Section 1. Designation of Officers. The officers of the Board of Trustees shall be chair, vice chair, and secretary. The chair and vice chair shall be a member of the Board of Trustees. The secretary will be the college president.
Section 2. Election of Chair and Vice Chair. The Board of Trustees shall elect the chair and vice chair annually at the regular June Board meeting. They shall hold office for one year beginning July 1. A successor may be elected to hold office for the unexpired term.
Section 3. Chair and Vice Chair. The chair of the Board shall preside at meetings of the Board of Trustees. In the event of his/her absence or inability to act, the vice chair shall preside.
In case of the absence of the chair and vice chair from any meetings of the Board of Trustees, or in case of the inability of both of the two to act, the Board of Trustees may elect for that meeting, a chair PRO TEMPORE, and may authorize such chair or vice chair to be performed, as long as the inability of these said officers to act may continue.
The chair of the Board of Trustees, in conjunction with the secretary, shall be responsible to establish a yearly budget for the Board of Trustees and monitor such budget, approving all proposed withdrawals from it for any purpose except reimbursement provided by law for trustees to attend regular and special Board of Trustees meetings. The chair shall designate representatives from the Board to represent the Board at state and at national meetings.
The chair of the Board of Trustees shall be responsible to conduct executive sessions only as prescribed by law. He/She shall announce the purpose of the executive session, the time the board will be in executive session, and notify interested parties if the executive session is to continue beyond the announced period of time.
Meetings may be held at a physical location or remotely where participation is achieved by phone or other electronic means that allows for real-time verbal communication so that all Trustees can hear, be heard, and participate effectively in the meeting.
He/She shall permit no official business to be conducted in executive session and shall preside over the executive session for the following purposes:
A. To consider the selection of a site or the acquisition of real estate by lease or purchase when public knowledge regarding such consideration would cause a likelihood of increased price;
B. To consider the minimum price at which real estate will be offered for sale or lease when public knowledge regarding such consideration would cause a likelihood of decreased price. However, final action selling or leasing public property shall be taken in a meeting open to the public;
C. To review negotiations on the performance of publicly bid contracts when public knowledge regarding such consideration would cause a likelihood of increased costs;
D. To receive and evaluate complaints or charges brought against a public officer or employee. However, upon the request of such officer or employee, a public hearing or a meeting open to the public shall be conducted upon such complaint or charge;
E. To evaluate the qualifications of an applicant for public employment or to review the performance of a public employee. However, subject to RCW 42.30.140 (4), discussion by a governing body of salaries, wages, and other conditions of employment to be generally applied within the agency shall occur in a meeting open to the public, and when a governing body elects to take final action hiring, setting the salary of an individual employee or class of employees, or discharging or disciplining an employee, that action shall be taken in a meeting open to the public;
F. To discuss with legal counsel representing the agency matters relating to agency enforcement actions, or to discuss with legal counsel representing the agency litigation or potential litigation to which the agency, the governing body, or a member acting in an official capacity is, or is likely to become, a party, when public knowledge regarding the discussion is likely to result in an adverse legal or financial consequence to the agency.
Section 4. Secretary. The secretary shall assist all committees of the Board of Trustees as required by them, and shall cooperate with all other officers of the Board as may be requested by them in the performance of their duties.
The secretary may certify to any action of the Board of Trustees or its committees, or to the identity, appointment, and authority of officers of the Board of Trustees or to the provisions of the Board of Trustees’ bylaws. The secretary shall cause to be filed or recorded in appropriate offices of public record, or posted, or published, as may be required by law or as may be necessary for the protection of the college, documents and notices which are necessary or appropriate for him/her to file, or record, or post, or publish, in the performance of his/her duties.
The secretary is authorized, in the name of the Board of Trustees, to sign receipts and acknowledgments, and notices and declarations, as may be appropriate or necessary in the performance of his/her duties as ordered by the Board of Trustees.
The secretary of the Board must receive information and materials pertinent to a proposed action item to be placed on the agenda of all regular meetings at least two weeks prior to a regular meeting date. The secretary will disseminate, by mail and/or email, the agenda and supporting materials to the Board members and announce the meeting publicly one week prior to the meeting date. The chair and secretary may, however, present a matter of important business after the mailing has been made, if in their judgment the matter is of an important nature.
The secretary shall execute or attest to all contracts, deeds, leases, notes, mortgages, deeds of trust, bond, indentures, warrants, undertakings, powers of attorney, releases and satisfactions of mortgages and indebtedness, reconveyances under deeds of trust, and all other releases, when the same have been authorized to be executed by order of the Board of Trustees.
All business transacted in official Board meetings shall be recorded in minutes, approved by the Board in subsequent meetings and filed for reference after being signed by the secretary and chair of the Board.
The secretary shall be responsible for Board correspondence, compiling the agenda of meetings, and distributing the minutes of the meetings and related reports. The office of the secretary shall be the official office of the Board of Trustees. All records and minutes of the Board shall be kept in the office.
The secretary will announce all special meetings of the Board of Trustees at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the meeting time. The agenda of the special meeting will be determined at the time of the official call for such meeting. No business shall be transacted or official action taken other than the purpose or purposes for which the special meeting was called.
The secretary may arrange study sessions prior to regular or special meetings of the Board of Trustees with the approval of the chair of the Board. Study sessions constitute special meetings of the Board and shall be announced as such by the secretary.
The secretary or his designee must attend all regular and special meetings of the Board, and official minutes must be kept of all such meetings.
The secretary will provide each new member of the Board of Trustees a copy of these policies and other information as necessary to assist in orientation of the new member to his/her duties and responsibilities.
Section 5. Special Authority of Officers. The officers of the Board of Trustees shall have such powers and shall perform such duties in addition to those in this constitution set forth as may be delegated to them by the Board of Trustees.