(A) Committee established. A Scholarship Review Committee is hereby created and shall hereafter be referred to as the Committee.
(B) Duties and powers of Committee. The Committee shall have the duty to evaluate and obtain information on applicants for scholarships and to award scholarships. To perform these duties, the Committee is authorized to receive and C review information submitted by or on behalf of the applicant, to contact employers, instructors, persons submitting references and other persons listed by the applicant and appropriate school officials and employees to verify information submitted by the applicant and to gather any information relevant to the decision making process of the Committee. The Committee may consult with school officials and other interested persons to obtain information relevant to the needs of the schools and to permit the Committee members to perform their duties. The Committee members shall assure that each applicant meets the eligibility requirements set forth in this chapter. Any applicant who fails to meet all of the eligibility requirements shall not be considered for or awarded a scholarship by the Committee.
(C) Selection of Committee members.
(1) Composition. The Committee shall consist of nine regular voting members and three alternates. The nine regular voting members shall be comprised of the Superintendent of the Davidson County Schools or designee, the Superintendent of the Lexington City Schools or designee, the Superintendent of the Thomasville City Schools or designee, one County Commissioner, one representative of the home school sector in Davidson County nominated by the operators and instructors of home schools in Davidson County, one representative of the private school sector in Davidson County nominated by the operators and instructors of the private schools in Davidson County and three members of the general population of Davidson County. The Board of Commissioners may appoint any person as an alternate. The Chairperson and Vice Chairperson shall be selected from the regular voting members by the Board of Commissioners. All appointments for regular voting members other than the superintendents of the school systems or designees, alternates, the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson shall be made by a majority vote of the Commissioners present and voting at a duly held meeting of the Board of Commissioners. The Board of Commissioners shall not be prohibited from appointing a person to the Committee because such person would be or could become disqualified from considering or deciding upon a particular scholarship application. The Davidson County Attorney shall serve as legal counsel to the Scholarship Review Committee.
(2) Terms. Initially, terms of service on the Committee shall be as follows: three regular voting members and one alternate shall serve one-year terms; three regular voting members and one alternate shall serve two-year terms; and three regular voting members and one alternate shall serve three-year terms. After each initial term is completed, the term of service on the Committee shall be three years for all regular voting members and alternates. It is the purpose of this subsection to create staggered terms for service as regular voting members and alternates on the Committee. Notwithstanding the length of a term established in this subsection, all regular voting members, alternates, the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson shall serve in their respective positions at the pleasure of the Board and may be removed by a majority vote of the Commissioners present and voting at a duly held meeting with or without cause. No person shall serve more than two consecutive terms on the Committee and shall serve no more than four terms total.
(D) Compensation. No regular voting member or alternate shall receive any salary or similar compensation for service on the Committee. However, regular voting C members and alternates are entitled to reimbursement for travel to duly convened meetings of the Committee. The reimbursement shall be paid by Davidson County at the Davidson County rate.
(E) Conduct of Committee.
(1) Meetings. The Committee shall establish and publish a schedule of its regular meetings. The Committee may set days and times to assure the regular attendance of all regular voting members and alternates and the public to the extent that the public is entitled by law to attend such meetings. Meetings shall be held on the Fourth Floor, Commissioners Meeting Room, of the Davidson County Governmental Center. All deliberations and discussions regarding applicants shall be held in closed session upon proper motion and voting in open session by a majority of voting members present. A motion to enter into closed session shall state that the purposes of such session are to prevent the premature disclosure of a scholarship and to consider information which is privileged or confidential pursuant to 20 U.S.C. § 1232g. To prevent the premature disclosure of scholarships, the Committee shall be permitted in closed session to make award decisions and shall not be required to publish or announce the names of recipients until all awards have been made and all applicants have been sent notification of the Committee’s decision. The Committee shall also be permitted to enter into closed session to consult with and instruct legal counsel regarding the handling or settling of any claim, judicial action or administrative procedure arising out of the Committee’s action or to receive legal advice from legal counsel. The Committee shall promptly notify all applicants in writing of the Committee’s c decision. Pursuant to G.S. § 143-318.11(e), a general account of closed meetings shall be kept in writing or sound or video and sound recordings. Such general account shall be withheld from public inspection until such time that all scholarship decisions have been made at which time such general account shall be considered a public record within the meaning of G.S. § 132-1 and shall be available for public inspection. All educational records submitted by the applicant are considered privileged and confidential pursuant to 20 U.S.C. S 1232g and are not considered public records under G.S. § 132-1. A quorum shall be established upon the attendance of at least seven regular voting members or alternates. If a regular voting member is not present at a meeting or is disqualified from taking particular action, an alternate shall serve in place of that absent or disqualified regular voting member and shall be considered a voting member for the period of that member’s absence or disqualification. The rotation or scheduling of service by alternates shall be as established by the Committee.
(2) Procedures for evaluation and awards. The Committee is authorized to establish procedures and rules for the guidance of the Committee in the evaluation and awarding of scholarships which are not inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter or other applicable law. The Committee may, but is not required to, conduct interviews with applicants at regular meetings of the Committee. All ex parte communications and contacts, whether in writing or in person or by telephone or by any other means of communication, between or among any regular voting member, alternate and applicant or any person acting on behalf of the applicant are prohibited. The immediately preceding sentence shall not prevent any regular voting member or alternate from contacting any employer, institution, person submitting a recommendation or other non-relative of the applicant who might have relevant information regarding an applicant or from consulting with the Board of Commissioners, County Manager or County Attorney regarding an applicant or this chapter. A regular voting member or alternate who is a parent, spouse, grandparent, sibling, uncle or aunt of an applicant or who is related by marriage to the applicant or who is or was a responsible adult of the applicant shall be completely disqualified from any involvement in the investigation, consideration, evaluation and decision as to such applicant and such member or alternate shall not act in person or by proxy upon such application for a scholarship. A qualified alternate shall act on such application in place of the disqualified regular voting member or alternate. A scholarship shall be awarded to an applicant only upon a majority vote of voting members present. However, no action to award or not award a scholarship shall be made without the presence of at least seven regular voting members or alternates.
(3) Compliance with Open Meetings Law and Public Records Law. It is the intent of this chapter that the Committee comply with the requirements of the Open Meetings Law and Public Records Law of North Carolina. If any provision of this chapter or any procedure of the Committee is inconsistent with the Open Meetings Law or Public Records Law, then the latter laws shall control.
(4) Committee as agent. The Committee shall be an agent of Davidson County only for the purposes of investigating and evaluating applications and awarding scholarships.
(Ord. passed 3-9-04; Ord. passed 8-25-15; Ord. passed 1-10-17)