Monday, March 17, 2014

Reconsideration?

Now it's time for a crash course in...parliamentary procedure and the Worcester School Committee rules!

The Worcester School Committee functions on Robert's Rules of Order plus our own (adopted) rules of procedure, which you can find online here. Rule 21 is the one on reconsideration.
Reconsideration is just what it says it is: it's a motion to say "hey, let's think about that again!"* Any member may file for reconsideration of an item within 48 business hours of the date of the original vote. Thus:
  • Mayor Petty had to have filed for reconsideration by close of the day on Monday, March 10, as the original vote was taken on Thursday, March 6. 
It is the first item to be taken up at the next meeting--you can find it on our agenda here--and it can only be done once (you can't reconsider a reconsideration). It cannot be deliberated. The motion for to reconsider must pass before the motion can again be deliberated and revoted.
Also, all reconsiderations come back as "Administration/[member who requested it]" thus there is no significance to Administration being listed on this. Their position--which was in advance of ours--has not changed regarding children who opt out heading to a different room to read or do other work.
The item(s) listed are a conglomeration of all of the motions made during that portion of the meeting; we voted regarding sending a letter and we voted regarding the administrative protocol being shared with ourselves and the public. We actually only voted twice.
We also voice voted, though the Mayor** did ask if anyone wanted a roll call. No one requested one. 
I haven't had a chance to do it yet, but later today I will clip the portion of the March 6 meeting of the deliberation and post it for those who might be interested. 

*for those who watch our meetings: you'll most often see a call for "reconsideration" DURING a meeting; as reconsideration can only be done once, doing it during the meeting precludes any of us from calling for it later; this puts the vote immediately into effect. Otherwise, votes wait 48 business hours until they are in effect. 
**for those not from Worcester: Worcester has a Plan E form of government. As such the mayor serves as a member and chair of both the City Council and the School Committee, but his powers do not extend beyond that.

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