About Meetings

When are meetings?
The Board meeting calendar can be found HERE. The agenda is posted a minimum of 48 hours in advance, both at the buildings and HERE. The public is always welcome to attend Board meetings, and time is set aside for public participation. Meetings can be viewed live online via live stream. Recordings of every Regular Board meeting are available HERE. The recordings are usually posted within 24-48 hours after the meeting.

What happens at meetings?
Board meetings are working sessions and the Board’s primary obligation is to conduct its business. In order to make sure the Board is able to complete its work, time for public participation is limited.

Closed sessions
The agenda for some meetings may include a closed, or executive, session, during which the Board may consider certain topics such as employment of personnel and student disciplinary cases. Any official action on these matters must be taken in a public meeting. The minutes for closed session will be made public once the reason for confidentiality no longer exists.

If I have a concern, how can I communicate it?
D41 has an open-door policy and welcomes citizen input. If you have a concern about your child or your child’s class, first contact the teacher. From there, contact the building principal. If you feel dissatisfied with the response at the building level, contact the appropriate administrator. If you have a district-wide concern, contact the appropriate administrator or the superintendent directly. If you decide to go directly to the Board, be aware that the Board generally will need time to look into the background and policy implications of the issue before it can act and rarely makes a decision on an issue brought before it for the first time.

Write to the Board
Residents are welcome to write the Board in care of District 41. If your comments are received a week in advance of the meeting, they will be included in the packets that go to the Board members prior to the meeting. If they are received later, they will be provided to the members at the meeting.

Public Comment
In accordance with Board Policy 2:230 members of the public are welcome to address the board during board meeting. Comments are limited to three minutes or less. Members of the public who wish to provide public comment should indicate their intention on the meeting sign-in sheet. They will be called during the Public Participation portion of the meeting by the Board Recording Secretary. Written material may also be presented and will become part of the public record of the meeting.

Personal complaints and criticism about staff members, students or other members of the District 41 community should be initiated privately with the appropriate district representative respecting the personal nature of the issue. Profanity, interruption and/or other interference with the orderly and civil conduct of the meeting are not permitted.

All questions raised will be forwarded to the appropriate D41 staff representative for a response, if a response is warranted and if the member of the public provides the appropriate contact information.