Ann Macfarlane
This week I had the pleasure of presenting Jurassic Parliament to Kate Plesha’s student government class at Roosevelt High School.
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Guest post by Craig Freshley. We are big fans of Craig’s wisdom and are delighted to share this post with our readers. Visit Craig’s website for more superb tips on meetings and leadership. In principle, decisions without enforcement grow weak and eventually wither. When rules or policies are not enforced it causes confusion, resentment, and…
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At a recent nonprofit board conference, I asked participants how they discuss and decide their issues. The majority of the attendees at my session agreed that they use “informal consensus.” Download PDF What is informal consensus? Here is a description of informal consensus from Andy Robinson’s book, Great Boards for Small Groups: Someone presents an…
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This list of school board president role and responsibilities was presented by former Board President John Burton and Superintendent Sam Jarman of the Alpine School District at a workshop organized by the Utah School Boards Association.
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The City of Olympia has given us permission to share this quick-guide poster, which you may adapt for your own meetings.
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Update on June 4, 2020 – Things have changed this spring because of the COVID-19 crisis. Some states have amended their laws or issued emergency orders changing their rules on remote meetings and email voting. This guidance may no longer apply. Check with your attorney before deciding what to do. It is fine for board…
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Updated November 19, 2022 Second the motion—everybody knows how to do that, right? Well, in fact there are some funny ideas floating around about this ordinary act of meeting procedure. Let’s unravel the mysteries. Second the motion—why? Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised, 12th edition, says that a person seconds a motion in order to…
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The mayor of Alexandria, Virginia began council meetings by responding to each person giving public comment, sometimes delaying the start of regular business three hours or more.
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Do you find this dangling headline annoying? Unfortunately bylaws are often left dangling. Once you’ve amended your bylaws, here are some important steps to take. Prepare a copy of the amended bylaws that contains all changes that were made. Make sure that “track changes” has not tricked you into unexpected errors. Review all the numbering…
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Confusion about the role of the chair at meetings can be widespread. Here are some parameters. Download PDF Chair of large meeting does not discuss and vote When a large assembly (group) is meeting, the chair serves as a facilitator. The chair does not take part in debate (discussion) and does not vote, unless the…
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