I agree that being a nonprofit doesn’t mean that board members aren’t given information to make informed decisions. I also agree that committees are generally supposed to do some of the with and vetting so that meetings can run more smoothly.
One thing that is an unpleasant reality is that pretty much all orgs also need a good, comprehensive errors and omissions policy covering the board for any occurrence that may happen while serving in the board. It’s for the protection of all board members and officers. I’d check into this as well, as there needs to be an annual premium paid (unless you save with multi-year policy).
I have run a nonprofit I formed for 15 years and it’s been pretty smooth without the chaos you speak of. Chaos and last minute pressure decisions without adequate information is not a good way to run an org.