Board of Education Operating Principles

SCHOOL DISTRICT OF SEWARD BOARD OF EDUCATION

Operating Principles

Operating Principle 1: Educational Advocate

Statement: We are advocates of good things happening in education to meet the needs of individual students in this district.

* Board team members will advocate for every student maximizing their educational opportunities within fiscal limitations.

* Board team members believe that the single most important responsibility of this team is to ensure the education of our youth.

* The board team will encourage an educational environment that includes the active involvement of parents and community members as stakeholders of the district.

* The board team advocates for a quality educational environment in which ALL students acquire the skills necessary to be successful in life.

* Individual board members will support team decisions after thorough discussion.

Operating Principle 2: Team Focus

Statement: We will seek and find ways to meet the learning needs of students, families, and community.

* Each board member has the freedom, opportunity, and responsibility to express his or her own beliefs about quality education. Sharing such beliefs within the board will promote honesty and integrity and will be accepted as such by other team members.

* The board team will work with school and community stakeholders to establish a clear vision of education to meet the needs of ALL learners.

* The board team will ensure that all personnel and programs are continuously evaluated in terms of their success for students.

* The board team shall stay on task at all meetings, retreats and executive sessions and will adhere to the established district calendar and time-lines.

Operating Principle 3: Human Resource Development

Statement: We are supportive of lifelong learning for us and other adults in the district.

* The board team will participate in activities to enhance their understanding of effective boardsmanship, policy and team development.

* Board team members recognize the importance of staying current on educational issues and trends and will utilize a variety of resources to develop themselves in key areas.

Operating Principle 4: Positive Relationships

Statement: We recognize that it is absolutely essential to develop healthy working relationships to remain positive in working together as a board. The board team pledges to:

* Strive to see the good in others.

* Refrain from speaking negatively about another board team member.

* Look for and recognize the positive contributions of each board team member.

* Seek ways to turn obstacles into opportunities.

* Maintain a sense of hope, optimism, and humor in working together.

* Seek ways to foster interpersonal understanding.

* Provide public feedback to each other when appropriate.

* Listen first and speak second.

Operating Principle 5: Open Communication

Statement: By being committed to communications which promote openness and understanding of the various perspectives of people, we believe that:

* Effective communication requires high levels of trust.

* Criticism of individuals in the district should not be communicated personally to them and should not be aired at meetings. The superintendent will be informed of concerns.

* Information permitted by statute to be discussed in executive session will remain confidential. Sharing of such information with unauthorized persons at any time is totally unacceptable and carries with it the possibility of public censure.

* If the superintendent needs to communicate concerns about the actions of a board team member, the first step will be to discuss the matter with the board president and the board member involved. If a resolution is not reached at this time, a mutual plan of action will be developed to ensure resolution of the issue.

* Board team members agree to operate as a team. As such, they will conduct themselves in accordance with district expectations which include, but are not limited to the following:

• Personal requests for information will be channeled through the superintendent's office.
• The superintendent will be notified of issues that are causing the attention of members of the board team.
• The superintendent will be the recipient of appropriate information regarding issues needing investigation (i.e., names of people making complaints, specific instances regarding the complaints, etc).
• Ideas, questions, or proposals about an educational concept, initiative, or change proposed by individual members will be presented to the full board and the superintendent. If there is enough board support and the support of the superintendent, it will be presented to the administrative team for their analysis. If there is support on both the board and administrative teams, the process of research about the issue and best practices in schools will be initiated through the school improvement process.

* To avoid the possibility of misinterpretation by other team members, board team members agree to coordinate all visits to other districts or state agencies through the superintendent's office.

Operating Principle 6: Handling of Concerns

Statement: Board team members acknowledge that they will be asked to become involved in specific school-related issues and agree to handle them as follows:

* Listen to the individual's concern.

* Explain that the board and administrative teams have established a process for handling concerns.

* Ask the person if they have discussed the issue with the person immediately responsible.

* Express appreciation to the individual for presenting the concern.

* Affirm the desire to reach a satisfactory solution

* Encourage the person to follow the established process.

* Assure the person that the superintendent will be informed of a significant complaint. However, affirm that the chain of command procedure must be followed.

* Ask the person to report back on the progress or resolution of the concern.

In the event the issue involves a complaint from an employee of the district, the team pledges to adhere to the following steps:

* Ask the staff member if they have spoken with their immediate supervisor.

* If they have met with their supervisor, inform them of their right to appeal the decision with the central office supervisor.

* If steps 1 and 2 have been met and the issue has not been resolved, inform the employee of the formal grievance procedure adopted by the Board of Education.

Operating Principle 7: Interactiveness Within the Team

Statement: We are responsible for quality interaction with each other as board team members.

* Each individual member is accountable to the board team for his or her own actions.

* Each member is accountable to the board team to express his or her point of view during meetings on issues.

* Each board team member will remain receptive to divergent views of other members.

* Should concern about another board member arise, the person with the concern will share his or her views with the individual in a private setting.

* If a resolution of the concern is not reached between two board team members, a third person on the board will be mutually identified to assist in the resolution of the concern. There may be times this resolution will involve the entire board.

Operating Principle 8: Meeting Format

Statement: We choose to conduct our meetings in an open and orderly fashion.

* Board meeting agendas are developed cooperatively between the board president and superintendent. Any board team member may request items to be placed on the agenda subject to the approval of the board president and in adherence to the adopted deadline for items to be included.

* Board meeting agendas are open and publicized to encourage meaningful dialogue.

* Potentially controversial issues, which could have an impact on a significant portion of our public, will be thoroughly covered with appropriate documentation and information before any decision-making activity occurs.

* Executive sessions will ONLY be used as necessary and consistent with state regulations in areas such as personnel, land acquisition, and negotiations.

* The board welcomes input from the public during the scheduled public forum of each meeting. However, the board will not respond to the issues raised without adherence to procedure that may include the issue being referred to a board committee for further study.

* Each board meeting will have a portion of the meeting devoted to a segment on student or staff success within the district. The board and superintendent will look into the feasibility of having a student (non-voting) board member program.

* All board committee agendas and minutes will be sent to all members of the board team. Non-committee members wishing to attend specific meetings will make their requests through the superintendent's office.

Operating Principle 9: Team decision-Making

Statement: The team will adhere to the following guidelines for board decision-making:

* Gather all pertinent facts concerning the issue.

* Receive input, garnered through the appropriate channels, from persons affected by the decision.

* Analyze and organize the collected data.

* Develop multiple options, which include potential impact on finance, facilities and staff.

* Present those solutions to the board with a recommendation.

* Provide a plan to implement the decision that contains an on-going monitoring system to determine the decision's effectiveness.

* Support the decision and its effective implementation.

Operating Principle 10: Planning, Goal Setting and Accountability

Statement: We desire to ensure accountability through a methodical and orderly process.

* The board team is committed to a comprehensive planning process leading to mutually acceptable goals and their accountability.

* The plan shall prescribe responsibilities for each individual along with an assessment of progress in measurable terms at regular intervals.

* The board team will be highly supportive of a comprehensive planning process within the district, which will form the basis for specific actions and results within the district.

* The board team will commit to at least one annual retreat to review operating principles, review the previous year's goals and to modify or develop new goals.

Developed at Board Workshop July 17, 2003.

Adopted by Board of Education: August 11, 2003

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