BOARD OF TRUSTEES
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Trustee Review of Executive Session Tapes
Conventions, Conferences and Workshops
Approval of New Instructional Programs
LAREDO COMMUNITY COLLEGE
MANUAL OF POLICY
Title: AUTHORITY AND ORGANIZATION
Number: II-1
Legal Authority:
Board of Trustees Approval Date:
Policy
AUTHORITY AND ORGANIZATION
The Board of Trustees derives its
authority from the Constitution of the State of
Texas and from the Texas Education Code. The Board is subject to provisions
of the constitution of the State of Texas, the Civil Statutes of the State of Texas,
rules and regulations of the Coordinating Board of the Texas College and
University System, its own policies and regulations, and the expressed will of
the electorate.
The Board of Trustees consists of
nine members in accordance with the laws
applicable to junior college districts in effect. Each member must be a resident
and qualified voter of the District, must take the proper oath of office, and must
serve without remuneration.
The basic term of office of a
trustee is six years. One-third of the members of the
Board will be elected at large in the district at regular elections on the first
Saturday in May of each even-numbered year. These elections will be held in
accordance with the Texas Election Code.
Any vacancy occurring on the Board
through death, resignation, or otherwise
shall be filled by appointment, resolution, order of the Board, or special election,
and any person so appointed will serve until the next regular election of
members to the Board, at which time the position shall be filled by election for
a term appropriately shortened.
LAREDO COMMUNITY COLLEGE
MANUAL OF POLICY
Title: DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Number: II-2
Legal Authority:
Board of Trustees Approval Date:
Policy
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1. The Board of
Trustees is the governing body of Laredo Community
College. It determines the policies or
regulations under which the College
is to be operated. All authority not vested by
the laws of the State in the
Coordinating Board or in the Texas Education Agency
shall be reserved
and retained locally in the District or in the Board
as provided in the laws
applicable.
2. The authority of
the Board resides in the Board as a whole. An individual
member does not have authority unless the Board as a
whole has
delegated authority to an individual.
3. The Board selects
the Chief Executive Officer of the College and adopts
regulations pertaining to the duties and
responsibilities of the executive,
administrative, classified, and instructional staff.
4. The Board
delegates to the President of the College the application of its
policies and regulations. The Board shall not perform
administrative
functions.
5. The Board bears
the legal responsibility and authority for all aspects of
the College's operation.
6. The Board is responsible for obtaining funds for the College's operation.
7. The Board either
confirms or rejects all recommendations of the President
in the following instances: appointment of executive
officers, tenure,
salary schedules, admissions and graduation, tuition,
fees, and other
charges, plans for the physical development of the
College plant, budget,
and reports requiring Board action.
8. The Board
appoints or reappoints the College attorney, architect, fiscal
agent, audit firm, and bank depository for a two-year
term, with options to
renew, in accordance with adopted procedures.
LAREDO COMMUNITY COLLEGE
MANUAL OF POLICY
Title: OFFICERS
Number: II-3
Legal Authority:
Board of Trustees Approval Date:
Policy
OFFICERS
At the first regular meeting
following each election of trustees or at any time
thereafter in order to fill a vacancy, the Board will elect from among its
membership the following officers, who serve until the next election:
1. President of
the Board of Trustees: This officer presides at all meetings,
appoints special committees and/or individuals to
carry out the legal
functions of the Board, and performs other duties
which may be required
by the Board. The President of the Board has
full voting privileges.
2. Vice President
of the Board of Trustees: Whenever the President is unable
to serve, this officer acts with full force and
effect on any matter which is
the President's responsibility.
3. Secretary of
the Board of Trustees: This officer supervises the preparation
and preservation of the minutes of all regular and
special meetings of the
Board; is the official custodian of the minutes,
books, seal, and records of
the Board; oversees the procedures for elections
called by the Board; and
performs other duties which may be required by the
Board.
LAREDO COMMUNITY COLLEGE
MANUAL OF POLICY
Title: COMMITTEES
Number: II-4
Legal Authority:
Board of Trustees Approval Date:
Policy
COMMITTEES
The Board may meet as a committee
at any time to receive information
or to prepare materials for presentation at an official Board meeting.
When the Board meets as a committee, no decisions binding on the District
may be made.
The presiding officer of the Board
may appoint committees for special
purposes. A committee may meet at any time but may not make decisions
binding on the District unless the Board has delegated to the committee the
authority to make a particular decision.
A11 committee meetings must be held in compliance with State law.
