Communication with the Public

In going back over the past month of notes from our various board development meetings and our regular board meetings, one of the things that stands out is COMMUNICATION. What does this mean in general?

We have talked a lot about this lately as a board and I am not sure if I have a better understanding of it or am more confused than I was a month ago. I like to think that I am a pretty decent communicator. My wife and daughter may disagree with that, but that is a whole other conversation.

Some board members do not like the use of blogs by Mr. Sobol and myself. Yet, I hear from many citizens that they like reading them as a way to learn about issues, learn what is happening with the board and to get our individual take/stance on things. Personally, when I am posting about board happenings I try to keep them as true and factual as possible and then input my opinions later in the post.

When we met with our legal counsel for the district he stated that blogs are a way to communicate and the board had no governance over their operation. He also warned Peter and I, since we are the only 2 members with blogs at that this time, to be careful how we present issues and our opinions. Basically make sure that it is clear when something is our opinion and not a board action or thought.

What does communication mean to each of you as it relates between the school district and the general public? Do you like reading blogs? Does the district do a good job of disseminating information thru the website and by sending items home with students? Are there other things that the board or the district can do to improve the transparency of operations?

Some board members have mentioned they would like to see public listening sessions or town hall type meetings or something similar to those. This may be a time set aside at a board meeting or a special meeting. Details and format would have to be worked out, but my understanding is a more relaxed informal dialogue between board members and citizens. Is this something that the citizens are interested in?

Please give me some feed back on what you think about the communication either from the district administration or the school board and any thoughts you have on how to improve it or if the listening sessions are a good idea.

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.