Board Bylaws

Board Policy 100

  1. Name, Organization, Principle Office and Fiscal Year of District.

    1. College Name The Institution shall be designated and known as the "Kalamazoo Valley Community College".
    2. Organization The Institution is organized and governed as a community college under the "Community College Act of 1966".
    3. Principal Office The Principal Office of the Institution shall be located at 6767 West O Avenue, Kalamazoo, Michigan or such other place in the State of Michigan, as the Board of Trustees shall from time to time determine.
    4. Fiscal Year The fiscal year of the Institution shall be from July 1 through June 30.

  2. Board Membership

    1. Number of Members The Board shall consist of seven (7) members elected from the district-at-large.
    2. Staggered Terms Not more than three (3) members shall be elected in any one year to fill vacancies occurring by expiration of terms.
    3. Term of Office Members shall be elected biennially at the November general election for a term of six (6) years. Their terms shall begin on January 1 following their election.
    4. Acceptance of Office, Affidavit of Eligibility, and Oath Each member shall be notified of his election within three (3) days after his election and within ten (10) days after his notification or appointment to the Board, each person so elected or appointed shall file with the Secretary of the Board or his designee his Acceptance of Office by a written affidavit setting forth the fact of his eligibility as required by law.
    5. Vacancies The office of a member of the Board shall become vacant immediately, without declaration by any Officer or acceptance by the Board or its members, upon one (1) of the following events:
      1. The death of the incumbent, or his being adjudicated mentally ill or found to be mentally incompetent by the proper court.
      2. The incumbent's resignation.
      3. The incumbent's removal from office.
      4. The incumbent's conviction of a felony.
      5. The incumbent's election or appointment being declared void by a tribunal.
      6. The incumbent's refusal or neglect to file his acceptance of office, or to take and subscribe to the constitutional oath of office, and deposit the same in the manner and within the time prescribed by law.
      7. The incumbent's ceasing to possess the legal qualifications for holding office, including the incumbent's residence being removed from the Community College District.
    6. Filling of Vacancies
      1. Vacancies shall be filled by a majority vote of the remaining members of the Board within 30 days of the office becoming vacant.
      2. Any person elected or appointed to fill a vacancy shall file an Acceptance of Office and qualify as herein provided and shall hold such office until the next regular Community College election held for the election of members of the Board of Trustees, at which time the electors of the District shall fill such office for the unexpired portion of the term.

  3. Board Officers

    1. Officers The Board shall elect a Chairman, a Vice Chairman, a Secretary and a Treasurer.
    2. Election and Term The officers shall be elected biennially at the Organizational Meeting of the Board, or any adjournment thereof. Each Officer shall hold office until his successor shall have been duly elected and shall have qualified, or until his death, resignation, removal, or the expiration of his term as a member of the Board, whichever shall first occur.
    3. Removal Any officer may be removed as an officer of the Board and a new officer selected in his stead whenever, in the judgment of the Board, the best interests of the Institution would be served thereby. Not less than ten (10) days' notice of the intention of the Board to remove an officer shall be given such officer.
    4. Vacancies If an office shall become vacant, it shall be filled by the Board for the unexpired portion of the term within thirty (30) days of such vacancy.
    5. Compensation and Expenses No member of the Board of Trustees, except the Secretary and Treasurer, shall receive any compensation for services rendered to the Institution as an officer or Board member. Expenses of officers and Board members may be reimbursed when the expenses are authorized by the Board.

