open board meetings

[Guest Linda Ganski]

I have been asked to draft a policy to allow non-board assembly members to attend board meetings. We follow RONR, and do not address this issue anywhere else. We have a somewhat fractious membership. Waht are the advatages/disadvatages to such a policy----I want to craft one tight enough to anticipate attempted intrusion to board business.

[Guest Edgar]

The advantage to such a policy is that it's, more or less, carved in stone. The disadvantage is that, you guessed it, it's more or less carved in stone. Why not let the board decide whether to admit guests or not? And if you think the board is being unnecessarily secretive you can always replace those board members with others who will be more transparent.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. And beware of unintended consequences.

So stick with the RONR default of "board members only" except as the board permits.

[Guest Jim]

Have you determined in what way what is already provided in RONR does not suffice? RONR leaves it up to the Board to decide at the time that the question arises (presumably as the meeting comes to order).

The Board could, at that time, consent to what the chair might assume to be a motion one way or the other, or could have it put to a vote.

You could supplement RONR with a provision in respect to whether the space available to you limits the numbers of guests who can attend, or any other provisions that you expect the Board to support as worth establishing in advance, so that these aspects need not be asked, and determined, every time.

[Shmuel Gerber]

I have been asked to draft a policy to allow non-board assembly members to attend board meetings. We follow RONR, and do not address this issue anywhere else. We have a somewhat fractious membership. Waht are the advatages/disadvatages to such a policy----I want to craft one tight enough to anticipate attempted intrusion to board business.

The bylaws of the National Association of Parliamentarians include the following rule:

"With the exception of executive sessions, members of NAP may attend meetings of the NAP Board of Directors as observers."

If you are afraid the the board will abuse its authority to enter into executive session, you could add a requirement of a two-thirds vote to exclude non-board-members.

[George Mervosh]

The bylaws of the National Association of Parliamentarians include the following rule:

"With the exception of executive sessions, members of NAP may attend meetings of the NAP Board of Directors as observers."

But apparently it doesn't apply to Article XI

[Dan Honemann]

But apparently it doesn't apply to Article XI

Now, George, let's not take this digression too far.

[Guest Linda Ganski]

thank you everyone!

I have been on the board three weeks and have already spent way too much time on some of these things