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CoVid-19 Board role

Posted by Pamela Fuehrer on March 6, 2020 at 12:02pm

Hello.  I'm wondering about your board's involvement in the response efforts.  In particular, as the district manages its response and activities, how is the board supporting, participating, providing input, or receiving communications/updates?  I'm interested in the board and district leadership partnership, not with the community.  Thanks.

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Replies

  • Russell Harris March 26, 2020 at 2:53pm
    I am in daily contact with our Superintendent. The whole board is getting several updates during the week . It is amassing how our staff has stepped up and taken on tasks. I helped a middle school science teacher hand out lunches and breakfasts today.
    It is our job as board members to be supportive to the administration and staff. They don't have a play book for this. I am impressed how our superintendent is working with other district superintends in the area and state as well as the county health department and the emergency management director.
  • Pamela Fuehrer March 25, 2020 at 2:16pm
    I have heard nothing from any past or current Board president, nor outside Board consultants, to support a board's expansion into a management role now. All input is that this should be prevented, and that support for Administration should be steadfast and public.
  • Bonnie Berry March 25, 2020 at 1:27pm
    I am wondering also. I have a couple of board members who want to be in the management part of all. When I told them we have hired professionals to do their jobs and inform us and that they will ask if they need our assistance. The board member became a little upset with me - he wants to go to get hot spots or help set them up, we have staff and our regional services to do that. I don't think I am out of line in saying support, budget and policies. He can volunteer anyway he feels fit in the community. Just wondering how others are reacting as this is such a different situation. Thank you
  • Andrea Randle March 24, 2020 at 9:40pm
    Our super has put all BOE members on the "all" emails that he sends to all staff. This has helped with disseminating information as all staff and BOE members get to see the info as it is rolled out. The super does consult with myself as board president when it is a significant matter but many decisions are being made due to DOH and State Ed. Individual BOE members have offered to help with various things like food distribution and helping with tech needs. But the super is definitely the leader in all of this. We are a small K-12 district so this may not work for a large district.
  • Pamela Fuehrer March 16, 2020 at 1:16pm
    Not to totally change the topic of this thread (maybe there's already one on this), but yikes, remote learning in real life is a challenge. It's like boulder field, and we're moving very slowly. Today is day 6 of SURPRISED, WE ARE CLOSED, and now we know it continues.
  • David Fenlong March 16, 2020 at 10:11am
    Our Superintendent is running the district's response to COVID-19 with direct and ongoing meetings with DOH and all staff. This provides one voice and a better ability to triage. She is keeping the BOE in the loop and has kept us on the invite to any meetings essential to the district operations. We are offering a hand, assistance or to be available when needed, but allowing her to manage the district's efforts in this situation with a close eye on essentials and any ripple effect that may affect our communities. Closing schools could affect manpower at some facilities, stores, etc. that are crucial to the supply chain of efforts. We have had to discuss OML and our upcoming BOE meeting and our strategy around social distancing vs. compliance. We are also continuing down our path of budget proposals and completion for 2020-2021 as planned so far. A lot of unknowns, as fear and panic are playing a huge role in how reactions can be rolled out. Stay safe everyone.
  • Nancy Bryan March 14, 2020 at 12:15pm
    Superintendent and cabinet made the final decisions and advised the board. On a personal note, my opinion only, I am quite upset that we are not suspending state assessments this year. No district needs the added stress of managing testing and hitting percentages while they are dealing with the logistics of closing, not closing, getting food to the kids that need it, etc.
  • Pamela Fuehrer March 10, 2020 at 3:17pm
    For those who need to know, and where I can help, my school district (Scarsdale) closed schools for 8 days per county DoH. It's been crazy, but please don't hesitate to reach out if you find yourself in a similar place. We're on day 2 of closure, but the Administration went into high focus/response on Feb.24, due to winter recess travel concerns. Consuming me now!
  • Carol Popolow Abraham March 8, 2020 at 12:49pm
    I agree with you Pam. This is a management issue that the administration should handle with guidance from our local, state and federal health services. Our board trustees must make all requests for information go thorough the board president (not just Covid questions). That way duplicate requests can be managed as a whole and the answers to the questions can be shared with the whole board as an email update from either myself or the superintendent. If we had individual board members emailing the super, it would distract from his other work and the information provided to the board would be uneven. If board trustees are health care professionals (as I am)they may have suggestions they feel should be shared. I would have them send those through you. I also agree that the board should be well-informed with regular updates by the super or by you. The google doc is a great idea!
  • Pamela Fuehrer March 7, 2020 at 9:06pm
    Some members of our board desired to be more involved in the discussions with Cabinet. Cabinet is meeting daily (Supt., 3 Asst. Supts., 4 Directors). VP and I were clear that those efforts are management and not governance, but we have encouraged our Supt. to provide more regular updates to the board, perhaps even the agenda or a list of operational topics being addressed by cabinet, just so that the board feels well-informed. Board members have been emailing Supt. with individual questions, suggestions, or concerns, and he responds rapidly. I've put together a Google Doc of these questions and answers that the full Board can view. It will be helpful for me to know if other boards are more/less involved, and/or how the management/governance roles are being maintained.
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