The only rational answer that can be given in this situation as described
is, it depends. If there are attendance rules in the by-laws and the board
member's absence is willful then the rules probably need to be enforced. If,
on the other hand, the board member is a long-term and giving member, who is
required by his employer to attend a course, then accommodations could be
made. In any case, this is an item that needs to be discussed and decided by
the board, and the question needs to be raised and handled by the board
president/chair. Staff, unless they are a formal part of the board (a
practice I strongly discourage when consulting on governance issues, because
of the inherent conflict-of-interest), need to stay out of this, except to
privately raise the issue with the president of the board and to supply any
relevant materials. Board Cafe, if is still alive, is a good source of
information for these kinds of questions.
nburlakoff



-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf
Of Joy Houle
Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 2003 9:00 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Board members who can't attend meetings

Has anyone had any experience with board members who are not able to
attend board meetings for a period of several months? I have a board
member who plans to take a course and the course times conflict with our
board meeting times. This board member is supposed to give a report at
each meeting. I'm concerned about setting a bad precedent among other
things. Has anyone had to deal with this before? Is this something that
the board should discuss and decide on?

Joy Houle

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