Still Here

Hello All,

Sorry for the lack of posts for the past month and a half. Professional and personal life has eaten up most of my free time.

We have been busy meeting at different times for board development. We have had a facilitator in leading the group thru some discussions. We have had our district legal counsel in to discuss policies and interpretations of policies. Basically we have worked on how we are to govern ourselves.

Which leads me to point out that the big news of the past month was the boards decision to eliminate the committee structure used by past boards and go to 2 full board meetings a month. This motion passed on a 5-1 vote (Jill List was absent due to a prior commitment).

As I said at the board meeting I see both sides of this issue and have struggled with it, since it was first discussed at one of our board development meetings as a governance option. Having been a citizen member before getting on the board I dislike taking that avenue away from prospective board candidates. I valued my time as a citizen member and felt it was necessary for me to have that experience before I ran for a spot on the board.

Additionally, the committees do allow for some good work to get done between the smaller committees and the administration in a less formal setting. However, the duplication time of the staff to present at the committe level and the board level was substantial. In addition, many members attended most committee meetings to hear the presentations given vs. hearing them at the board meeting and then having to vote on the issue.

Typically two meetings a month will allow a presentation at one meeting and then a decision at the next. (Complete details on how we will conduct business have not been laid out yet.) This may or may not reduce staff time, but if structured right it could. Lastly, as I stated at the board meeting my general feeling is that for this board and at this time the 2 meetings a month is the best method of governance for us. I may change my mind on that next year or the year after, but I am hopeful that this will lead to better conversation and discussion. I know that at various committee meetings I was at, but not a part of, it would have been nice to ask questions earlier in the process.

Our next board meeting is August 12th in the district office. We will have a full agenda as many items that the policy committee would have dealt with should be on the agenda.