After a Monday night vote, Butler Area School District board members are now formally discouraged from using their social media accounts “to communicate with the public regarding the board and board-related business.”

A new social media policy for the district's elected officials was self-imposed by a near majority of board members, but not until after they removed punishments for disobeying the policy.

The one holdout vote came from a board member who frequently posts his thoughts on board business and other board members on his Facebook page. The policy originated from a quarrel over his posts.

At its previous meeting, the board passed a draft version of the policy with intentions of editing it for a final vote Monday.

This is an excerpt from an article that appeared in Thursday's Butler Eagle. Subscribe online or in print to read the full article to find out what are the guidelines, possible consequences from the policy and more.