I'm a member of our State Advisory Committee on the Education of Children/Students with Disabilities where our agenda topics are often worded towards open discussion -- for example:
6:00 – New Business: Subcommittees
o Things to possibly discuss:
▪ When should subcommittees meet?
▪ How many subcommittees should there be?
▪ Should each priority have a subcommittee?
From experience, there will be one specific member who will immediately make a motion once the Chair (or Vice Chair) reads the agenda item (we have no formal secretary currently). It feels like a significant bullish move as this person will push their own agenda and has one other member who will always immediately second the motion. This is repeated over and over again and the Chairs do not take any action against this. It creates significant frustration and ensures that agenda items never move forward (the example I gave has been on three recent agenda's ... I've even emailed the Chairs directly relaying this is not "new" but "continued" business but it remains as it is noted on our January agenda). My question: Is there somewhere in Robert's Rules that speaks to a scenario like I've mentioned above?
Many of us on the committee are quite frustrated and can't seen to get any traction towards creating a collaborative and solutions-focused committee. Any advice would be helpful (for our committee and my blood pressure ).
Many thanks in advance!
