Board Policy Series Number: 2025

Title: Board of Education Code of Conduct

Purpose

To broadly define expectations related to the individual and collective conduct of Board members within the course and scope of their Board related activities.

Statement

As a member of the Linn-Benton Community College Board of Education, each Board member has a responsibility to:

1. Recognize that the primary responsibility of the board, as a whole, is to govern the college in the best interests of the educational needs of the entire college district;
2. Recognize that individual board members must reflect a direct loyalty to the interests of their constituents and district residents as a whole in any board deliberations.
3. Recognize that a board member is a member of an educational team, that the strength and effectiveness of the board is collective, and that majority decisions shall be abided by;
4. Recognize that each board member is responsible for ensuring that the board as a whole is fulfilling its statutory and fiduciary duties,
5. Maintain consistent oversight of the college as a policy-setting board with emphasis on instructional quality, and fiscal stability;
6. Fulfill the fiduciary responsibility for sound budgetary and fiscal management by reviewing and analyzing financial reports, asking any relevant questions, and providing direction to the president;
7. Work with other board members to achieve college goals;
8. Communicate and promote the needs of the community to the college and the needs of the college to the community;
9. Recognize practices for communicating with the media that acknowledge the roles of the president, the public information officer and the board chair to ensure a unified voice in representing the college;
10. Promote a healthy working relationship with the college president through supportive, open and honest communication, and regular evaluation;
11. Seek to be informed by asking timely and substantive questions; request data and information through protocols established by the board and president;
12. Maintain an atmosphere in which issues can be discussed openly and fairly, protecting the dignity of individuals;
13. Become fully informed about the nature, value, and direction of community college education in our society by participating in such activities as educational conferences, workshops, and training sessions offered by local, state, and national organizations;
14. Devote time, thought, and study to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of a community college board member.
15. Attend all scheduled board meetings insofar as possible and become informed in advance about the issues to be considered at those meetings.
    
    

Date of Adoption: 04/18/07
Dates of Revision: 04/17/13
Dates of Last Review: 12/15/09; 04/17/13; 10/21/15; 9/18/19; 10/25/23