipment for specified public purposes if such purposes appear, in the
judgment of the board, to be in the best interests of the district and are an
efficient, economical, and appropriate use of the facilities and equipment.
(27) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the
contrary, shall refer all quasi-judicial functions assigned to school boards to
hearing officers retained and assigned by the Commissioner of Education.[10]
[1] These statutory changes are intended to give supervisory unions more clear authority to coordinate curriculum and provide services than they are currently given. If supervisory union powers expand, the nature of supervisory unions as legal entities should be reviewed. Currently, supervisory unions are not municipalities, have no electorate, are not required to follow one-person-one-vote requirements and are empowered to assess school districts for the costs of their operations.
[2] See Section 242(4)
[3] Note that this provision empowers superintendents to manage personnel without supervisory union board approval of hiring or dismissal decisions. The superintendent is directly accountable to the supervisory union board for his or her personnel actions.
[4] See Section 261a(9)
[5] Note that this provision gives Principals the power to hire and dismiss employees without approval by the school board. The Principal is directly accountable to the board for his or her personnel actions. See Section 563(12) below.
[6] See Sections 563(27-30) below.
[7] See 16 V.S.A. §426 making town treasurers school district treasurers unless otherwise voted by the school district electorate. Section 426 should be reviewed and revised. Town and school district treasurer functions should be separated.
[8] Consideration should be given to the question of how much authority S.U. boards should have to adopt policies that district school boards must accept without change. In areas of non-discrimination, harassment and hazing for example, consistent policies throughout a supervisory union would make implementation of those polices efficient and consistent.
[9] The deleted sections in subsection (11) are from Act 82 of 2007.
[10] This provision would remove school boards from acting as hearing boards for appeals in student discipline, employee termination and school district residency cases. Appeals in these cases would be decided by hearing officers employed by the state.