I'm a member of a school board in New York. There was an item at the end of the agenda called New Business. I left the meeting early not seeing anything important on the agenda. When New Business came up, the rest of the board voted on a time to interview new construction consultants. I cannot make this time. Shouldn't items that require an action by the board be added to the agenda when we adopt the agenda at the beginning of the meeting? The public has a right to know what will come up at a meeting so they can stay if it is of interest to them. We also give them the right to speak at the beginning of the meeting on agenda items. Having this New Business at the end seems to conflict with the above two items. - R.S., Nov. 20, 1999

A: Unless what you suggest is a requirement of your governing documents or a quorum was lost, the action the board took was proper. "New Business" is the normal place in the order of business for new proposals to be heard. It is placed quite late in the agenda because some of the items that may precede it (such as officer reports, committee reports, and the completion of unfinished business) may have an effect on them.

Some organizations do adopt a special rule of order requiring all New Business items to be enumerated in the agenda; however, the disadvantage of this is that it tends to give a board less flexibility, requiring a wait until the next board meeting to handle issues that come up during the meeting.