LAREDO COMMUNITY COLLEGE
MANUAL OF POLICY
Title: ETHICS FOR BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Number: II-5
Legal Authority:
Board of Trustees Approval Date: August 24, 1995
Policy
ETHICS FOR BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Members of the Laredo Community College Board of
Trustees will strive
to improve community college education, and to that end the members of
the Board of Trustees shall adhere to the following ethical standards:
1. Attend all regularly scheduled
board meetings insofar as possible, and
become informed concerning issues to be considered at
those meetings.
2. Bring about desired changes
through legal and ethical procedures,
upholding and enforcing all applicable statutes,
regulations, and court
decisions pertaining to community colleges.
3. Work with other board members
to establish effective board policies and
to delegate authority for the administration of the
College to the Chief
Executive Officer.
4. Work with other board members
to establish effective policies and practices
prohibiting unlawful discrimination, including
conduct that constitutes
sexual harassment.
5. Recognize that board members
should endeavor to make policy decisions
only after full discussion at publicly held board
meetings.
6. Render all decisions based on
the available facts and independent
judgment and refuse to surrender that judgment to
individuals or special
interest groups.
7. Encourage the free expression
of opinion by all board members, and seek
systematic communications between the Board and
students, staff, and all
elements of the community.
8. Communicate to other board
members and the Chief Executive Officer
expressions of public reaction to board policies and
college programs.
9. Keep informed about current
educational issues by individual study and
through participation in programs providing needed
information, such as
those sponsored by the American Association of
Community Colleges and
the Association of Community College Trustees.
10. Support the employment of those persons best
qualified to serve as college
staff and insist on a regular and impartial
evaluation of all staff.
11. Avoid being placed in a position of conflict of
interest and refrain from
using their board position for personal or partisan gain.
12. Take no private action that will compromise the
Board or administration
and respect the confidentiality of information that
is privileged under
applicable law.
13. Remember always that the first and greatest
concern must be the
educational welfare of the students attending Laredo
Community College.
(Mandated by HB 1, Appropriations Act, 74th Texas Legislative Session)
LAREDO COMMUNITY COLLEGE
MANUAL OF POLICY
Title: COLLEGE BOARD MEETINGS
Number: II-11
Legal Authority:
Board of Trustees Approval Date Revised January 22, 1998; June 20, 2002
Policy
COLLEGE BOARD MEETINGS
The Board will hold a minimum of
six meetings during the fiscal
year. Ordinarily, regular board meetings will be held on the second Thursday
after the tenth day of each month. Other special meetings may be held at
other times.
The President of the Board shall
call meetings and designate the date, time,
and place of such meetings. Five members of the Board constitute a quorum,
but the affirmative vote of a majority of all members of the Board will be
required to adopt or to pass a resolution or order.
A meeting is one in which
decisions binding on the District are made.
When meetings are scheduled, efforts should be made to notify the
public through one or more news media and by posting the notice in accordance with State
law.
Two non-voting ex-officio members,
one representing the faculty and one
representing the students, sit with the Board.
Unless otherwise stipulated by the
Board, the rules of order for all regular and
special meetings shall be those of Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised,
published by Scott Foresman and Company.
The Board may choose to go into
executive session on any posted matter or subject
provided by law.
LAREDO COMMUNITY COLLEGE
MANUAL OF POLICY
Title: TRUSTEE REVIEW OF EXECUTIVE SESSION TAPES
Number: II-12
Legal Authority:
Board of Trustees Approval Date: August 26, 1993
Policy
TRUSTEE REVIEW OF EXECUTIVE SESSION TAPES
A11 members of the Board of
Trustees may review the tape recording of an
executive session through the following procedure:
1. Make a request
in writing to the President of the Board. The President of
the Board will notify the President of the College of
such a request.
2. The President
of the College will contact the trustee making the request
to Office. All tapes will remain in the President's
Office under the
custodianship arrange a time for the trustee to
review the tape at the
College President's of the Administrative Assistant
to the President.
3. At the time of
the review, the trustee will sign a log indicating which
tapes have been reviewed and the date of the review
with the
Administrative Assistant to the President.
LAREDO COMMUNITY COLLEGE
MANUAL OF POLICY
Title: PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Number: II-13
Legal Authority:
Board of Trustees Approval Date: Revised June 20, 2002
Policy
PUBLIC TESTIMONY
In accordance with state law, Board of Trustees meetings are held to transact the business of the district. So that citizens have the opportunity to be informed concerning those transactions, meetings are open to the public, except when closed meetings are conducted as permitted by the Open Meetings Act. The Board may provide opportunities at its meetings for citizens to address the Board, but shall impose reasonable restraints on the number, length, and frequency of presentations, so long as it does not unfairly discriminate among views seeking expression. Gov't Code 551.003(5); Atty. Gen. Op. H-188 (1973)
It is a criminal offense for a person, with intent to prevent or disrupt a lawful meeting, to substantially obstruct or interfere with the meeting by physical action or verbal utterance. Penal Code 42.05; Morehead v. State, 807 S.W. 2nd 577 (Tex. Cr. App. 1991).
