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Policy & Regulations Index

Constitution of the Diocesan Board of Education

 

constitution of the diocesan board of education

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ARTICLE I

Name

Section 1. The name of this body shall be the Diocesan Board of Education of the Catholic Diocese of Belleville, Illinois.

ARTICLE II

Authority

Section 1. This Board shall formulate policy for Catholic education in the Diocese. Since Catholic education is the legitimate exercise of the Church’s right to teach, the Board shall be subject to the authority of the Church represented within the Diocese by the Ordinary. Except for this reservation, the Board shall possess complete legislative control over all aspects of Catholic education in the Diocese.

ARTICLE III

Purposes and Functions

Section 1. The Board shall formulate policies governing all the formal educational efforts of the Diocese, including education in Pre-School Programs, Catholic Schools, Parish School of Religion Programs, Youth Programs, the Newman Center and Adult Education Programs. The Board shall be concerned with all the educational needs of the Christian community which it represents.

Section 2. The Board through the Superintendent of Schools/Diocesan Director of Education and his/her staff, and through the other educational agencies of the Diocese, shall formulate policies and initiate and direct programs in the following specific areas, without, however, being limited by this enumeration:

  1. It shall direct the coordination and integration of all educational endeavors of the Diocese.
  2. To ensure that all possible efforts are put forth to maintain and encourage the growth and development of quality Catholic elementary and secondary schools within the Diocese.
  3. It shall adopt policies concerning the staffing of Parish education programs, the qualifications of administrators, principals, Directors of Religious Education, Coordinators of Religious Education, teachers, and non-teaching employees on the conditions of employment, including compensation of teachers and non-teaching employees, and shall formulate policies relating to sick leave, retirement, and dismissal.
  4. It shall make policies and initiate programs relating to recruitment, training and professional growth of all instructional personnel.
  5. It shall ensure that objectives and standards of educational programs are established and the outcomes of these programs evaluated.
  6. It shall ensure that surveys are conducted as needed to examine the over-all educational needs of the Diocese. The Board shall review, design, and engage in long-range planning to meet specific needs when necessary.
  7. It shall set goals for and shall access the entire religious education program of the Diocese, whether in Pre-School Programs, Catholic Schools, Parish School of Religion Programs, Youth Programs, Newman Center Programs, or Adult Education Programs.
  8. It shall encourage the establishment of Parish Boards of Education and shall serve as a Board of Control for these Boards and for other educational Boards in the Diocese.
  9. It shall represent and promote Catholic education before the public.
  10. It shall set health and safety policies and guidelines for the buildings used for Catholic education.
  11. It shall represent the educational concerns of Catholic students, both in Catholic schools and in public schools, to ensure that Catholic students obtain all the educational services they are entitled to receive.
  12. It shall assist the Diocese in representing the Catholic perspective through the Department of Faith Formation in matters of social justice and moral values in American education.

ARTICLE IV

Membership

Section 1. Number and Composition. The Board of Education shall have at least eleven members who are selected by the Bishop, and who shall represent the geographical and cultural areas of the entire Catholic community of the Diocese.

Section 2. Term of Office. Board members shall be selected for a period of three years. After a member has completed his/her term, he/she may be reselected for another period of three years but no one may serve more than two consecutive terms.

Section 3. Selection. Any Pastor, Parish Board of Education, Parish Council, or Catholic High School Board may nominate a person to serve on the Diocesan Board of Education. When possible, the nominee must be a current member or a past member of a Parish Board of Education, Parish Council, or Catholic High School Board. When possible, two nominees for each position shall be submitted to the Bishop.

Section 4. Vacancy. Whenever a vacancy occurs on the Diocesan Board of Education, the vacancy shall be filled by someone representing the same geographical area as the member who vacated his/her position on the Board. The vacancy should be filled as soon as possible after the vacancy occurs. Any board member that misses two consecutive meetings with unexcused absences or four absences during any 12- month period is subject to dismissal from the Board.

Section 5. Ex-Officio Members. The Bishop and/or the Board may appoint ex-officio members to the Board for periods of three years.

ARTICLE V

Officers

Section 1. Number. The officers shall be President and Vice-president, as elected by the Board and such assistants and additional officers as the President may appoint.

Section 2. Election and Term of Office. The President and Vice-president shall be elected among the members of the Board. They shall be elected annually at the meeting held in September for a period of one year. An officer may succeed him/herself only once, except that after an interval of a year he/she may be re-elected to a position which he/she previously held.

Section 3. President. The President shall act as Chairperson of the Board and of the Executive Committee, if there is one. He/she shall appoint all committees, unless otherwise specified by the Board. He/she shall execute on behalf of the Board all written instruments except as the Board might otherwise direct. He/she shall be responsible with the Superintendent of Schools/Director of Education or delegate for the final form of the agenda for the meeting and shall report the actions of the Board to the Ordinary of the Diocese. He/she shall perform all other duties incident to the office of President.

Section 4. Vice-president. The Vice-president, at the request of, or in the absence of, the President, shall perform the duties and exercise the functions of the President and when so acting shall have the power of the President. He/she shall perform such other duties as are delegated by the President.

Section 5. President Pro Tem. In the absence of the President and Vice-president, the members present at any meeting shall elect a president pro tem.

Section 6. Diocesan Superintendent of Schools/Director of Education. The Superintendent/Director shall be the executive Officer of the Board but shall not be a voting member of the Board. He/she shall be responsible for carrying out the policies of the Board and shall report regularly to the Board on the way in which its policies are being implemented.

ARTICLE VI

Meetings

Section 1. Regular and Special Meetings. The Board shall have regularly scheduled meetings subject to change by the Board itself or to postponement by the President. Special meetings may be held whenever called by the President or by at least three members of the Board. In either case, at least 24 hours notice must be given, and an announcement of the subject matter must be made.

Section 2. Time, Place, and Notice. Regular meetings shall be held at such times and places as fixed by the President or by a majority of the Board upon not less than seven days notice. Notice of the place, day and hour of all meetings shall be delivered in writing. All meetings of the Diocesan Board of Education shall be open meetings except for executive sessions. However, policies and other board actions must be presented and voted on at open sessions before becoming effective.

Section 3. Quorum. A majority of the full membership of the Board of Education shall constitute a quorum. Unless otherwise provided, when a vote is taken on any measure before the Board, a quorum being present, a majority vote of all the members present at the meeting shall determine the outcome thereof.

Section 4. Rules of Procedure. Robert’s Rules of Order, newly revised edition, shall be observed unless the Board determines otherwise.

ARTICLE VII

Amendment to Constitution

Section 1. This Constitution may be amended by a vote of two-thirds of the voting members present at any regular meeting, provided regular notice of the proposed amendment has been given to the Board not less than seven days before the regular meeting at which the change will be proposed. No amendment shall be valid, however, unless and until it is approved in writing by the Ordinary or by the Administrator of the Diocese.

 

 

 

Approved: September 18, 1990