SIMI VALLEY : School Board May Hold Fewer Meetings

Simi Valley school board members are scheduled to decide at their regular meeting Tuesday whether to hold board meetings every three weeks instead of twice a month.

School board President Judy Barry said there is a consensus among board members that regular board meetings should be held every three weeks, beginning after Tuesday’s meeting.

Board members decided to vote on the matter at next week’s meeting while attending a board retreat Tuesday at Barry’s home.

If the board approves the proposed schedule change, school board meetings would continue to be held on Tuesday nights at 7 p.m. in Simi Valley City Hall. But meetings could land on any Tuesday of the month, Barry said. In the first nine months of 1993 the board would hold four less regular meetings compared with the same time period in 1992.

Citizens will have a chance Tuesday to voice their opinions on the proposed schedule change before board members vote on the matter, Barry said.

Holding meetings every three weeks will give the district’s staff more time to develop meeting agendas, Simi Valley Unified School District administrators said.

Also at the school board’s retreat Tuesday, board members decided that they will change the way they place matters on meeting agendas.

Since August, Barry said, board members at the end of each meeting have proposed items for future meeting agendas. To have matters placed on a future agenda, two other board members would have to vote in favor of placing the item on that agenda. However, some officials have questioned whether that practice violates the state’s open meeting law.

District officials said board members will now contact Barry or Supt. Robert Purvis individually and make requests for matters to be placed on future agendas.

School board members also decided to hold closed sessions before regular meetings instead of after regular sessions have adjourned.