Establishing and maintaining a basic organizational structure for the District, including selection of the Superintendent and adoption of policies, curriculum, the budget and the collective bargaining agreement.
Ensuring accountability to the local community, including personnel, programmatic and fiscal accountability and service as a judicial and appeals body as needed.
Providing community leadership and advocacy at the local, state and national levels on behalf of children, District programs and public education.
The Board shall be solely responsible for hiring the Superintendent and ensuring that he/she is the best match for the District based on needed abilities, traits and level of knowledge. When selecting a new Superintendent, the Board shall ensure a smooth transition period; evaluate the District's current and long-term needs; plan and conduct a process for recruitment, screening and selection; and approve the Superintendent's employment contract. The Board shall regularly evaluate the Superintendent based on an evaluation system and performance objectives established by the Board and Superintendent.
The Board member has no individual authority. Individually, the Board member may not commit the District to any policy, act or expenditure. The Board member cannot do business with the District served, nor should the Board member have an interest in any contract with the school district. The Board member represents and acts for the community as a whole and does not represent any fractional segment of the community.
Board members should hold the education of children and youth above any partisan principle, group interest, or personal interest
Board members should understand their role and the programs offered by the District. They should study all agenda materials before the meeting, participate in the discussion of items which come before the Board, vote on motions and resolutions, and abstain only for compelling reasons
Board members and persons elected to the Board are responsible for complying with the requirements of the state's open meeting laws.
The Superintendent or designee shall make available a copy of the Brown Act to each Board member and to anyone who is elected to the Board
“A Governing Board Member should honor the high responsibility which Board membership demands --
BY thinking always in terms of “children first”.
BY representing at all times the entire school community.”
“A Governing Board member should meet his/her responsibilities to the community --
BY winning the community’s confidence that all is being done in the best interest of school children.”
COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP: The Board shall also build and maintain community support by actively involving parents/guardians, business and other community members in the schools and informing them about District programs, policies and issues.
The Board of Trustees recognizes the need to continually reexamine district programs and practices to determine their effectiveness in serving all students. Review and evaluation procedures shall provide a mechanism for ensuring accountability to parents/guardians and the community. To enable the Board to fulfill these responsibilities, the Superintendent or designee shall identify and/or develop appropriate measures to evaluate student achievement, parent/guardian involvement and other district goals. He/she shall then regularly report to the Board regarding progress toward the district's Strategic Plan and the implementation of comprehensive plans. Ongoing district processes, such as the Board's evaluation of the Superintendent, policy reviews, curriculum adoption, budget adoption and staff development program, shall also be used to review and evaluate district progress towards achieving the vision. Opportunities for feedback from students, parents/guardians, staff and community members shall be made available as part of the district's review and evaluation process. Evaluation results may be used as a basis for implementing programmatic changes, determining the need for additional support or assistance, awarding incentives or rewards and establishing other performance-based consequences. Evaluation results shall also be reported to the community.