Florida College System institution boards of trustees; membership.

(1) Florida College System institution boards of trustees shall be comprised of five members when a Florida College System institution district is confined to one school board district; seven members when a Florida College System institution district is confined to one school board district and the board of trustees so elects; and not more than nine members when the district contains two or more school board districts, as provided by rules of the State Board of Education. However, Florida State College at Jacksonville shall have an odd number of trustees, and St. Johns River State College shall have seven trustees from the three-county area that the college serves.

(2) Trustees shall be appointed by the Governor to staggered 4-year terms, subject to confirmation by the Senate in regular session.

(3) Members of the board of trustees shall receive no compensation but may receive reimbursement for expenses as provided in s. 112.061. A member is subject to s. 112.313 with respect to business dealings with the institution, including any entity under the control of or established for the benefit of the institution under his or her purview while he or she is a member of that institution’s board of trustees.

(4) At its first regular meeting after July 1 of each year, each Florida College System institution board of trustees shall organize by electing a chair, whose duty as such is to preside at all meetings of the board, to call special meetings thereof, and to attest to actions of the board, and a vice chair, whose duty as such is to act as chair during the absence or disability of the elected chair. It is the further duty of the chair of each board of trustees to notify the Governor, in writing, whenever a board member fails to attend three consecutive regular board meetings in any one fiscal year, which absences may be grounds for removal.

(5) A Florida College System institution president shall serve as the executive officer and corporate secretary of the board of trustees and shall be responsible to the board of trustees for setting the agenda for meetings of the board of trustees in consultation with the chair. The president also serves as the chief administrative officer of the Florida College System institution, and all the components of the institution and all aspects of its operation are responsible to the board of trustees through the president.