Public Board Meeting
This document has been made available to all members of the public attending an Open Meeting of the Montessori Regional Charter School Board of Trustees. The public is encouraged to read this document to understand the roles and responsibilities of the Montessori School Board and to understand the role and participation of the public at a Montessori Board meeting. This document will be read at the opening of every Montessori School Board meeting when there is public present.
Welcome to a Public Board Meeting of the Montessori Regional Charter School Board of Trustees.
The Board of Trustees is a governing body of the Montessori Regional Charter School and is bound to represent the interests of the owners of the school – the taxpayers of the State of Pennsylvania.
There are many interested parties or stakeholders in the school, such as parents, employees, students, the community or the interests of any particular group.
However, there is only one owner – the taxpayers.
The Board of Trustees is responsible for ensuring that the school is fulfilling its legal responsibilities and oversees the financial operation to guarantee that the school’s finances are sound, efficient and ethical.
The Board of Trustees is also responsible for establishing long-term goals and objectives that are in line with the stated mission of the Charter.
The Board operates as a group. Individual Board members are prohibited from discussing Board business with any member of the public or from representing themselves as the Board outside the scope of the Board Meetings.
The Board of Trustees speaks as one voice and that voice is expressed through voting.
The Board does not involve itself in the operations of the school, including the specifics of policies and procedures, student discipline, employment issues, program management or implementation.
Again, our job is to set parameters and goals and to ensure that the school operates legally, ethically and effectively.
Finally, under the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act, the Board of Trustees is permitted to conduct portions of this meeting in private. Any discussion of personnel, pending litigation or real estate will be held in Executive Session. No voting takes place in Executive Sessions. Executive sessions are usually planned for the end of the public meeting and can be lengthy.
I hope that this has given you a good overview of the process and purpose of the Board of Trustees.
QUESTION – IS THERE ANY PUBLIC SPEAKING TODAY? Please sign in now.
The Board of Trustees appreciates your input and comments however it is unlikely that we will comment or answer questions in this forum.
We have set aside time at the beginning of each meeting for public comment as follows:
- Comments must be confined to three minutes – you will be advised when your time is up.
- Public comments represent the individual speaker’s viewpoint. The Board will not consider a speaker to be representing anyone’s views but their own.
- Please use the podium that has been provided.
- Address the Board as a whole and not individuals.
- Be respectful, courteous and maintain proper demeanor at all times – the Board will not tolerate foul or abusive language, threatening words, or personal attacks on any individual.
- It is our expectation that you will exhibit good manners and polite behavior during the meeting. Please refrain from holding separate conversations or commenting to other members of the public during the meeting
- Public comment portion of the Board meeting is not designed to hear or remedy grievances.
- If you have a grievance, please refer to the grievance procedure on the website to ensure that your grievance is heard and effectively handled.
Revised: 8-2017