Exhibit 2000: Board and Superintendent Procedures and Protocols

As stewards of the Chappaqua Central School District, the Board aims to maintain a high degree of trust between the Board of Education, the Superintendent of Schools and administrative staff, the teaching staff, and the community.

Board Member Roles/Authority

The Board sees itself primarily as a policy-setting body and delegates the administration of the schools to the Superintendent of Schools and staff. The Board also has fiduciary responsibilities in the governance of the District.
The Board ensures goals and priorities are in place for the District, reviews those goals annually, and makes updates and changes as necessary, taking into account recommendations from the Superintendent.
Board members have authority for the conduct of the District schools only when acting as a body at a properly convened meeting. Board members acting as individuals have no authority to speak for or take action on behalf of the Board.
Board decisions are binding on all Board members.
The Board annually evaluates itself, reviews its protocols, and holds itself to standards of best practice.

Superintendent’s Role/Authority

The Superintendent of Schools is the Chief Executive Officer of the District and is responsible for the administration of the District.
The Superintendent of Schools shall suggest regulations, rules, policies and procedures deemed necessary for the efficient operation of the District.
It is the Superintendent of School’s primary responsibility to provide visionary and inspirational leadership that enables the District to continually improve the educational experience of children.
The Superintendent of Schools is a visible presence in the schools and the larger community.
The Superintendent of Schools provides the Board with the information and analysis it needs to formulate policy and take other appropriate actions.
The Superintendent of Schools creates and sustains a climate of collegiality among members of the staff and parents.

Communication

Individual Board of Education communication with the Superintendent of Schools with regard to important questions, District governance and specific Board matters shall be shared with the rest of the Board of Education.
To ensure equitable and appropriate intra-Board communication, the Superintendent of Schools will, on occasion, reach out to individual Board members as needed. Any substantive issue or concern raised will be directed to the Board President. The question or concern, along with any Superintendent response to a question or concern, will be disseminated to all Board members via email.
The Superintendent of Schools will be the District’s primary provider of news and information to the school community.
Board member requests to the Superintendent for information that is readily available, should copy of Board members. The Superintendent should provide the information to all Board members within a reasonable amount of time. If the Superintendent does not believe the request is for information that is readily available, the Superintendent will ask for consensus of the Board for the request at a public Board meeting.

Board Meeting Procedures

The responsibility for setting the agenda is shared by the Superintendent of Schools and the Board President as set forth in Policy 2000.
Board members, to the extent practicable, shall let the Superintendent of Schools and Board President know, in advance, about issues, errors or omissions which they intend to raise at the Board meeting, and the Superintendent of Schools will do the same.
The Board agenda and back-up materials will generally be distributed to the Board members the Friday prior to the regularly scheduled Board meeting, as practicable.
Board requests for clarification on agenda items should be answered, to the extent practicable, with sufficient time before meetings in order to ensure Board members understand what is being requested of them so they can fulfill their fiduciary duties.
Presentations for Board meetings (even if in draft form) will be made available to the Board Friday prior to the Board meeting.
All legal opinions given by the School Attorney pursuant to this protocol shall be shared with the whole Board and Superintendent of Schools, unless the matter involves the Superintendent’s employment with the District or a claim/litigation brought by an individual Board member, in which event the response will not be shared with that Board member.

Confidentiality

Rules for confidentiality shall be consistent with the Decisions of the Commissioner of Education and the Open Meetings Law.
Discussions in executive session must remain completely confidential.

Community Concerns

Board members will direct parents who call with concerns to work up through the hierarchy, talking to the teacher, the principal, the Superintendent of Schools before involving Board members.
Board members will bring other concerns to the Superintendent of Schools who will determine how to address the issue.
Board members will relay other more substantive criticisms, complaints or suggestions to the Board President who, in turn, will assure circulation to the full Board and refer them to the Superintendent of Schools. The Superintendent does the problem-solving, with staff assistance as necessary. Board members do not attempt the problem-solving including the fact-finding.

Media Contact

All official statements of Board positions, as well as responses to media inquiries on behalf of the Board, come from the Board President or their designee.

Approval of and Amendments to Procedures and Protocols

These procedures and protocols must be formally approved or amended by a majority of the Board of Education at a regular Board meeting. The approval or amendment of these procedures and protocols shall be adopted after no fewer than two readings, unless the second reading is waived by a majority of the Board members.

Adopted January 9, 2019