Board to vote on allowing members to phone it in

From the BCCT.

Board to vote on allowing members to phone it in
By: RACHEL CANELLI
Bucks County Courier Times

Other districts, including Council Rock, have allowed board members to participate in meetings via phone.

When it comes to a policy letting board members remotely participate in meetings, Neshaminy officials hung up and are trying again.

After debating the rule's language last month, the school board expects to vote on it during the April 28 meeting.

The process would let no more than one director per meeting call into a public board meeting and vote via phone. And each board member would be able to make such a request only once a year through the board president or superintendent, according to the policy.

Board member William O'Connor requested the guideline so he wouldn't have to miss too many board meetings for unexpected business trips. O'Connor wanted the rule to allow two directors per meeting to vote by phone twice a year.

The policy gives the board the ability to increase those numbers in the future, administrators said.

Board member Richard Eccles expressed concerns that board members would miss too many meetings. But district solicitor Thomas J. Profy III said it wouldn't count as an absence if a board member participated via phone.

Profy also said the board member participating remotely cannot be used to reach a quorum. At least five other board members must be present to hold the meeting, said Profy.

Board member William Spitz said he favors remote participation, which he believes could be monitored and adjusted to avoid abuse.

The concept already is used in some districts, including Council Rock, where a board member recently participated by phone for more than one meeting after having surgery, officials said.

And Neshaminy allowed board member Joseph Blasch to attend an executive session by phone, Blasch said.

Representatives of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association said 35 school districts across the state have adopted similar protocols.

After not allowing a councilman who was on military duty overseas to vote from his post, the Tullytown council later agreed to let members on active military duty vote by phone early last year.

But Neshaminy board member Frank Koziol argued the policy isn't necessary. By his calculations, only five votes out of more than 200 in the past few years failed due to a director's absence.

Board President Ritchie Webb said he could see why the policy might be beneficial, but he'll be voting against the policy, too, because voting over the phone doesn't allow directors to look residents in the eyes.