§ 795 - Officers-Article V - Vermont Statutes

§ 795. Officers-Article V

A. Officers: general. The officers of an interstate school district shall be a board of school directors, a chairman of the board, a vice-chairman of the board, a secretary of the board, a moderator, a clerk, a treasurer and three auditors. Except as otherwise specifically provided, they shall be eligible to take office immediately following their election; they shall serve until the next annual meeting of the interstate district and until their successors are elected and qualified. Each shall take oath for the faithful performance of his duties before the moderator, or a notary public or a justice of the peace of the state in which the oath is administered. Their compensation shall be fixed by vote of the district. No person shall be eligible to any district office unless he is a voter in the district. A custodian, school teacher, principal, superintendent or other employee of an interstate district acting as such shall not be eligible to hold office as a school director.

B. Board of directors.

a. How chosen. Each member district shall be represented by at least one resident on the board of school directors of an interstate school district. A member district shall be entitled to such further representation on the interstate board of school directors as provided in the articles of agreement as amended from time to time. The articles of agreement as amended from time to time may provide for school directors at large, as above set forth. No person shall be disqualified to serve as a member of an interstate board because he is at the same time a member of the school board of a member district.

b. Term. Interstate school directors shall be elected for terms in accordance with the articles of agreement.

c. Duties of board of directors. The board of school directors of an interstate school district shall have and exercise all of the powers of the district not reserved herein to the voters of the district.

d. Organization. The clerk of the district shall warn a meeting of the board of school directors to be held within ten days following the date of the annual meeting, for the purpose of organizing the board, including the election of its officers.

C. Chairman of the board. The chairman of the board of interstate school directors shall be elected by the interstate board from among its members at its first meeting following the annual meeting. The chairman shall preside at the meetings of the board and shall perform such other duties as the board may assign to him.

D. Vice-Chairman of the board of directors. The vice-chairman of the interstate board shall be elected in the same manner as the chairman. He shall represent a member district in a state other than that represented by the chairman. He shall preside in the absence of the chairman and shall perform such other duties as may be assigned to him by the interstate board.

E. Secretary of the board. The secretary of the interstate board shall be elected in the same manner as the chairman. Instead of electing one of its members, the interstate board may appoint the interstate district clerk to serve as secretary of the board in addition to his other duties. The secretary of the interstate board (or the interstate district clerk, if so appointed) shall keep the minutes of its meetings, shall certify its records, and perform such other duties as may be assigned to him by the board.

F. Moderator. The moderator shall preside at the district meetings, regulate the business thereof, decide questions of order, and make a public declaration of every vote passed. He may prescribe rules of procedure; but such rules may be altered by the district. He may administer oaths to district officers in either state.

G. Clerk. The clerk shall keep a true record of all proceedings at each district meeting, shall certify its records, shall make an attested copy of any records of the district for any person upon request and tender of reasonable fees therefor, if so appointed, shall serve as secretary of the board of school directors, and shall perform such other duties as may be required by custom or law.

H. Treasurer. The treasurer shall have custody of all of the monies belonging to the district and shall pay out the same only upon the order of the interstate board. He shall keep a fair and accurate account of all sums received into and paid from the interstate district treasury, and at the close of each fiscal year he shall make a report to the interstate district, giving a particular account of all receipts and payments during the year. He shall furnish to the interstate directors, statements from his books and submit his books and vouchers to them and to the district auditors for examination whenever so requested. He shall make all returns called for by laws relating to school districts. Before entering on his duties, the treasurer shall give a bond with sufficient sureties and in such sum as the directors may require. The treasurer's term of office is from July 1 to the following June 30.

I. Auditors. At the organization meeting of the district, three auditors shall be chosen, one to serve for a term of one year, one to serve for a term of two years, and one to serve for a term of three years. After the expiration of each original term, the successor shall be chosen for a three year term. At least one auditor shall be a resident of New York, and one auditor shall be a resident of Vermont. An interstate district may vote to employ a certified public accountant to assist the auditors in the performance of their duties. The auditors shall carefully examine the accounts of the treasurer and the directors at the close of each fiscal year, and at such other times whenever necessary, and report to the district whether the same are correctly cast and properly vouched.

J. Superintendent. The superintendent of schools shall be selected by a majority vote of the board of school directors of the interstate district with the approval of both commissioners.

K. Vacancies. Any vacancy among the elected officers of the district shall be filled by the interstate board until the next annual meeting of the district or other election, when a successor shall be elected to serve out the remainder of the unexpired term, if any. Until all vacancies on the interstate board are filled, the remaining members shall have full power to act. (1975, No. 130 (Adj. Sess.), § 5.)