BEDF Voting Method

                                                                                                                                                                                    Code:  BEDF

                                                                                                                                            VOTING METHOD

All action taken, or motions passed or denied, shall be recorded and passed (motion carried) or denied (motion failed) unless a roll call vote is requested by any member, in which event the chairman shall call the roll and the ayes and nays shall be recorded. 

However, election of officers at the organizational meeting of the Board may be by secret ballot.

The chairman of the board shall vote on all issues before the Board.

To pass, any motion must receive an affirmative vote from a majority of the total elected number of school trustees. 

Members must be physically present at board meetings to vote on agenda items or must be available via telephone conference system which enables the Board member to take part in all discussions concerning an agenda item and hear all comments by all Board members and/or other persons permitted to speak on an item and all other Board members must be permitted to hear any comments or discussion of the Board member not present.  Participation in this manner is discouraged and should be done only in exceptional cases. 

It is the right and duty of every member of the board who has an opinion on an issue to express it by his or her vote.

If a member announces a conflict of interest with regard to the issue before the Board, the member may leave the meeting until voting on the issue is concluded.  The conflict will be noted in the official minutes of the meeting and the member will be recorded as having abstained on the issue.

When a tie vote exists on a motion, the motion will be declared to have failed.

Votes will be recorded in the minutes of the meeting by indicating whether the motion passed or motion failed unless a roll call vote is requested, in which event the name of the members voting aye and the name of the members voting nay will be recorded. 

Adoption Date: 11/19/80

Amended: 4/17/14