Guidance on Rescheduling a Meeting Due to Weather

Guidance on Rescheduling a Meeting Due to Weather

Posted: January 3, 2023

Because of the inclement weather this week and school closings, school boards are faced with canceling Organizational and/or Business meetings.  The following are options that boards may use to reschedule the meeting.

• If a school board meeting is canceled because of inclement weather, the meeting must be rescheduled as a special meeting which requires a three-day posting. The three-day requirement includes the day of the posting and does not include the day of the meeting. For example, if the special meeting is posted any time on Tuesday, the earliest time the meeting can be held is on Friday. In this example, the three-day posting is for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and the meeting is held sometime on Friday.
• If two members of the board can make it to the board meeting place, as per Roberts Rules of Order and MSBA Model Policy 203.1 – School Board Procedures; Rules of Order, the two board members can make a motion to “Fix the time at which to adjourn.” This motion is used to stop the current meeting and “fixes” the time to come back to session. It is like making a motion for a very long recess. For example, the motion would be, “I move to fix the time at which to adjourn for Wednesday, January 4, 2022, at 6:00 pm, in the school district board room.” This would allow the board to skip the three-day posting and resume the meeting the next day. Keep in mind that it requires two or more board members to be in person at the originally scheduled meeting location.  Information regarding this motion can be found within the Parliamentary Procedure Card on the MSBA website under “General Information” at this tab Resource Library – Minnesota School Boards Association (mnmsba.org).

Other items to consider:

• The three-day posting requirement for a special meeting refers to calendar days, not business days, so Saturday and Sunday count toward the posting requirement.
• Virtual attendance of board members at a regular or special school board meeting is governed under M.S. 13D.02. For a board member to participate in a school board meeting via interactive technology, the name of the board member and the public place (address) of the board member’s location must be posted three days prior to the meeting. If the board member is participating from their home, a hotel room, a resort, etc., the space that the board member is in must be open to the public.
• If the board uses the option to start the meeting on time and continue the meeting on a following day, then the minutes would reflect that one meeting was held and that it spanned multiple days.
• If the organizational meeting is not rescheduled until later in the month, the officers of the board remain as they are for purposes of signatures and authorization until the organizational meeting is held and new officers are elected.