Transcript Board Business or Staff Business?
Board Business or Staff Business?
An Agenda That Works Good Morning.
Please read the white handout: “Adviser” from the April 2006 American School Board Journal 1
Questions
What’s wrong with board meetings?
What is board business?
Staff business?
What would an agenda prepared by the board look like?
How do we make the change?
(from staff business to board business) 2
First, Your Thoughts
From your perspective… What’s wrong with board meetings?
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Now Let’s Talk
What’s wrong with board meetings?
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Some Problems With Meetings
Time Priorities Relevance Staff The Public Board Members 5
Time
Not enough board time 1 mtg/month @ 3 hours/meeting = 36 hrs/yr 2 mtgs a month @ 4 hours/meeting = 96 hrs/yr Compare with staff time 40 hours/week x 50 weeks = 2,000 hrs 6
Priorities
Whose priorities?
Staff or Board Misplaced board priorities Doing things right vs. Doing the right Unfocussed agenda Do agendas reflect board priorities ?
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Relevance
Pareto principle 80% of time/effort – 20% of work Urgent crowds out Important “By the time we got to important items agenda, we were too tired to do the work that was needed.” Board member on the Trivial Pursuits Dominated by personal routines and procedure agenda items and 8
Staff
Whoever prepares the agenda… … directs the directors Staff work – staff reports Board’s primary conversation is with staff Board work – reacting to staff Who is setting the priorities?
Public input – focus on plans, programs, resources, activities Staff Work 9
The Public
Expectations about boards: Politics and Politicians Meetings are for airing problems, and board members are problem solvers Every district issue is a board issue Every issue is worked at board meetings 10
Board Members
Input to the agenda Abdication to superintendent (unintended) Personal ‘agenda’ items Ill-disciplined Not easy to ‘think as one’ Over-reliance on consensus Under-reliance on Robert’s Rules 11
Agendas We’ve Seen
Call to Order/Flag Salute Approval of Minutes Consent Agenda – Hiring, Resignations, Voucher Approval Special People – Recognition Reports Old Business New Business Announcements Adjourn Most Meeting Time
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Agendas We’ve Seen
Call to Order/Flag Salute Approval of Minutes Consent Agenda – Hiring, Resignations, Voucher Approval Special People – Recognition Reports
1.
2. Old Business
3. 4.
Most Meeting Time New Business
4.
5. Announcements – Board End-of-year Reception Adjourn
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Agendas We’ve Seen
Call to Order/Flag Salute Approval of Minutes Consent Agenda – Hiring, Resignations, Voucher Approval Special People – Recognition Reports
1. DECA Business Club 2. Host School Report 3. Affirmative Action Report New Business
1. Course Approval Announcements Adjourn Board Initiative Staff Initiative Legal Mandate
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Agendas We’ve Seen
Call to Order/Flag Salute Approval of Minutes Consent Agenda – Hiring, Resignations, Voucher Approval Special People – Recognition Reports
1. Superintendent’s Conference 2. New Principal Evaluation Form 3. Budget Status New Business
4. Facilities Use Agreement 5. Food Services Contract 6. Textbook Adoptions 7. Salary Schedules Announcements Adjourn Board Initiative Staff Initiative Legal Mandate
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Agendas We’ve Seen
Call to Order/Flag Salute Approval of Minutes Consent Agenda – Hiring, Resignations, Voucher Approval Special People – Recognition Reports
1. Host School Report 2. State Special Education Monitoring Visit Old Business
3. Consider Recommendations of Facilities Advisory Committee New Business
4. Resolution to Authorize Superintendent to Request Bond Announcements – Board End-of-year Reception Adjourn Board Initiative Staff Initiative Legal Mandate
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Your Turn
From your perspective… What is board business?
What is staff business?
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Now Let’s Talk
What is board business?
What is staff business?
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Board Business
Set direction for the district Monitor district performance Concerned with identifying WHAT… …is to be accomplished: Academic achievement Character Citizenship END RESULTS 19
Staff Business
Achieve results Follow policy Concerned with HOW… …to get the district where it must go: Curriculum/Instruction Schedules Bus routes Facility constr/maint MEANS 20
Definition of Board Business
Identify desired results ENDS the district should achieve Monitor results Set policy Monitor compliance Link with policy with the community Board development 21
Definition of Staff Business
Means – Anything that isn’t an End Result HOW the district achieves its ENDS Means – ‘freedom with limitations’ Means must comply with limits set in policy Do Ends justify Means?
YES…Means success It depends = ENDS achievement NO…Policy identifies unacceptable Any reasonable Means interpretation of policy is acceptable 22
Ends/Means Distinction
Ends identify results for beneficiaries ( What good…for Whom…at what Cost) “All Students will achieve level 3 on the state test” “All Students will demonstrate successful job skills” BOARDS prioritize their work on ENDS Means are everything else “District budget will maintain 5% reserve” “Instruction will not deviate from adopted curriculum” “Transportation costs will not exceed state-funded amounts by more than 15%” BOARDS only set boundaries on STAFF MEANS 23
Focus on Board Business
An Agenda prepared by staff can reasonably be expected to orient on Staff business An Agenda prepared by the Board should be expected to orient on Board business 24
Your Turn
If the board prepared its own agenda… What would it look like?
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Now Let’s Talk
What would the board’s own agenda look like?
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Preparing the Board Agenda
How can the board prepare its agenda?
