Orlandoparent

Thanks everyone for your input. There was a board meeting on Tuesday that parents spoke at but the board had no comments. We're still waiting to hear from them about their interpretation of 7e, which seems to be the only thing we potentially have going for us at this point.

Hello, myself and a group of parents have been fighting for a school rezoning that went from meetings with staff to getting a community meeting in front of the OCPS school board, followed by a rules workshop where the option we wanted was moved forward and finally the school board public hearing meeting. The enrollment department and superintendent recommended the rezone be approved, but at the meeting the chair (our biggest advocate) was absent and our district rep took advantage of this and motioned to table the rezone indefinitely. The following is what was sent by a member of the general counsel regarding it after we tried to say Robert's wasn't correctly followed: "There is no right to appeal a tabling of a rezoning matter (either in statute or in Board Policy). In tabling the action, the Board acted in accordance with Board Policy JC (see School Attendance Rezoning Process – specifically section (7)(e)). “The school board is composed of elected officials who serve a quasi-legislative function when they draw school zone boundary lines. A reviewing court may overturn a boundary line decision only when the school board has given in to a flagrant abuse of discretion. See Polk and authorities cited therein. That is why we are compelled to sustain the board’s action. Where, as here, the school board makes a decision within its discretion, the aggrieved parents’ remedy is not judicial, but political.” Plantation Residents Association, Inc. v. School Board of Broward County, 424 So.2d 879, 880-881 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982). Under Roberts’ Rules of Order, tabling allows the board to bring the item up either later in the meeting or at a later date. In this case, Member Gould made a motion to “table this rezoning at this time and reconsider it at a future date.” The motion was seconded and voted upon. No specific date was discussed. At this time, there is no set date to bring back this item. Note that the district will be required to comply with the provisions in Board Policy JC when the item is evaluated again." If you look at the Board Policy link above in the section she mentions (7e) it says that one of four things must happen. Tabling indefinitely is not one of the four. My question is does Robert's supersede the statutes in our State Constitution and was it appropriate for the motion to be invoked?