All members of the ACS community are free to contact any Board member at any time on any matter. Board members should make themselves reasonably available to discuss ACS business with concerned community members. All matters discussed with any Board member will be shared with the entire Board to keep them informed of the process.
Subject to the special considerations affecting contacts between Board members and paid staff, and to the following rules of conduct, Board members are free to contact any member of the ACS community including parents, students, staff, and other community members at any time on any matter.
The following rules of conduct for Board members apply to matters that are or may become the subject of discussion between individual Board members and community members. They apply to all discussions occurring outside of a regular or special meeting of the Board.
Matters discussed in executive session of the Board may not be disclosed outside of executive session to anyone except Board members and those invited into executive session that were critical to the discussion.
Matters discussed by or before the Board in open session may be disclosed and discussed with anyone at any time.
Matters brought to the attention of a Board member should be brought before the Board by the community member, and should not be brought before the Board by the Board member unless:
The community member specifically so requests,
The name of the community member is disclosed to the Board, and
If factual matter is included, the Board member is prepared to vouch for its accuracy.
These rules are not intended to inhibit discussion among Board members, or between Board and community members, but to facilitate the conduct of the Board’s business and assure that the Board’s decisions are based on the best available information.
Staff members, like other ACS community members, have the right to contact any Board member at any time on any matter. All matters discussed with any Board member will be shared with the entire Board to keep them informed of the process.
Board members should refrain from contacting staff except:
In matters relating to their own children; such contacts would normally be with the child’s teachers or the administration,
When the contact is requested by the Board, or is reasonably related to a specific Board action or a proposed action after it has been the subject of discussion by or before the Board.
Without regard to how contact was initiated (except for the above), Board members should not:
Make significant requests of staff,
Offer advice or suggestions to staff, or
Engage in informal polling of staff.
Although non-Board member parents may freely engage in these activities, their position on the Board makes it inappropriate for Board members to do so. These rules apply to individual Board members or groups of Board members. They do not apply to the Board itself.