The Governing Board shall act by a majority vote of all of the membership constituting the Board, unless otherwise required by law. (Education Code 35164)
(cf. 9000 - Role of the Board)
(cf. 9005 - Governance Standards)
(cf. 9012 - Board Member Electronic Communications)
(cf. 9200 - Limits of Board Member Authority)
An "action" by the Board means: (Government Code 54952.6)
1. A collective decision by a majority of the Board members
2. A collective commitment or promise by a majority of the members to make a positive or negative decision
3. A vote by a majority of the members when sitting as the Board upon a motion, proposal, resolution, order or ordinance
The Board shall not take action by secret ballot, whether preliminary or final. (Government Code 54953)
Actions taken by the Board in open session shall be recorded in the Board minutes. (Education Code 35145)
(cf. 9324 - Minutes and Recordings)
Action on Non-Agenda Items
The Board may take action in a regular meeting on a subject not listed on the published agenda only when it publicly identifies the item to be acted upon in conjunction with one of the following conditions: (Government Code 54954.2)
1. The Board, by majority vote of its members, determines that the action responds to an emergency situation.
2. The Board determines, either by a two-thirds majority vote of the members present at the meeting or, if less than two-thirds of the members are present, by a unanimous vote of all members present, that the need to take immediate action came to the district's attention after the posting of the agenda.
3. The matter was properly posted for a previous meeting occurring not more than five days earlier and was continued to the meeting at which action is being taken.
(cf. 9320 - Meetings and Notices)
(cf. 9322 - Agenda/Meeting Materials)
Challenging Board Actions
The district attorney's office or any interested person may file an action in court to stop or prevent the Board's violation or threats of violations of the Brown Act, to determine the applicability of the Brown Act to ongoing or future threatened Board actions, to determine the validity, under California or federal law, of any Board rule or action to penalize any of its members or otherwise discourage the member's expression, or to compel the Board to audio record its closed sessions because of its violation of any applicable Government Code provision. (Government Code 54960)
The district attorney or any interested person may present a demand that the Board cure and correct a Board action which he/she alleges is in violation of law regarding any of the following: (Government Code 54960.1)
1. Open meeting and teleconferencing (Government Code 54953)
2. Closed session item descriptions (Government Code 54954.5)
3. New or increased tax assessments (Government Code 54954.6)
4. Special meetings (Government Code 54956)
5. Emergency meetings (Government Code 54956.5)
6. Agenda posting (Government Code 54954.2)
Any demand to "cure and correct" an alleged violation shall clearly describe the challenged action and the nature of the alleged violation and shall be presented to the Board in writing within 90 days of the date when the action was taken. If the alleged violation concerns action taken in an open session but in violation of Government Code 54954.2 (agenda posting), the written demand must be made within 30 days of the date when the alleged action took place. (Government Code 54960.1)
Within 30 days of receiving the demand, the Board shall do one of the following: (Government Code 54960.1)
1. Cure or correct the challenged action and inform the demanding party in writing of its actions to cure or correct.
2. Determine not to cure or correct the alleged violation and inform the demanding party in writing of its decision to not cure or correct.
3. Take no action. If the Board takes no action within the 30-day review period, its inaction shall be considered a decision not to cure or correct the action.
In addition, the district attorney's office or any interested party may file an action in court to determine the applicability of the Brown Act to any past Board action not specified in Government Code 54960.1, if the following conditions are met: (Government Code 54960.2)
1. Within nine months of the alleged violation, a cease and desist letter is submitted to the Board, clearly describing the past Board action and the nature of the alleged violation.
2. The time for the Board to respond has expired and the Board has not provided an unconditional commitment to cease and desist from and not repeat the past action alleged to have violated the Brown Act.
Legal Reference:
EDUCATION CODE
15266 School construction bonds
17466 Declaration of intent to sell or lease real property
17481 Lease of property with residence for nondistrict purposes
17510-17511 Resolution requiring unanimous vote of all members constituting board
17546 Private sale of personal property
17556-17561 Dedication of real property
35140-35149 Meetings
35160-35178.4 Power and duties
48660-48661 Community day schools, establishment and restrictions
CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE
425.16 Special motion to strike in connection with a public issue
1245.240 Eminent domain vote requirements
1245.245 Eminent domain, resolution adopting different use
GOVERNMENT CODE
53094 Authority to render zoning ordinance inapplicable
53097 Compliance with ordinances
53097.3 Charter school ordinances
53724 Parcel tax resolution requirements
53790-53792 Exceeding the budget
53820-53833 Temporary borrowing
53850-53858 Temporary borrowing
54950 Meetings: declaration; intent; sovereignty
54952.6 Action taken, definition
54953 Meetings to be open and public; attendance; secret ballots
54953.5 Right to record proceedings; conditions
54954.2 Agenda posting requirements; board actions
54954.5 Closed session item descriptions
54954.6 New or increased taxes or assessments; hearings; notice
54956 Special meetings; call; notice
54956.5 Emergency meetings in emergency situations
54960 Action to prevent violations
54960.1 Challenge of governing board actions
54960.5 Costs and attorney fees
65352.2 Coordination with planning agency
PUBLIC CONTRACT CODE
3400 Bid specifications
20111 Contracts over $50,000; contracts for construction; award to lowest responsible bidder
20113 Emergencies, award of contracts without bids
COURT DECISIONS
Bell v. Vista Unified School District, (2002) 82 Cal.App.4th 672
Boyle v. City of Redondo Beach, (1999) 70 Cal.App.4th 1109
Management Resources:
CSBA PUBLICATIONS
The Brown Act: School Boards and Open Meeting Laws, 1999
ATTORNEY GENERAL PUBLICATIONS
The Brown Act: Open Meetings for Legislative Bodies,, California Attorney General's Office, 2002
CALIFORNIA CITY ATTORNEY PUBLICATIONS
Open and Public III: A User's Guide to the Ralph M. Brown Act, 2000
WEB SITES
CSBA: http://www.csba.org
California Attorney General's Office: http://www.caag.state.ca.us
Bylaw NEWPORT-MESA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
adopted: April 25, 2017 Costa Mesa, California