After all… Part -time board, full -time staff State-mandated agenda items Limit the board’s scope Extend the board’s vision Annual (and longer-range) time frame Each meeting – follow annual agenda 27
Annual Agenda
An Agenda the Board can plan Plan Monitoring of Ends/Means For the staff…and the board Plan Linkage with the Community Plan Policy Review Policies that guide staff Policies that guide board Plan Board Development 28
July August September October November December January February March April May June
Annual Agenda
Board 1,2,3,4 8 11 Bd/Supt Rel Ends 2 13 1,2,3,4 5 5,6,7 12 9,10 3 1 5 Limits 2 1,3,4,7,8 9,10 18 13,14 11,12 17 5,16 15 6
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Annual Agenda
Linkage July August September October November December January February March April May June w/ PTSA Academic Ends Citizenship w/ Students w/ City Council w/ Businesses Board Development Board Retreat State Conference NSBA Other Supt Contract Staff Day Awards Dinner Graduation
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Strategy for Board Meetings
That do the Board’s Business
Use time to maximum advantage 1.
2.
Meet obligations Representing the Community Accounting to the Community 3.
Primary board means Policy – for #1 and #2 How do meetings address these 3?
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Strategy for Board Meetings
That do the Board’s Business
Community – The real boss Board ‘stands in’ for community Listens to the community A board is only a board when it meets Accountability – Monitoring “Organization does things the boss checks” Monitor data as called for in policy “Don’t ask how things are going until you’ve said how things ought to be” Evaluate data against criteria for success 32
Strategy for Board Meetings
That do the Board’s Business
Policy – Board’s Means – Gives direction Directs the superintendent thru policy Directs staff thru the superintendent Expectations Achieve policy result Comply with policy boundaries Board gives as much guidance as needed – and not one word more 33
Board-Controlled vs Staff-Controlled
Agenda Prepared by the Staff Approval to repair a roof Accept bids on a school remodel Budget review and approval Agenda Prepared by the Board How are students performing?
What do ‘owners’ (taxpayers) think of our schools?
Does the curriculum need to change due to advances in technology? (re: The World is Flat)
Board Initiative Staff Initiative
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Board Meeting Agendas
Before PG Random Q & A Monitoring / Linkage / Ends Development After PG Structured Q & A Consent Agenda (Issues #1 to #12) More time on key board issues More time discussing owner’s opinions More focus on Supt monitoring reports
Board Initiative Staff Initiative
GP 8 35
Agenda Prepared by Board
Call to Order/Flag Salute
Approval of Minutes Announcements/Comments Consent Agenda Assurance of Organizational Performance
1. Superintendent’s Update 2. Ends Monitoring – E-3 Citizenship/Character 3. Board Response to Monitoring – EL-17 4. Board Self-Monitoring – GP-3 Community Linkage
5. Joint Meeting with City Council – E-3 Citizenship/Character Policy Review
6. Governing Style – GP-2 Announcements Adjourn Board Initiative Staff Initiative Legal Mandate
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Your Turn
If we want our board meetings to focus on “board business”… How do we make the change?
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Now Let’s Talk
How do we make the change?
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Alternatives
Good Fast Cheap
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Policy Governance (PG)
A strategy for accomplishing board business by prioritizing board time/effort PG distinguishes board business from staff business PG principles support the board doing board business by systematically NOT doing staff business 40
PG: Board’s Purpose
The Board stands in for ‘owners’ It’s primary linkage is with ‘owners’ (not staff) In meetings… Board links with ‘owners’ to learn community values and priorities 41
PG: Board Job Description
The job of the Board is to ensure the district achieves what it should and avoids doing what is unacceptable In meetings… Board does its job by linking with the community, setting policy, and monitoring to ensure performance 42
PG: Monitoring Performance
The Board monitors district performance: achievement of ends written in policy, and compliance with policy limitations In meetings… Board monitors district performance and compares data against policy criteria 43
PG: Superintendent Evaluation
The Board monitors district (superintendent) performance data against written policy criteria The only measurement of success: Did the district achieve desired Ends?
Did the district comply with Executive Limitations?
In meetings… Valuable board-superintendent performance discussion is extensive and lasts all year long 44
PG: Agenda Planning
Contents of Board’s annual agenda: Linkages – Listen to the community Monitoring – Judge district performance Policy Review – Entire set reviewed each year In meetings… Parts of meetings – planned linkages, scheduled monitoring, and policy review 45
PG: Agenda Planning
Besides Linkage/Monitoring/Policy Board development In meetings… Board schedules opportunities to inform its members and to improve its capacity to govern 46
PG: The Chair’s Role
Chair is responsible for ensuring the Board follows its own policies In meetings… Chair ensures the Board follows its agenda 47
PG: Governing Style
The Board speaks with one voice The Board directs only through policy In meetings… Board acts by voting on policies – Board majority ‘speaks’ via policy 48
PG: Board Self Assessment
The Board evaluates whether it complies with its own governance process policies In meetings… Board assesses its own performance at the end of each meeting 49
Policy Governance
Ensuring Effective Meetings
Time – More time for board business Priorities – On board’s work Relevance – What boards can do Staff – Focus on responding The Public – Is represented & consulted Board Members – Do what they are capable of doing 50
Board Meetings: Board Business
Old: Link with staff Receive staff reports Approve staff work Agenda prepared by staff , ad hoc items added by board New: Link with ‘ owners ’ Monitor performance Revise policies Agenda prepared by board in annual plan and written in policy Q: “What’s going on ?” Q: “What’s important ?” or “How did we do ?” Strategic 51
In Summary
By taking control of the board agenda, you spend the board’s meeting time on board business, and… …you produce an agenda that WORKS 52
Take Another Look
ASBJ Adviser - April 2006 Board Business… …or Staff Business?
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Questions?
Policy Governance Associates Bob Hughes & Rick Maloney Website: http://www.policygov.com
for Slides/Handouts/Reference Material Email: [email protected]
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