I. Meeting Called to Order

II. Pledge of Allegiance

III. Administrative Reports

The Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources and the Director of Business Operations prepare reports to the Board that provide information and background on activities within their areas of responsibility. Information in these reports may relate to future agenda items, or may exist for information purposes only. 

IV. Public Comment Speaker Guidelines:

• Please fill out 3x5" card with your name, address, phone number.

• Comments are limited to three minutes per speaker.

• Questions and comments may not identify or address specific personnel or personnel issues.

• The Board reserves the right to defer responses to collect additional information.

• The Board will not actively discuss a public comment unless it appears on the formal agenda.

• Comments and questions must be communicated in an orderly and respectful manner.

• The Board may limit the length of the public comment portion of the meeting in order to address other scheduled school business.

V. Public Comment

In accordance with the Open Meetings Law, the Board allows public comment at meetings. To speak at a Board meeting, email the District Clerk by 12 p.m. the day of the meeting. Regarding any personnel matters, the speaker's comments may not include mentioning any District employee by name. The Board reserves the right to restrict access for a speaker who does not comply with District policies and guidelines.

VI. Recognitions

The Board of Education honors students, staff and community members for accomplishments and efforts that have greatly enhanced the District.

VII. Presentations – Educational initiative evaluation, school programs and school activities are part of most meetings.

VIII. Approval of Minutes

The official minutes of the Hilton Board of Education are reviewed and approved before distribution to the public. Once approved, Board minutes are posted Board of Education’s meeting website, BoardDocs. Members of the community may access BoardDocs through a link on the Hilton Central School District’s Board of Education website..

IX. Reports from Board Members

Board members provide updates on their interaction with District, local, state committees and school-related organizations for which they have been assigned as liaisons.

X. Old Business

Items on this portion of the agenda were previously introduced at a past Board meeting, but were not brought to closure. An example would be policy changes, which must be tabled at the meeting in which the change is first considered, with action occurring at a subsequent meeting.

XI. New Business – Consent and For Discussion

This portion of the agenda represents the primary issues to be voted on at the meeting. The consent portion allows the Board to address multiple issues with one motion. Any items that are deemed to warrant additional discussion are moved from consent to the discussion part of the agenda and discussed individually. Action items requiring time for review and public input will be tabled for at least one meeting (such as textbook approvals, policy revisions and curriculum approvals.)
 
XII. Closure

At the conclusion of the meeting, the Board President will ask the Clerk to read back the potential agenda items that were discussed during the meeting. The Board decides if they would like to add an item to a future agenda. A debriefing also takes place along with any other topics the Board would like to discuss.

Public Hearings

Prior to adoption of the budget or scheduling of other votes, a public hearing is scheduled to provide an opportunity for public input prior to Board action. Persons speaking at a public hearing may do so without prior arrangement. The speaker will be expected to provide his or her name and address, and to confine comments to no more than five minutes on the topic under consideration.

Executive Session

Prior to or following the public portion of the meeting, the Board will often convene an executive session. Under the NYS Open Meetings Law, the Board shall not take any formal action in executive session and may only discuss topics such as negotiations, personnel, litigation and other topics for which the need for confidentiality takes precedence. Executive session is reserved for discussions involving confidential information. Public employees are governed by NYS Education Law and as civil servants are protected by the NYS Constitution and the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution (due process provision). The Board of Education protects the residents and taxpayers of the Hilton School District from liability (defamation and stigma actions) by ensuring confidentiality of personnel issues.