Board Organizational Meeting Guide

The board organizational meeting is a special meeting held after the regular biennial school board election to accomplish two main objectives: elect board leadership and affirm board members’ commitment to maintaining executive session confidentiality. Boards may combine the organizational meeting with a swearing-in ceremony so that one meeting serves as the transition point for board membership, a distinct occasion to honor outgoing board members and welcome new ones. The board may hold its organizational meeting immediately before the board’s regular meeting if it wishes to do so, thereby taking up district business after officer elections.

CASB designed this meeting guide to help local boards meet the requirements of state law and accomplish the practical tasks involved with the board’s organizational meeting. This page is offered as a resource for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. School districts should consult legal counsel regarding specific questions. Visit CASB's Elections webpage for additional resources.

Post Election Checklist

Oath of Office

 After the board election, the school district’s Designated Election Official (DEO) delivered certificates of election to the successful candidates immediately upon receiving the official abstract of votes from the county; 

or

 If the board election was canceled, the DEO delivered the certificates of election to the candidates deemed “elected by acclamation” after Election Day and before the next regular board meeting or the board’s organizational meeting, whichever comes first.

 Candidates took the oath of office within 10 days of receiving the certificate of the election before the board president or another officer authorized to administer oaths (e.g. notary public or judge).

 The DEO collected, and the district maintains, the signed oath of office of each newly elected board member.

Board Organizational Meeting

  The board secretary called the board organizational meeting to be held within 15 days of receiving the official abstract of votes; 

or

 If the board election was canceled, the board secretary called the board organizational meeting to be held within 15 days of Election Day.

 Public notice of the meeting was posted at least 24 hours before the meeting.

 Individual notice to board members, including new board members, was delivered at least 24 hours prior to the board organizational meeting or mailed at least 72 hours prior to the meeting.

 The board met to conduct its organizational meeting.

 The board elected a president and vice president either by roll call or secret ballot.

 The board elected a secretary and treasurer by roll call.

 Optional: The board appointed an assistant secretary/secretary to the board and an assistant treasurer.

 All members of the newly constituted board signed confidentiality affidavits.

After the Organizational Meeting  

 The district submitted election results regarding board members and any ballot issue to the Colorado Department of Education (CDE).

 The district submitted information regarding board members to CASB via email.

 The district maintains the board members’ confidentiality affidavits with the minutes of the organizational meeting.

Notice

The secretary to the board must call the board organizational meeting within 15 days after a school district receives the final abstract of votes (i.e. the official election results) from the county.[1] If the election was canceled, the board organizational meeting should be held within 15 days of Election Day.

As with any board meeting, the school district must post notice of the board organizational meeting no less than 24 hours prior to convening. The notice must inform the public of when and where the meeting will take place, the purpose of the meeting, and the specific agenda information. In addition, the secretary must notify each board member of the time, place, and purpose of the meeting by delivery at least 24 hours prior to the meeting or by mail at least 72 hours prior to the meeting.[2]

A sample meeting notice for the board organizational meeting is included below. If the board’s organizational meeting includes a swearing-in ceremony, the district should provide notice to all the board members participating, both the outgoing members and the incoming members.

Opening the Meeting

Once the board members are gathered for the organizational meeting, the incumbent board president calls the board organizational meeting to order. The incumbent board president will continue to preside over the meeting until the board elects a successor president.

The president starts the recording device and states: “It is now [time] on [month, day, year]. For the record, my name is [name], and I am the presider of this meeting. Our board is electronically recording this special meeting, which the board called for the purpose of selecting officers of the board, to fulfill the requirements of Colorado law. This meeting will now come to order. Secretary, please call the roll.”
The secretary calls all seated board members. Depending on whether new members have been sworn in, this roll call may include some outgoing members and/or some incoming ones.

After the roll call, the president asks the board for a motion to approve the agenda. Once the board approves the agenda, the board proceeds either to the swearing-in ceremony or if the incoming board members are already seated, to the board officer elections.

Seated Board Members

If a new board member has taken the oath, then that new board member is a seated board member, and the outgoing member they are replacing is no longer a seated board member.

The exception to this rule is the president, who, regardless of whether their seat is now filled by an incoming member, continues to serve as the presider of the meeting until the board elects a new president.

Oath of Office / Swearing-in Ceremony

Each candidate elected by popular vote or by acclamation (when the election is canceled for no contest) must take the oath of office no later than 10 days after they receive the certificate of election.

With their certificates of election in hand, elected candidates may take the oath of office immediately, outside the meeting context. The board president (or judge, notary public, or other officer authorized to administer oaths) may administer the oath of office. Once the member takes the oath of office, they are a seated board member and the term of their predecessor ends.

If the board’s organizational meeting includes a swearing-in ceremony, the swearing-in occurs after the board approves the agenda and before the officer elections. A printed copy of the oath should be provided for the board president and new board member to sign after the board president (or another qualified official) administers the oath to the new member.

The district can create its own oath form, so long as the form includes space for the date, the district name, signature lines for the board member and official administering the oath, and the language of the oath: “I, ____________, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully perform the duties of the office of school director as required by law and will support the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of Colorado, and the laws made pursuant thereto.” Links to sample oaths are available at the top of this page.