In order to facilitate public commentary in an orderly fashion, the Board of Trustees has approved the following guidelines:
The general public is invited to speak to the Board during the time designated at board meetings for public comments. Any person wishing to address the Board of Trustees on any issue related to college business must sign up in person with the Executive Assistant to the President/BOT at least fifteen (15) minutes prior to the scheduled beginning of the board meeting.
Each person will be allowed three (3) minutes to address the Board. when there are six or less speakers scheduled, the President of the Board may extend each speaker's time to five (5) minutes. Time may not be ceded from one speaker to another. The President of the Board may also limit the total amount of time for public testimony but not to less than thirty minutes.
The speaker may not speak on personnel or student matters that refer to individuals by name, title or any other specific identifiable information. Neither speaker nor members of the audience are permitted to prevent or disrupt the meeting nor to obstruct or interfere with the proceedings by physical action or verbal utterance.
After a speaker's comments, the Board Chair shall make whatever response, if any, or take whatever action, if any, is deemed appropriate to handle the matter. Such response or action may include the following:
a. Referring the matter to the College President for action or for further recommendations.
b. Referring the matter to a later meeting or to a board committee for further discussion or study.
c. Indicating that the matter will be taken under advisement.
MANUAL OF POLICY
Title: BOARD MEETING AGENDA
Number:II-14
Legal Authority:
Board of Trustees Approval Date: June 20, 2002, Revised June 19, 2003
Policy
The College President and Board Chair shall develop proposed agendas for board meetings in accordance with priorities set by the Board, with final authority on what is included in the agenda and agenda packet resting with the Board Chair. Board Committee chairs and members have latitude in developing the agenda items to be presented under each of the committees. Any board member may sponsor any agenda item for discussion at the appropriate committee for consideration. Board members may also request that an item be placed on a subsequent agenda during the segment for pending and new business. Only subjects on the agenda shall be considered at a meeting.
An Executive Session on any item may be scheduled at any time during Order of Business.
MANUAL OF POLICY
Title: TEXAS OPEN RECORDS ACT
Number: I-17
Legal Authority:
Board of Trustees Approval Date: February 20, 2003
Policy
Persons desiring to review documents maintained by the District and classified as Open Records shall submit their request, in writing, on forms provided by the District or in any other written manner that sets forth the required information. The application shall properly identify the document, or documents, to be inspected.
The applicant's name and address must be set forth on the application. A picture identification card, such as a driver’s license, may be required to verify identity. Applications shall be handled in the order in which they are received.
Application to review documents must be approved by an emp0loyee authorized to do so. In the event the requested documents are in active use or in storage and, therefore, not available at the time the application to review documents is submitted, the College President or designee shall set forth this fact in writing on the application to the applicant, and set a date and hour at which time the requested materials will be available for inspection.
The District is not required to prepare or create new information requested by a member of the public. The Open Records Act does not require the District to prepare or generate information in the specific form that may be requested by the public. (See Open Records decisions numbers 458 (1987), 342 (1982), and 452 (1986)
Persons inspecting documents may do so only in a designated inspection area, and a District employee shall be available for assistance. The College President or designee may limit the number of pages that can be copied and supplied during a person's visit, if the number of copies requested is beyond the reasonable capacity of the available personnel and machines. Copies in excess of the number available during a person's visit will be made and mailed to the applicant in order in which the request is received. Documents may be inspected during regular business hours.
Persons requesting information, in a written form, at a public meeting (Board meeting, hearing, or the like) shall be directed to follow the procedures outlined in this policy.
The District shall apply the General Services Commission’s published cost for supplying copies of public information documents to the public.
MANUAL OF POLICY
Title: NAMING OF COLLEGE FACILITIES
Number: II-20
Authority:
Board of Trustees Approval Date: April 2, 1998
Policy
NAMING OF COLLEGE FACILITIES
The Board of Trustees has sole
authority to name facilities at Laredo
Community College. Facilities include all structures, including new
buildings and existing unnamed buildings. This policy also covers streets,
walkways, fields, and other areas of the College. The Board will take into
consideration names of individuals who provide financial support to the
institution, individuals with distinguished service to the institution, and
names descriptive of the purpose of the facility, or historical or geographic
nature of the area. Recommendations for naming facilities will be brought to
the Program and Policy Committee for initial consideration and
recommendation to the Board of Trustees.
