Newark Central School

District

Board of EducationNew Member Orientation

Some content taken from

Becoming a Better Board Member

NSBA Second Edition and The Aspen Group

Duties and Responsibilities

• Educate yourself on being a board member

• Communication with other board members

• Communicate with the Superintendent

• Ask questions when you do not understand

• Attend board meetings

• Serve on committees• Be prepared

• Review and approval of district policy

• Review and approval of district budget

• Evaluation of the Superintendent

• Legal obligations• Required training• Educate yourself

Roles and Limitations• Share your viewpoints and expertise• Participate in Planning and Goal Setting• Work with the board to set policy and budget• Understand that you, as an individual, cannot

– give orders or direct staff– speak for the board as a whole– effect change without board action

• Observe clear distinction between Board and Superintendent roles

• Understand that we are each just one person• on a 7-member *team

Preparing for the Meeting

• Check your email daily. Important information is often sent out between meetings.

• Review your * board packet as soon as possible.

• Ask questions and request information as soon as possible after receiving your packet. (Before the meeting)

• Save any materials from previous meetings that will be on agendas again.

• Develop a filing system that works for you.• Educate yourself.

How much work is it?

Really?• You will get information via email from the Board

President or the Superintendent. You will need to read and sometimes respond to this email.

• On meeting weeks you will receive the meeting packet either hand delivered or via email. There may be many pages of information.

• There are usually two SCHEDULED meetings per month.

• During budget time you can easily expect to meet once a week for several weeks…sometimes more often.

• Meeting typically last from three to four hours but have been known to go longer depending on the subjects being discussed.

• There are also a few workshops and classes that you may want to attend. (A class on Fiscal Oversight is required.)

Separating Your Personal

• Time management• Relationships• Stress• The reasons you chose to serve

Learning to be an Effective Board Member

Classes, Seminars, Workshops

• Mandatory Fiscal Training• New Board Member Seminar• Classes on School Finance• Classes on School Policy• Classes on School Law• Classes on School Legal Issues• Classes on Team Building for

Boards• Classes for Boards Officers• Classes on School Board

Leadership• Veteran Board Member Seminar• Classes on Current Relevance

Issues

Associations• NYSSBA Membership• FCSBA Membership

Networking • FCSBA Meetings• NYSSBA Convention

Advocacy• State Legislative Network

You• Communicate with other board

members• Discover your own resources• Asking lots of questions

Working Together as a Team

• You are now one of a 7-member team• A team is a group of individuals that share,

collaborate, and assist one another in order to achieve a common goal, as a group on one side.

• A team encourages diversity in viewpoints.• A team joins together to fulfill a mission.• The better the cooperation • communication and coordination• among team members• the more effective the team.

“Wilson, about your idea of ‘team approach’……”

Using Your Personal Expertise

• We all have a unique talents or expertise.

• By combining individuals in team fashion, all of these talents are joined to work toward a common goal.

• Think about what yours are

Agenda Development• Who- ALL BOE members have the right to request that an item be added to

a future agenda. - Request should be related to board policy and a majority of BOE

members must agree that the item should be added.

• How - A time is set aside near the end of each meeting to discuss what

needs to be on future agendas. At this time board members may request items to be placed on a future agenda.

- Superintendent makes a draft based on upcoming items he is aware of- The President, Vice-President and Superintendent meet a week or so

before the planned meeting to draft the agenda- The Draft agenda is sent out as soon after that meeting as possible- Board members submit questions and input.- The final agenda is usually sent out on the Friday before each meeting

The Meeting• Executive session (OML)- Executive session items will be things that discuss individual staff

members in terms of discipline, legal action, etc.- Any specific negotiation items need to be discussed in executive

session. Any litigation and many legal items will be discussed in executive session.

• Public session (Everything else)- All meeting are conducted using Robert’s Rules of Order

• Consent items- Consent items are items that require board action but should not

require much discussion or individual debate.- Consent items can be questioned, sometimes in executive session,

sometimes in public and can be pulled for separate vote if needed

Setting District Goals

• The board has a set of goals or ends that we set for our students achieve.

• The board reviews and sets goals for the District and the Superintendent.

• The board monitors the goals it set for the District and the Superintendent

• All goals are reviewed and adopted on an annual basis by the Board of Education.

Setting Board Goals• We as a board also sets

goals for ourselves as a Board and hold ourselves accountable.

• We monitor our progress by having a different board member “debrief” at the end of each meeting.

“The planning retreat was comprehensive, provocative and insightful, but we decided to leave things pretty much the way they were last year.”

The Budget Process• The Superintendent builds a

proposed budget based on..– board goals and priorities– input from other administration and staff

• The board seeks additional input from all stakeholders

• The board votes on the budget• The community votes on the budget• The board sets the tax levy

Communication• The board as a whole must keep the lines open

and active to and from all stakeholders. • The board must speak with one voice through the

board spokesperson.• The board must provide meaningful interaction

and quality dialog with all stakeholders• Clear consistent communication improves

advocacy and trusteeship• Good communication builds moral and fiscal

support for district efforts

"We've tried door prizes, theme parties, entertainers, and magic acts, but we just can't stimulate better attendance at meetings."

Policy

A shared value or

perspective that

underlies action.

Policy vs. Regulation

• Board Policy Manual– How we conduct meetings (Robert’s Rules)– How we set and modify policy– How we set expectations– How we monitor results– How we communicate

• Superintendents Regulations (often state or federally mandated)

– Federal laws, regulations and policies mandate the states– State laws, regulations and policies mandate the districts– District regulations and policies must be written to comply

with all state (Law, Regents, SED) and federal mandates.– Additional district regulations and policies may be written to

reflect local values, concerns and priorities.

• Because we do NOT want to..– Become obsessed with trivial concerns– Have short-term management focus– Review, rehash and redo staff work– Decide specific strategies and techniques– Give staff individual directives or tasks– Be focused on or manage day-to-day operations

Why Lead Using Policies?

• Because we DO want to..– Lead with an emphasis on the future and end results– Focus on strategic leadership and guiding principles– Lead using a clear set of defined goals and values– Make collective decisions based on a common vision– Set the tone, direction and guiding culture of the district

Why Lead Using Policies?

• Policy serves as the single driver for organizational actions• Policy provides a true framework for site based management• Policy provides clarity while increasing full information and accountability• Policy enforces efficient decision-making based on a clear set of written

goals• The board is able to act as a single entity• The board is able to make decisions at the policy level• The board is able to focus it’s attention on priority concerns• The board is able to intelligently align resources to achieve board goals• The board exercises leadership with rigorous monitoring of performance• The board shares it’s vision for student achievement and results• The Superintendent is able to interact with the Board in mutual support

for the organization’s common vision, mission and goals.• The Superintendent is able to make operational decisions without the

board’s approval and is held accountable for the results.

Benefits of Using Policies?

Owners: Citizens

Superintendent

TransportationCurriculum/Instr.

Food ServiceBudget/Finance

BuildingsTextbooks

Staff Issues

School Board

Student Results

Policies

Policies

Policies

Goals

Linkages

MONITORING

Food for thought….

“A good system allows ordinary people to produce extraordinary results.” Peter Drucker