EDITOR: Our school district has not had priorities established
since June with the end of the 2002-03 school year. In years past,
the Board of Trustees has developed goals for the upcoming school
year in December, which gives staff priorities for the following
year budget development. District staff simply cannot be directed
without having some guidance from the Board. The Board sets
direction for the district by establishing goals and
priorities.
EDITOR:
Our school district has not had priorities established since June with the end of the 2002-03 school year. In years past, the Board of Trustees has developed goals for the upcoming school year in December, which gives staff priorities for the following year budget development. District staff simply cannot be directed without having some guidance from the Board. The Board sets direction for the district by establishing goals and priorities.
As many know, only the superintendent reports to the Board of Trustees. Once the goals are placed in the hands of the superintendent, she can put the operational wheels in motion to fulfill them and provide the leadership to successfully reach the stated objectives.
We must have this retreat Monday because to do nothing is simply irresponsible. Our Board, our superintendent, our staff need to be held accountable for doing their jobs. But if they are without clearly defined marching orders, the result is obviously having entire district resources and its people pulling in different directions. This is something everyone wishes to avoid in these times of California’s fiscal crisis and our own upcoming budget development. Furthermore, we cannot fairly judge the work of our superintendent, especially since her evaluation is based on the accomplishment of goals established by the Board.
Besides sending a signal to our own district employees, it is imperative to communicate what we are all about to our parents and students. A hidden benefit to this is that with an election coming up in November, it would be really nice for potential candidates to learn, understand and publicly discuss their views on the publicly stated goals and direction of the district and how to best reach them.
The previous Board began the process of goal development for the current school year (2003-2004) at the Oct. 21, 2002, board meeting, with continued discussion Nov. 18, 2002. It was decided to wait until new board members were seated after the November 2002 election. The newly seated board discussed goal setting at its meetings of Dec. 9, 2002, and Feb. 1, 2003. Goals for the 2003-04 school year were never finalized.
In November 2003, then board president Tom Kinoshita began polling board members to find a mutually agreeable time when all seven members could meet to set goals for 2004-05. Not all board members were able to commit to a mutually agreeable time.
Again in December, as Board president, I polled members to find a time for a Board retreat. After several dates were set and cancelled and two more months passed, we now have one in March. The entire Board has agreed to meet and a neutral California School Board Association facilitator from outside the district has been contracted to lead the discussion about how to set priorities and work as a governance team.
This is a great opportunity and cannot be squandered. As president, I cannot and I will not pass on such opportunities. If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything – an adage that wears well in today’s local educational climate.
George N. Panos,president,
MHSD Board of Education
