Board of Education

Regular board meetings are held on the third Monday of the month, unless posted otherwise. These are public meetings where school district business is conducted. During this meeting, the board votes on policy and any other pertinent items that are brought before it for action. The public may voice opinions and provide input to the board during the public input portion of the meeting.

Board work sessions may be called by the president of the board. In general, these meetings provide a venue for informational items to be presented, and board members can receive and discuss in-depth information on a variety of topics. The public may voice opinions and provide input to the board during the public input portion of the meeting.

The board may meet in closed executive session in accordance with the New Mexico Open Meetings Act to discuss topics permitted by the act. These items are described in board policy BEC.

Board retreats are held periodically and are essentially extended work sessions.

Emergency meetings will be called in the event of unforeseen circumstances that, if not addressed by the board immediately, will likely result in injury or damage to persons or property or cause substantial financial loss to the school district. In such a situation, there shall be no public notice or agenda requirement as provided by the New Mexico Open Meetings Act.

Committee meetings are informational meetings that address a specific topic. They are open to the public. Committees are approved by the board, and members of the committees may be appointed by the board president or the board as a whole.

By board action, the Finance Committee meets on the third Monday of the month at 5:00 p.m. (one hour before the regular board meeting).

All meetings of the board of education, including committee meetings, comply with the New Mexico Open Meetings Act.

Agendas for all board meetings are prepared and are posted in a manner that complies with the New Mexico Open Meetings Act. The draft agenda will be available to the public at least seventy-two (72) hours prior to the meeting. Except for emergency matters, the board of education will take action only on the items that have been officially posted on the final agenda at least thirty-six (36) hours prior to the meeting, in compliance with the Open Meetings Act. However, an item may be removed or moved to another position on the agenda by board members at the time of the regular or special meeting before the agenda is accepted by board members.

The Audit Committee evaluates the request for annual financial audit services, recommends the selection of financial auditors, attends the entrance and exit conferences for annual and special audits, and must meet with the external financial auditors at least monthly after audit field work begins until the conclusion of the audit. The committee must be accessible to the external financial auditors, as requested, to facilitate communication with the board and the superintendent, track and report progress on the status of the most recent audit findings, advise the board on policy changes needed to address audit findings, provide other advice and assistance as requested by the board, and be subject to the same requirements regarding the confidentiality of audit information as those imposed upon the board by the Audit Act §12-6-1/12-6-14 NMSA1978 and rules of the state auditor. The board shall appoint one member of the board to serve on the Audit Committee in addition to the elected committee chair. The board shall also appoint additional Audit Committee members to consist of one volunteer member who is a parent of a student attending the district and one volunteer member who has experience in accounting or financial matters. The superintendent and chief financial officer serve as ex officio members of the Audit Committee.

The Finance Committee includes two board members appointed by the president of the board. The committee makes recommendations to the board and serves as an external monitoring committee. The committee agenda shall include presentations and or reports from the chief financial officer. The committee agenda may include public comment at the discretion of the committee chair, the superintendent, and/or designee. Any public comment if not included on the agenda shall be in accordance with policy BEDH.

The Finance Committee shall make recommendations to the board in the following areas: financial planning (including reviews of the district’s revenue and expenditure projections), review of financial statements and periodic monitoring of revenues and expenses, the annual budget preparation, oversight, and procurement. The Finance Committee may serve as an external monitoring committee on budget and other financial matters.