In other business during the board’s September 23 meeting, the board approved 13 sets of bylaws, policies, and regulations that guide the board and set forth rules for employees and students when it comes to legal services; professional services; public participation in board meetings; nepotism; public relations; electronic surveillance in school buildings, school grounds, and on school vehicles; political contributions; gang and gang-related activity; volunteer athletic coaches; school volunteers; and contribution to board members and contract awards.##M:[more]##
Eleven of the thirteen bylaws were mandated by the state, explained Thomas Smith, the assistant superintendent for planning and pupil services. Board members, including Robert Johnson were critical of the state for forcing districts to push through these bylaws without giving them options for reviewing or changing the language to apply it to their own district’s characteristics.
Under the policies, the board set forth that it will not vote upon or award any contract in the amount of $17,”500 or greater to any business that has made a contribution reportable by the recipient to a member of the board, during the preceding one-year period.
The policies also outlaw the tagging or defacing of school property with gang names, slogans, or insignias, conducting gang initiations; or participating in or recruiting others for gang activities. Also in accordance with the policies, students are prohibited from wearing bandanas, beads in gang colors and patterns, clothing, accessories, or symbols endorsing gang activity; participating in nonverbal communication, like hand symbols, that can be taken as promoting a gang; having tattoos indicating gang relations or involvement; or making comments that reference a connection to a gang. The bylaws specifically referenced three phrases: “What’s crackin’,” “snitches get stitches,” and “blat” as examples of banned phrases.
The bylaws also set a list of qualifications for those who want to volunteer at the schools or as coaches, and set the responsibilities for those volunteers.
Under the new bylaws, public comment is limited to two minutes’ duration. The new policies also set forth a public relations program in which the board is given the power to determine “which of its official actions have sufficient community impact and interest to warrant special releases.” In addition, “the board alone will release to the news media information about those matters of importance.”
The nepotism bylaw was adopted as a condition of receiving state aid, the bylaw stated. The policy states that “no relative of a board member or the superintendent of schools shall be employed in an office or position in this school district except that a person employed by the school district on the effective date of this policy or the date a relative becomes a board member or superintendent shall not be prohibited from continuing to be employed in the person’s current position, or in the case of a reduction in force, in any position to which that person has a legal entitlement.”
