Optimizing our Board Meetings
Happy first few weeks of school! Staff have been working hard to respond to enrollment changes and the needs of our students and families. It is a challenging but rewarding time of year as we ensure each and every student is placed in an environment where he or she can flourish and be prepared for a successful school year.
We are in full-swing campaign season, and (when it's not 103 degrees!), walking door to door. It provides a great opportunity to connect with parents, current and retired staff of all levels and positions, and valued constituents. One constituent recently lamented that our meetings seem lengthy and belabored, and I was left asking: do I agree with this concern, and if so, are there any solutions? I must concede, on occasion, we spend significant amounts of time on single, individual items. But one must remember that we board members are rightly limited in our communications by the Brown Act, which prevents us from developing consensus outside a public meeting, meaning we cannot move forward in any part of the decision-making process, even deliberations, outside of the public's eye. However, there are two strategies that could help our meetings be more productive:
We could receive more information on agendized items, as I, for one, aspire to make data-informed decisions. This could be accomplished beforehand in print, by meeting, or via workshops.
As a governance team, we could publish our agenda earlier than the 72-hour minimum, because that number is just that, a minimum established by the Brown Act. Some local East County districts publish their agendas five to seven days ahead of their scheduled meetings. Think through this with me: in Cajon Valley, the agenda is posted on Thursday evening, the board receives its update on Friday evening, then, since the board needs time to review any additional details on Tuesday before the meeting, that leaves only one day, Monday, for staff to respond to any and all requests for information. This limited time frame forces us to have lengthier conversations at our board meetings, where we are spending the time simply getting pertinent reports rather than building consensus as a board.
Another concern this particular constituent had was that we seem to always be focused on the problems and not the solutions, and this may be directed at me in particular more than to the board as a whole. We each have our own way of approaching our responsibilities as elected trustees. But, again, we are limited: we can only have cross-board member discussions about solutions to problems when those topics are agendized. So, for now at least, we are limited to either comments that intersect with an agendized item, or our valuable opportunity to give Board Reports. I hope I consistently convey that I am committed to focus on the positive successes of our district, while also embodying a growth mindset that will ultimately benefit our students, families, staff, and community.