Virginia Administrative Code › Title 8 - EDUCATION › Agency 20 - STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION › Chapter 281 - REGULATIONS GOVERNING JOINTLY OWNED AND OPERATED SCHOOLS AND JOINTLY OPERATED PROGRAMS › Section 8VAC20-281-20 - Organization and operating procedures

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
Two or more school boards, by individual resolution, may
				  establish a joint board to manage and control schools or programs jointly owned
				  and operated in accordance with the following requirements:
1. Membership. The membership of the joint
				board shall be composed of at least one member of each of the local school
				boards participating in the joint program. Each school board shall fill any
				vacancies in its membership on the joint board. If a member of the joint board
				ceases to be a member of the school board that elected him, the local school
				board shall appoint his successor to the joint board. If at any time the number
				of members of the joint board shall fall below a quorum, the local board shall
				appoint a member to fill the vacancy or vacancies within 30 calendar days.
Members of the joint board may receive compensation fixed by
				  each of the participating school boards. This compensation shall be paid by the
				  local boards and shall not exceed the amount paid for service on the local
				  school boards.
The joint board shall adopt bylaws or rules of operation and
				  shall establish the length and beginning dates or terms of its members and
				  establish committees that might be needed to carry out its responsibilities.
				  Such bylaws shall address the receipt, custody, and disbursement of funds and
				  the payment of all claims related to the operation and maintenance of the joint
				  facility, consistent with the state statutes and regulations of the Board of
				  Education.
2. Organization.
				The joint board shall elect from its membership a chairman who shall preside at
				its meetings and a vice-chairman who shall preside in the absence of the
				chairman.
The joint board shall elect a clerk and, if desired, a deputy
				  clerk. Neither the clerk nor the deputy clerk shall be a member of the joint
				  board but shall keep record of the proceedings. The compensation of the clerk
				  and the deputy clerk shall be fixed by the joint board. The clerk and the
				  deputy clerk shall execute bond of at least $10,000, as provided by §
				  22.1-76 of the Code of Virginia.
3. Authority. The joint board shall be
				authorized to employ the staff required to operate the joint school and
				programs; purchase supplies; purchase, sell, or dispose of equipment or
				appliances; determine policies concerning instruction; approve the curriculum
				in keeping with the general laws, and with the regulations and requirements of
				the Virginia Board of Education; maintain jointly owned school buildings; and,
				in general, manage, operate, and conduct joint schools and programs.
The title to all property acquired for joint schools shall
				  vest jointly in the participating school boards in such respective proportions
				  as the participating school boards may determine, and the schools or programs
				  shall be managed and controlled by the participating school boards jointly.
				  With the approval of the participating school boards and the respective local
				  governing bodies, title to property acquired for a joint school shall be vested
				  in the governing body of such school.
Except as otherwise provided, all meetings and procedures of
				  the joint board shall be in accordance with provisions of §§ 22.1-72
				  through 22.1-75 of the Code of Virginia. Any action by the joint board shall be
				  deemed an action by the school boards jointly owning such school.
4. Authority of the division
				superintendent. The division superintendents representing the counties or
				cities of the school boards that form the joint board shall constitute a
				Committee of Superintendents and shall jointly exercise the same authority they
				have in the counties or cities for which they are appointed. With the approval
				of their respective school boards, the division superintendents may elect one
				of their members as executive officer in whom may be vested such authority as
				the superintendents may from time to time find advisable.
The Committee of Superintendents shall prepare, with the
				  advice and approval of the joint board, an annual program plan, budget, and
				  plan for financing the operation of the joint school that would include
				  appropriate state and local funding from each participating school division.
				  The financing plan shall include an estimate of the amount of money that will
				  be needed from each participating school system during the next scholastic year
				  for operation and maintenance of the joint school facility. The estimate shall
				  clearly show all necessary details and be provided in a timely manner so that
				  the participating school boards may be well-informed about every item included
				  in the estimate.
In case of disagreement, all matters shall be referred to the
				  joint board for resolution.
5. Budget and expenditures. Each
				participating school board shall review and approve the annual budget presented
				by the joint board and provide funds to cover its share of the cost of
				operating and maintaining the joint school facility. The amount provided by
				each participating school board shall be made available for expenditures by the
				joint board as follows:
a. Funds to be
				provided by participating school boards shall be made available to the joint
				board upon its requests.
b. Funds
				to be provided on a fee for service basis shall be paid to the joint board upon
				receipt of an appropriate invoice.
On a regular monthly basis, the clerk of the joint board
				  shall transmit to the Committee of Superintendents of the participating school
				  boards an itemized statement of receipts and disbursements during the preceding
				  months, with a cumulative statement of all receipts and disbursements since the
				  beginning of the current fiscal year.