  4. Organizational, Regular and Special Meetings

    1. Public meetings shall be held in the Board of Trustees Rooms at the Texas Township and Arcadia Commons campuses, except as may otherwise be provided in the notice of meeting given pursuant to the Michigan Open Meetings Act. The schedule and purposes of the meetings of the Board shall be as follows:
      1. Organizational Meeting The organizational meeting shall be held each year on the first regularly scheduled meeting following the date of the regular Community College District election. The Board shall elect its officers, and may adopt or amend its policies, organize, appoint any committees, and conduct such further business as permitted at a regular meeting of the Board.
      2. Regular Meetings The regular meetings of the Board shall be held on the second Tuesday of each month, except in the month of August. No regular meeting shall be held in August. A regular meeting may be rescheduled or recessed to reconvene on the same or different day or days. The Board may conduct any business permitted by law and not prohibited by these Bylaws.
      3. Special Meetings Special meetings of the Board may be called by the Chairman or by any two members thereof for such purpose or purposes and on such date and at such time and place as shall be provided in written notice. A special meeting may be adjourned from time to time but not beyond the next regular meeting of the Board. The Board may conduct only such business as set forth in the notice of such meeting, unless all members are present or an absent member shall sign a written waiver.
    2. Notice of Public Meetings The Secretary shall provide public notice of time, date, and place of all public meetings in the manner required by the Michigan Open Meetings Act (MCL ''15.261et seq.). A notice of all public meetings of the Board shall be given by the Secretary to the public and to the members of the Board as follows:
      1. Regular Meetings A public notice of the schedule of regular meetings for the fiscal year shall be posted at the front door of the Office of the President of the Institution in the manner and time provided by law. The Secretary shall further cause to be delivered by mail or otherwise to each Board member not less than three (3) days prior to a regular meeting a notice thereof together with an agenda therefore.
      2. Rescheduled and Special Meetings A public notice of rescheduled regular meetings or special meetings shall be posted at the front door of the Office of the President of the Institution at least eighteen (18) hours before such meeting. Notice of any special meeting shall be deemed to have been given to each Board member if the meeting date, place and subject matter were announced during a regular meeting of the Board or if a notice, together with an agenda for such meeting, shall have been personally delivered to an adult member of the household of a Board member or shall have been deposited in a government mail receptacle in a sealed envelope, plainly addressed to such member at his last known address, at least seventy-two (72) hours before such meeting is to take place. Service of notice may be made by a Board member or any employee of the Institution.
      3. To the extent permitted by the Michigan Open Meetings Act and other provisions of law, a Board member may participate in a meeting of the Board or any committee thereof by a conference telephone or similar communication equipment by which all persons participating in the meeting may hear each other if all participants are advised of the communications equipment and the names of the participants in the conference are divulged to all participants.
      4. Any notice required by statute or by these bylaws given to the members of the Board or to any Officer of the Board, unless otherwise provided herein or by statute, shall be sufficient if given by (i) depositing the same in a United States post office box or receptacle in a sealed, postpaid envelope, addressed to such member or Officer at his or her last known address; or (ii) any other means reasonably calculated to provide actual notice such as by facsimile or electronic mail. Such notice shall be deemed to have been given at the time of mailing or transmittal. Notice of any meeting may be waived by a Board member. Attendance at any meeting by a Board member shall constitute a waiver unless such member shall attend for the limited purpose of objecting to the meeting.
    3. Public Participation Except as otherwise permitted by law, every meeting of the Board of Trustees shall be open to the public and no person shall be excluded therefrom, except for a breach of the peace actually committed at a meeting.
      4. Public Participation Guidelines Each person wishing to address the Board during public comment shall provide their name, address, city, phone and issue to be addressed on a form provided prior to the meeting. Forms will be collected and given to the Board Chair prior to the call for order. Comments will be limited to four (4) minutes in length, and the Board reserves the right to limit total comment time on any one subject.
    4. Closed Sessions The Board may hold closed sessions for such purposes and in the manner provided by law.
    5. Quorum Four (4) members of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. If a quorum is not present, a majority of those present may adjourn the meeting from time to time until a quorum is present.
    6. Voting No act shall be valid unless approved by at least four (4) members of the Board, except as otherwise expressly provided by law or by these bylaws, and a proper record made of the vote. A roll-call vote shall be taken and recorded for the approval or modification of the budget, the removal of an officer of the Board or Administrator, upon the request of any two (2) members of the Board and for other purposes as may be required by law.
    7. Minutes Minutes of each meeting of the Board, including closed sessions thereof, shall be prepared by the Secretary in the form and within the time required by law.
    8. Order of Business The order of business for each regular meeting shall be as follows:
      1. Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance.
      2. Approval of Agenda
      3. Approval of Consent Agenda Items
      4. Public Participation
      5. Board Monitoring Reports
      6. Information Items
      7. Action Items
      8. Other Items
      9. Future Agenda Items and Evaluation of Meeting & Materials
      10. Adjournment

  5. Board Policies

    The Board shall from time to time adopt written policies to promote consistency of action and provide guidelines for the discretionary action of persons acting on behalf of the Institution.
    1. Preparation The President shall cause policies requested by the Board or by a Trustee to be drafted and submitted to the Board for its discussion and review. Each proposed policy shall be reviewed by College Counsel.
    2. Adoption Except by unanimous consent, every policy shall receive not less than two (2) readings prior to its adoption, which readings shall be on two (2) different days.
    3. Amendment of Policies The amendment of policies shall be the same as required for the adoption of original policies.

  6. Seal

    The Board shall provide a Corporate Seal. The Seal shall be circular in form and have inscribed thereon the name of the Institution. The absence of the seal from any document shall not affect the validity thereof, unless the Board expressly otherwise provide.
 
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