Agenda Item Resources for Employees
The following resources are intended for Cerritos College employees who submit board agenda items.
Step 1: Determine when your board agenda item can be considered
- Refer to the "Board Meeting Date and Deadlines" to determine the appropriate board meeting for which your item can be considered.
- Agenda items must be reviewed by the appropriate Vice President (VP) before submission to the President's Office. If your office reports directly to the President, your item must be submitted to the President's Office by the VP deadline.
Step 2: Create your agenda item
- Download the Board Agenda Item Template and use it to create your item (Download Word Viewer).
- Do not make formatting changes to the template.
- Be mindful of spelling, grammar, punctuation, correct job titles, and board meeting date.
- Spell out all acronyms.
- Visit the "Agendas, Minutes, and Board Books" web page and click on board books to see examples of previously submitted agenda
items. The following are good examples of agenda items:
Consideration of Approval of Grant Example
Consideration of Approval of Honorarium/Stipend Example
Consideration of Adoption of Resolution Example
Below are some additional tips to consider when creating your agenda item:
Agenda Item No.: Please leave this line blank; it will be completed by the President's Office after the agenda is developed.
Subject Line: The Subject Line, Action, and Financial Implications are used to build the board agenda for each meeting (See Board Agenda Example); therefore, it is important to be both thorough and succinct in each of these areas.
- Do not put a period at the end of the Subject Line.
- If you are asking the board to approve something, the Subject should begin with "Consideration of Approval of...".
- If you are asking the board to adopt a resolution, the Subject should begin with "Consideration
of Adoption of Resolution #...".
Note: Contact Andrea Wittig to obtain a Resolution Number. - If you are asking the board to approve something that has already occured (such as a contract that has already taken effect or a stipend that has already been paid), the Subject should state, "Consideration of Ratification of...".
Action: Generally, the Action statement should begin with "It is recommended that the Board of Trustees [approve/deny/ratify...]" followed by a sentence describing the proposed board action.
Financial Implications: Be thorough in explaining the financial implications.
- Include actual dollar amounts of all monies being expended, including general and restricted fund monies.
- If there are no financial implications, state, "No general funds will be used."
- If your item is grant funded and there is no impact to the college's general fund, include the sentence, "No general funds will be used."
- If your item is for several stipends, include each recipient's name and the amount they are to receive, followed by the total amount to be expended (see Consideration of Approval of Honorarium/Stipend Example).
Report Summary: This section is intended to provide background information to the board so that it can make an informed decision about the item being presented. Provide as much information as possible.
- If your item pertains to a grant stipend or contract renewal, include when the grant/contract was originally approved by the board and the total dollar amount of the grant/contract.
- If the item is for approval/ratification of a contract, the contract must be included as an attachment to the agenda item.
- If you are submitting an agenda item for something that has already occured, your agenda item must include an explanation of why the item is being submitted to the board after action has taken place.
Noticing Requirements: Unless a public hearing notice is required, leave the statement on the template as is: "None is required beyond posting of this item on the agenda."
Attachment(s): Spell out the titles of each attachment (see Consideration of Adoption of Resolution Example).
Step 3: Submit your agenda item to VP's Office
- Submit your agenda item to the appropriate Vice President for review and signature before the deadline.
- You must also submit an electronic copy of your agenda item and attachments to the appropriate Vice President's administrative assistant.
- Do not send the electronic copy directly to the President's Office!
- Please name your electronic files appropriately (e.g "VTEA Stipend 03-19-14.docx") to avoid confusion with multiple files.
Step 4: After review, VP's Office submits your agenda item to President's Office
VP Assistants:
- After careful review, submit a signed hard copy of agenda items to the President's Office.
- Send ONE email to Andrea Wittig that contains all of your agenda items and attachments. Ensure that all files are clearly named to avoid confusion. Also ensure that the files you are sending are identical to the signed hard copies.
- Send by 12:00 p.m. on the deadline date.
- If your items are going to be late, please call Andrea Wittig before 12:00 p.m. on the deadline date.
Step 5: Your agenda item is added to the board agenda
Upon submission, your item will be reviewed and added to the upcoming draft board agenda. The draft agenda will be reviewed by the Board President and Coordinating Committee, and changes may be made at any time:
All agenda items are included in the online board book each Thursday prior to the board meeting. This information is available on the "Agendas, Minutes, and Board Books" web page.
Further Information
Board Presentations: Please contact Andrea Wittig to be added to the schedule of board presentations. Please note that Board presentations are limited to 5-10 minutes, which includes time for questions from the board. Be aware that presentations are typically rehearsed at a Coordinating Committee meeting to provide an opportunity for feedback prior to the final presentation to the board. After review by the Coordinating Committee, your final presentation must be emailed to Andrea Wittig no later than one week prior to the board meeting.
Relevant Information:
Questions? If you have any questions about the board agenda development process, please contact Andrea Wittig at x2202 in the President's Office.
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