LAREDO COMMUNITY COLLEGE
MANUAL OF POLICY
Title: CONVENTIONS, CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOP
Number: II-21
Legal Authority:
Board of Trustees Approval Date:
Policy
CONVENTIONS, CONFERENCES, AND WORKSHOPS
Board members may attend regional,
state, or national conventions,
conferences, and workshops. Reimbursement for reasonable travel
expenses for attendance at such conventions, conferences, and
workshops shall be made by the District when attendance is authorized
and deemed desirable in carrying out the educational functions of the
District subject to formal approval by the Board.
LAREDO COMMUNITY COLLEGE
MANUAL OF POLICY
Title: POLICY DEVELOPMENT
Number: II-22 Legal Authority:
Board of Trustees Approval Date:
Policy
POLICY DEVELOPMENT
The District shall be governed in
accordance with written policies adopted
by the Board of Trustees. Policies and policy amendments may be initiated
by the College President, Board members, faculty, employees, or community
citizens but generally shall be recommended for the Board's consideration
by the College President.
ADOPTION
The Board shall have the sole right
to adopt policies. The College President
may issue regulations purely of a procedural nature to carry out Board
policies. However, no ancillary documents shall be binding on the District
without the prior authorization of and approval by the Board. All new and
revised policies will be published in the CAMPUS UPDATE as soon as possible.
REPEAL
Through the adoption of these
policies, all previously adopted policies are
repealed and of no force or effect if in conflict with these policies. Any
amendment of or addition to these policies shall repeal any policies in conflict
with it.
ADMINISTRATION IN POLICY ABSENCE
When action is urgently required in
an area not covered by Board policy, the
College President shall have the power to act. The College President shall
inform the Board promptly of such action, which shall be subject to review by
the Board at its discretion.
LAREDO COMMUNITY COLLEGE
MANUAL OF POLICY
Title: OFFICIAL POLICY MANUAL
Number: II-23
Legal Authority:
Board of Trustees Approval Date: Revised October 21, 1999
Policy
OFFICIAL POLICY MANUAL
The Board shall designate one copy of the policy manual as the College's official policy manual. The official copy shall be kept in the College President's office, and the President or designee shall be responsible for its accuracy. Two additional copies will be kept at the library. The policy manual will be included in the College's electronic web page for all employees. The version contained in the official policy manual in the President's Office shall be regarded as authoritative.
LAREDO COMMUNITY COLLEGE
MANUAL OF POLICY
Title: APPROVAL OF NEW INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAMS
Number: II-24
Legal Authority:
Board of Trustees Approval Date: September 6, 1988
Policy
APPROVAL OF NEW INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAMS
The Board of Trustees must approve
any new certificate, Associate in Applied
Science Degree, Associate in Arts Degree, Associate in Science Degree, and
instructional program prior to their implementation. Continuing education
courses are exempt unless the course or courses are intended to develop a
certificate or Associate in Applied Science, Associate in Arts, or Associate in
Science Degree.
LAREDO COMMUNITY COLLEGE
MANUAL OF POLICY
Title: HARMONY WITH LAW
Number: II-25
Legal Authority:
Board of Trustees Approval Date:
Policy
HARMONY WITH LAW
No policy or regulation, nor any portion thereof,
shall be operative if it is found
to be in conflict with applicable law.
LAREDO COMMUNITY COLLEGE
MANUAL OF POLICY
Title: COLLEGE PRESIDENT
Number: II-26
Legal Authority:
Board of Trustees Approval Date: June 17, 1975
Policy
COLLEGE PRESIDENT
DUTIES
The College President shall approve
the faculty and other personnel to be
employed. Executive level personnel will be approved by the Board.
The College President shall be the
executive officer of the Board and shall
work under its direction. The President shall recommend the plan of
organization of the College.
The Board either confirms or
rejects all recommendations of the President
in the following instances: appointment of executive officers, tenure, salary
schedules, admissions and graduation requirements, tuition, fees, and other
charges, plans for the physical development of the College plant, budget, and
reports requiring Board action.
The College President will appoint
committees to perform specific duties, to
serve in an advisory capacity, and/or to make recommendations. To assure
that such committees are representative of the personnel groups affected by
their actions, the President may make committee appointments with the
assistance of the executive officers.
The President will develop the
academic calendar for the approval of the Board
of Trustees and then use it as the basis for determining what administrative and
supportive services will be provided in time periods beyond the academic calendar.
DISMISSAL
The College President may be dismissed for good
cause before the completion
of the term fixed in the contract.
NOTICE
Before the College President is
dismissed, the College President shall be
given reasonable notice in writing of proposed action and the grounds, set
out in sufficient detail to fairly enable him/her to show any error that may exist.
The College President shall be advised of the names of adverse witnesses and
the nature of their testimony.
RESIGNATION
The College President may resign at any time mutually agreeable with the Board.