Jump to content
Billings Public Schools Forums

Board Operations Committee - Thursday, August 2, 2012


Recommended Posts

Proceedings of the Board Operations Committee

School District No. 2, Yellowstone County

High School District No. 2, Yellowstone County

Billings, Montana


August 2, 2012


CALL TO ORDER

The Board Operations Committee Meeting of School District No. 2, Yellowstone County, Montana, and the High School District, Yellowstone County, Montana was duly held at The Lincoln Center, 415 North 30th Street, Billings, Montana, Thursday, August 2, 2012 at 10 a.m.

Chair Teresa Stroebe presided. Pledge of Allegiance was said.

ROLL CALL

The following members of the committee were present: Trustees Teresa Stroebe, Lindy Graves and Dr. Greta Besch Moen; Superintendent Terry Nelsen Bouck. Also present were Trustee Pam Ellis and Connie Wardell, and staff members Karen Palmer and Leo Hudetz.

RETREAT/WORK SESSION PLANNING

Ms. Stroebe stated that the purpose of a retreat will be to work with the Superintendent and the board on goals. Board members will be asked if they are available either the 7th and 8th of September or the 21st and 22nd. This would be Friday evening and Saturday. Ms. Stroebe will check to see if Dana Toole is available to facilitate those dates. Trustee Graves would like the retreat defined to be more goal oriented. The retreat will be about the goals and governance structure. Trustee Ellis is not interested in attending a retreat where Ms. Toole is facilitating. She prefers McPherson since superintendent goals and evaluation are part of the contract the district has with them. Mr. Hudetz clarified that the contract with McPherson includes superintendent goals, not board goals, and there would be a charge for travel expenses. Ms. Stroebe suggested they might be available to Skype so as not to incur travel expenses. She would like to have the retreat at a school library.

Trustee Graves stated that the retreat needs to be productive and the board needs to follow through with recommendations. It needs to be structured ahead of time. Superintendent Bouck suggested asking board members what they would like to have discussed ahead of time. Trustee Stroebe wants only board and superintendent, not other staff members present. Jeff Weldon, attorney, will be asked to attend at least some of the retreat. Mr. Bouck will make sure an agenda is out a week in advance. He suggested having the retreat closer to the end of September and said all trustees need to be in attendance. The suggested dates are September 21 and 22.

BOARD COMMUNICATION/EMAIL POLICIES

Jeff Weldon prepared the draft of Policy 1402 and Karen Palmer prepared the draft of Procedure 1402-P1. Trustee Graves stated that the board has to be able to follow policies and govern themselves. Trustee Moen said that communication issues need to be discussed with the full board at the retreat. Jeff Weldon will be asked to attend the retreat for this discussion and further discussion on the use of email. Trustee Graves stated that we have been trying to pass these for a long time. It needs to come out of the retreat ready to go. Trustee Ellis would like these tailored similarly to those of the City Council.

Karen Palmer, Director of Technology, was at the meeting to answer any questions. These policies and procedures are the result of conversations with Jeff Weldon, Leo Hudetz, Karen Palmer and Superintendent Bouck. The second part of the procedure is similar to what is in the staff Acceptable Use Policy.

The Superintendent told those present that it is his intent to have the central office staff prepare a monthly status report which will then be shared with all board members. He feels this will help board members to be more knowledgeable about the workings of the district. Everyone will have the same information. Mr. Bouck will explain this further at the retreat. He will also do a newsletter to parents and the community and will address questions as presented. He also plans to do Superintendent Forums throughout the year where he will meet with people directly.

Everything on this agenda will be on the retreat agenda.

COMMITTEES

Ms. Stroebe stated that she does not wish to address this during this meeting but explained her plans for future committees. At this time the governance plan and our policies do not match. The proposed committees procedure has been changed to reflect the Doug Eadie model.

Ms. Moen questioned if Jeff Weldon had been asked to reconcile policies. He has not been asked.

Ms. Stroebe, as Chair of the Board, is allowed to make appointments to committees. She is proposing that Performance Monitoring/Stakeholder Relations be split into two committees: Performance Monitoring with Allen Halter as chair, and Stakeholder Relations with Lindy Graves as chair. Trustees Ellis and Wardell will serve on the Legislative Committee, and Trustees Wardell and Graves will serve on negotiations committees. Trustee Moen will serve as chair of the Planning & Development Committee with Trustee Aragon helping with that committee. Trustees Kemp and Smith will be placed later. Trustee Graves will replace Trustee Moen on the Foundation Board.

Trustee Ellis cautioned that according to Doug Eadie’s model, no one can serve more than two years on a committee. Trustees Ellis and Wardell doubt that they can serve together on a committee. Trustee Ellis said the chair needs to consult with trustees before appointing them to a committee.

Superintendent Bouck reiterated that items for the retreat agenda include board goals, communication, governance structure, goal setting and evaluation.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MARCH 30, 2012

Trustee Moen made a motion to approve the minutes of the Board Operations Committee meeting of March 30, 2012. Trustee Graves seconded the motion. Trustees Moen, Graves and Stroebe voted in favor of the motion, and it passed unanimously.

The meeting adjourned at 11:00 a.m.


_________________________________
Teresa Stroebe, Chairman


________________________
Nancy Coe, Recorder

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...