RULES OF THE BOARD OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE. CHAPTER I. Organization of the Board.. the Board. SECTION 1. At all meetings of the Board of School Organization of Committee, the Mayor, styled President, shall preside; in his absence, the President of the Common Council shall preside; and in the absence of both the Mayor and President of the Common Council, a President pro tempore shall be chosen by ballot. SECT. 2. At the first meeting in each year, the Board shall elect a Secretary by ballot, and fix his salary for the ensuing year; and the President shall appoint, subject to the approval of the Board, the following Standing Committees of five members each, viz: 1. On Elections; -2. On Rules and Regulations; -mittees. 3. On Accounts; 4. On Schoolhouses; - 5. On Salaries; 6. On Text-Books; -7. On Music; - 8. On Printing ; * and the following, of thirteen members each, one member to be selected from each of the twelve wards of the city, viz: 1. On the Latin School; — 2. On the English High School; -3. On the Girls' High and Normal School. Standing Com SECT. 3. For convenience in the management of the Districts. * See note on page 14. mittees. District Com within its boundaries; the President shall appoint, at the first meeting of the Board in each year, and subject to its approval, a Standing Committee on each District, whose number, in each case, shall be proportionate to the number of schools in the District. Chairmen of sub-commit tees. Annual and quarterly meetings. Quorum. Vacancies in the Board. SECT. 4. The member first named on any committee, shall be the chairman thereof; except that the Committee on the Latin School, on the English High School, on the Girls' High and Normal School, and each District Committee, shall respectively elect its own chairman. SECT. 5. The Board shall hold its annual meeting for the election of teachers on the second Tuesday in June, and three other stated quarterly meetings on the second Tuesday in March, September, and December, at seven and a half o'clock, P. M., at such place as the President may appoint; and the Board may hold special meetings whenever they are deemed necessary. SECT. 6. For a quorum, a majority of the Board must be present; but a less number may vote to send for absent members, and to adjourn. Whenever the Board is obliged to wait, after the hour appointed for the meeting, for a quorum to begin business, or whenever it has to suspend business and adjourn for want of a quorum, the roll shall be called and the names of the absentees recorded by the Secretary. SECT. 7. Whenever a vacancy occurs in this Board, a Committee shall be appointed, consisting of three members from the ward in which the vacancy exists, and two at large, who shall consult with the Aldermen of said ward, or with the Chairman of the Board of Aldermen, in case the ward is not represented in that branch, and report to this Board, on or before the day of election, the name of a suitable candidate to fill said vacancy. CHAPTER II. Powers and Duties of the President. meetings. SECTION 1. The President shall take the chair pre- Opening of cisely at the hour appointed for the meeting of the Board, and shall call the members to order, and, on the appearance of a quorum, he shall cause the records of the last meeting to be read, and shall proceed to business in the following order, and shall not depart from it unless authorized by a vote of the Board. 1. Papers from the City Council; 2. Unfinished business of preceding meetings; 3. Nomination and Confirmation of Teachers; 4. Reports of Committees; 5. Motions, Orders, Resolutions, Petitions, &c. The Nomination and Confirmation of Teachers shall be called for in the order of the districts. Order of business. President. SECT. 2. The President shall preserve order and Duties of the decorum in the meetings; he may speak to points of order in preference to other members, and shall decide all questions of order, subject to an appeal to the Board, on motion of any member regularly seconded, and no other business shall be in order till the question on the appeal shall have been decided. SECT. 3. When two or more members rise to speak same. at the same time, the President shall name the member who may speak first. SECT. 4. He shall rise to address the Board, and to Same. put a question, but may read sitting. He shall declare all votes; but if any member doubt the vote, the President, without debate, shall require the members voting Committee of the Whole. Yeas and nays. Motions. Motion to adjourn. Previous ques tion. to rise and stand until they are counted, and he shall declare the result. SECT. 5. The President shall appoint the chairman when the Board goes into Committee of the Whole; at any other time he may call any member to the chair, but such substitution shall not continue longer than one meeting. He may express his opinion on any subject under debate; but in such case, he shall leave the chair, and shall not resume it while the same question is pending; but he may state facts, and give his opinion on questions of order, without leaving his place. SECT. 6. The President shall take the sense of the Board by Yeas and Nays, whenever one fifth of the members present sustain a motion therefor. SECT. 7. All questions shall be propounded by the President in the order in which they are moved, unless the subsequent motion shall be previous in its nature; except that in naming sums and fixing times, the largest sum and the longest time shall be put first. After a motion is seconded, and stated by the President, it shall be disposed of by vote of the Board, unless the mover withdraw it before a decision or an amendment. SECT. 8. The President shall consider a motion to adjourn as always in order, except when a member has the floor, or when a question has been put and not decided; and motions to adjourn, to lay upon the table, to take from the table, and for the previous question, shall be decided without debate. Any member who moves to adjourn to a day certain, shall assign his reasons for so doing. SECT. 9. He shall put the previous question in the following form: "Shall the main question be now put?" and all debate shall be suspended until the previous question shall have been decided. The adoption of the previ ous question shall put an end to all debate, to bring the Board to a direct vote upon pending amendments, if any, in their regular order, and then upon the main question. SECT. 10. Whenever in his opinion it is necessary, Call of special the President may, and at the written request of any five members, he shall call a special meeting of the Board; but no meeting of the Board shall be called on shorter notice than twenty-four hours. meetings. committees. SECT. 11. All Committees shall be nominated by Appointment of the President, unless otherwise ordered by the Board. CHAPTER III. Rights and Duties of Members. bers in debate. SECTION 1. When any member is about to speak in Duties of memdebate, or to present any matter to the Board, he shall rise in his place, and respectfully address the President; shall confine himself to the question under debate, and avoid personality. No member in debate shall mention another by his name, but may describe him by the ward. he represents, the place he sits in, or such other designation as may be intelligible and respectful. SECT. 2. No member while speaking shall be inter- Call to order. rupted by another, but by rising to call to order, or to correct a mistake. But if any member, in speaking or otherwise, transgress the rules of the Board, the President shall, or any member may, call him to order; in which case the member so called to order shall immediately sit down, unless permitted to explain; and the Board, if appealed to, shall decide on the case, but without debate. SECT. 3. If the Board shall determine that a mem- Violation of ber has violated any of its Rules, he shall not be allowed Rules. B |