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Governing Board

Welcome to the meeting of the Hanford Elementary School District Board of Trustees. Your interest in promoting education for all children in HESD is appreciated. This page is designed to acquaint you with the Board and its adopted procedures for conducting an orderly and appropriate public meeting.


Board Meetings

Regular meetings of the Board are normally held monthly during the school year, on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month, at 5:30 p.m. in the District Boardroom at 714 N. White Street, Hanford. Special meetings may be called when necessary; the agenda, location and time will be announced in advance.  Meetings during summer months may be scheduled as necessary.   


Closed Sessions

All regular and special meetings are held in public. However, upon some occasions during these meetings, the Board may meet privately in closed session for certain purposes permitted by law. Matters for closed session normally involve personnel issues, pupil disciplinary action, legal proceedings, and employer-employee relations.


Minutes

Minutes are kept of all meetings and record all actions taken by the Board of Trustees. Once adopted, these minutes become public records and are available for inspection at the District Office.

Public Comments

  • The Public Comment portion of the meeting is for listening to the input and remarks of the Public.
  • Public Comment is not a question-and-answer time. We are here to listen to the comments of the Public.
  • For individuals wishing to make a Public Comment, please begin by:
    • Stating your first and last name and
    • If you have children that attend HESD – what school or schools
  • 3-minutes will be allotted for each Public Comment.
  •  A timer will be set to keep comments within the allotted time.
  • The timer will buzz at the end of 3 minutes and we respectfully ask the speaker to close their remarks at the sound of the timer.
  • 20 minutes in total will be allotted for Public Comments on a specific topic.


Order of Business

Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance

Presentations, Reports and Communications

Public Comments

Requests to address the Board at Future Meetings

Information Items

Action Items

Consent Agenda

Board Policies and Administration

Personnel Items

Financial Items


Board of Trustees

The five members of the Board of Trustees are elected by and from trustee areas of the district to serve four-year terms. Among its many duties, the Board adopts the annual budget and approves all expenditures, establishes district policy; authorizes employment of personnel; approves curriculum, textbooks, courses of study; and makes decisions on contracts.


Superintendent

The Superintendent is the Chief Executive Officer of the District and serves as Secretary to the Board.


PROCEDURE TO ADDRESS THE BOARD

During the Public Comments portion of the agenda, any individual in the audience can raise his/her hand, be recognized by the President, and address the Board on any topic within its jurisdiction, even though it does not appear on the agenda. Since the Board is only able to act on items that are on the agenda, no action will be taken on the item at this meeting; however, the Board may direct that the topic be agendized for a future meeting. Topics that are legally proper subjects for consideration in closed session (e.g., questions and problems relating to school employees) should not be presented during this time.

The Board will not prohibit public criticism of its policies, procedures, services, acts or omissions. The Board will also not prohibit public criticism of its employees. However, those who publicly criticize a district employee will be advised that they may be subject to charges of slander or libel.

Three minutes are normally allotted for each individual who is making a presentation, with a maximum of 20 minutes for each subject. The Board reserves the right to alter the time allowance when the number of recognized speakers warrants a change.

For additional information please refer to Board Bylaw 9323 - Board Meeting Conduct.


PROPER CONDUCT OF DISCUSSION

Remarks by any person addressing the Board, which reflect adversely on the political, religious or racial views, or on the character or motives of a person or group of people, are considered out of order. Interference with the Chair's orderly conduct of the District's business will not be allowed. In extreme cases, the Board may exclude those persons whose disorderly conduct is clearly interfering with the ability of the Board to conduct its business.


BOARD AGENDA ITEMS REQUESTED BY THE PUBLIC

Any member of the public may request that a matter within the jurisdiction of the Board be placed on the agenda of a regular meeting. Requests for items to appear on a published Board Agenda must be submitted to the Superintendent in writing and received a minimum of ten (10) working days in advance of regular board meeting.


INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES

Any individual who requires disability-related accommodations or modifications, including auxiliary aids and services, in order to participate in the Board meeting should contact the Superintendent in writing.