As each incoming member of the board completes the oath, they take a seat at the board table, replacing their predecessor (traditionally with a handshake and a thank you for serving the community). The written oath is filed with the school district’s DEO.

Officer Elections

As the final duty in office, the incumbent president oversees the election of their successor. Once the board selects its new president, the gavel passes to the new president, who conducts the remaining officer elections one by one.

Voting by Secret Ballot

Voting by secret ballot is only available for the offices of president and vice president. A secret ballot election may proceed even if there is only one nominee for the office. Members may cast a single vote for any nominee or submit a “write-in vote” for another eligible person. To win, a nominee must receive a majority of the ballots cast. If the incumbent president is an outgoing board member, then he or she would not cast a vote for the new president; otherwise, the president participates in the election just like any other member of the board. 

The board’s tellers (appointed by the president—often the superintendent or secretary to the board) collect the ballots and tally the results. If no nominee receives a majority vote of the ballots cast, the board president declares the result, stating: “No election. No nominee received a majority vote, and so I declare this election null and void and now call for further nominations.”

Repeat the process until one member gains a majority of the votes. At that time, the board president states: “The results of the secret ballot were [winning nominee] received a majority vote and is elected [officer position].”

Voting by roll call (required for all offices except president and vice president)

If the election is by roll call, the candidates are voted on in the order in which they were nominated. To conduct a roll call vote, the board president states: “The question is on the election of [Nominee A] for [officer position]. As many are in favor of [Nominee A] for [officer position] will, as their names are called, answer ‘Aye’; those opposed will answer ‘No.’”

The president then calls each board member’s name in alphabetical order. If the incumbent president is an outgoing board member, then they would not cast a vote. If the incumbent president will remain on the board, they participate in the election just like any other board member. The president should record the vote(s) and then repeat them to be sure of their accuracy. If the Nos are in the majority, the president states: “The Nos have it and [Nominee A] is not elected. Those in favor of [Nominee B (the next nominee put forward by the board)] say ‘Aye’; those opposed say ‘No.’”
When the Ayes are in the majority, the president states: “The Ayes have it, and [winning nominee] is elected [officer position].”  

Appointment of assistant secretary/secretary and assistant treasurer

If the board has created such positions in its policies, the board appoints staff members (or a single staff member) to fill these offices by a roll call vote. The superintendent may recommend appointees for these positions, which the board may approve.

Recording election results in meeting minutes

The board must record the result of all votes in the minutes of the meeting. For secret ballot elections, record the vote tallies by each name nominated and/or receiving votes.[4] So long as a recount is not requested, either destroy the ballots or maintain them for a period set by the board. For roll call elections, record the results as the board would typically record the outcome of a roll call vote in the board’s meeting minutes.

Reporting election results

In addition to recording the results of officer elections in the board’s meeting minutes, the law obligates school districts to send any updated board member information to CDE, then CDE works with each district to update board member information in the Data Pipeline Directory. 

CASB also requests that information about new board members be provided to CASB via email so that CASB can maintain up-to-date membership records.

Confidentiality affidavit

State law requires all board members to sign a “Confidentiality Affidavit” during the board organizational meeting.[5] This affidavit serves as board members’ public commitment to safeguarding the confidentiality of board conversations held during executive sessions, including conversations related to personnel, students, security, and attorney-client privileged communications, among others. Once completed, the district maintains these affidavits with the minutes of the meeting. Boards are welcome to use CASB's sample Confidentiality Affidavit to meet this legal requirement.

Sample meeting notice

A sample meeting notice is available below.

Special Meeting of the Board of Education for __________________ School District

Biennial Board Organizational Meeting
Meeting Date: ___________
Meeting Time: ___________
Meeting Place: ___________
 
The Board calls this special meeting for the purpose of selecting officers of the board.
 
Agenda Information

1. Call to Order
2. Roll Call
3. Approval of Agenda
4. [Optional: Oath of Office / Swearing-in Ceremony]
5. Action Items
1. Election of Board President
2. Election of Board Vice President
3. Election / Appointment of Board Secretary
4. Election / Appointment of Board Treasurer
5. Election / Appointment of Board Assistant Secretary
6. Election / Appointment of Board Assistant Treasurer
7. Board Members Sign Confidentiality Affidavits

Forms and Resolutions

Below are forms and resolutions relevant to the candidate election process. For all forms and resources, click here.

• Acceptance of Nomination to be a Candidate 
• Acceptance of Nomination to be a Candidate - Spanish
• Affidavit of Intent of Write-In Candidate
• Affidavit of Intent of Write-In Candidate - Spanish
• Affidavit of School Director on Qualification for Office
• Affidavit of School Director on Qualification for Office - Spanish
  
• Call for Nominations for School Directors
  
• Cancellation of School Board Election - by Acclamation
• Cancellation of School Board Election - No Candidates
• Cancellation of School Board Election and Notice of Vacancy
  
• Certificate of Election - Elected by Acclamation
• Certificate of Election - Elected by Voters
• Confidentiality Affidavit
• Notice of Intent to be a Candidate
• Notice of Intent to be a Candidate - Spanish
• Oath of Office before Board President
• Oath of Office before Board President - Spanish
• Oath of Office before Notary or Other Authorized Person
• Oath of Office before Notary or Other Authorized Person - Spanish
• Official Notice of Intent to Participate in Election