METHOD OF ELECTION

In September of each year, the Board shall hold a called meeting to organize by electing a Chair¹ and a Vice Chair to serve one-year terms, or until a successor is named or they are no longer members of the Board. The newly elected Chair and Vice Chair shall be seated at the first regular (voting) meeting in September. Each Board officer shall be eligible for re-election.

If no officer of the Board is serving at the time of the organizational meeting, the longest serving member may call the meeting to order and preside until a Chair is elected as the first order of business. This same process may be used to select the Chair when a committee organizes.

If the office of Chair is vacated prior to the expiration of the annual term, the Vice Chair shall assume all responsibilities of the Chair until a new Chair is elected.

DUTIES OF OFFICERS

Chair

The Chair of the Board shall have the following duties:

1. To assist the Director of Schools in preparing meeting agendas;
2. To preside at all meetings of the Board;²
3. To appoint committees authorized by the Board no later than the voting meeting in the month following election of the Chair;
4. To function as Chair of the Executive Committee;²
5. To countersign all warrants authorized by the Board and issued by the Director of Schools for all expenditures of the school system;²
6. To conduct Board hearings;³
7. To prepare the school budget with the Director of Schools;⁴
8. To authorize the use of mechanical and electronic check writing equipment;⁵
9. To certify, in coordination with the Director of Schools, the lack of value of surplus property or surplus property valued at less than $500.00; and
10. To carry out other such duties as may be assigned by the Board.

Vice Chair

The Vice Chair shall assume the duties of the Chair in the Chair’s absence or function as the Chair until a new Chair can be elected in the event the Chair is incapacitated or the office becomes vacant.⁶

Secretary

The Director of Schools, as the executive officer of the Board, shall serve as secretary to the Board. He or she shall conduct all correspondence of the Board, keep and preserve all of its records, receive all reports acquired by the Board, and see that such reports are in proper form. He or she has the right to advise on any question under consideration but has no vote.

The Board may assign the keeping of the minutes to a clerk; however, the responsibility resides with the Director of Schools.

Chair Pro Tem

A Chair Pro Tem shall be elected to preside during a meeting when neither the Chair nor the Vice Chair is present.

Legal References:

1. T.C.A. § 49-2-202(c)(2).
2. T.C.A. § 49-2-205.
3. T.C.A. § 49-5-512(c).
4. T.C.A. § 49-2-203(a)(10).
5. T.C.A. § 49-2-113.
6. T.C.A. § 49-6-2007.

Cross Reference:

• Knox County Board of Education Policy B-180 Public Forum.

Approved as to Legal Form

By the Knox County Law Director 1/11/2024

/Gary T. Dupler/Deputy Law Director