BIA-E

School Committee Norms

Who the Ashburnham-Westminster Regional School Committee Represents

• The school committee will represent the needs and interests of all the students in the district.

• We will strive to represent common interests rather than factions. We will make decisions that are best for students in all cases: all means all.

• We will advocate for the Ashburnham-Westminster Public Schools and public education. We readily accept our roles as ambassadors of the school systems, promoting support for public education and spreading the news of our success.

How it will do business

• The School Committee will conduct its business through a set agenda. Emerging items will be addressed in subsequent meetings through agenda items.

• We acknowledge that a School Committee meeting is a meeting of the School Committee that is held in public—not a public meeting, and we will make every effort to ensure that the Committee meetings are effective and efficient

• We will base our decisions upon available facts, vote our convictions, avoid bias, and uphold and support the decisions of the majority of the School Committee once a decision is made.

How members treat each other

• The School Committee will debate the issues, not one another.

• We will build trusting relationships.

• We will respect staff and fellow board members at all times.

• We will work to build trust between and among SC members and the sup by treating everyone with dignity and respect, even in times of disagreement

How it will communicate

• The Superintendent and the School Committee recognize the importance of proactive communication and agree that there will be no surprises. If SC members have questions or concerns, they agree to contact the Superintendent well in advance of a meeting.

• SC members will channel requests for information through the superintendent and School Committee Chair rather than directly to staff. The Superintendent will ensure that each member has equal access to this information.

• We will recognize a single official “voice” of the board.

How it will improve

• The School Committee will provide continuing education opportunities and support to each other.

• School Committee members agree to participate in formal training organized by the superintendent and the School Committee chairperson ….

• All new School Committee members will be assigned a School Committee mentor and will participate in a School Committee orientation session.

• We will model continuous learning in our roles as members of the governance team.

What are the limits of power

• It is the responsibility of the Superintendent to oversee the hiring evaluation and handling of personnel issues; it is the responsibility of the Committee to evaluate the Superintendent’s effectiveness in these matters.

• We will recognize that authority rests only with the majority decisions of the SC and will make no independent commitments or take any independent actions that may compromise the School Committee as a whole.

• We will follow the chain of command and direct others to do the same. Personnel complaints and concerns will be directed to the superintendent.

• We will not use our positions for personal or partisan gain.

What happens when things go wrong

• School Committee members will work together to clarify and restate discussions in order to strive for full understanding.

• We recognize the importance of honoring our agreed upon [operating principles] and we agree to take responsibility for reminding one another when we get off track.

• We will maintain fidelity to these commitments and will be held accountable by our fellow School Committee members should any one of us fail to live up to these commitments. If a School Committee members or superintendent violates any of the above mentioned commitments in any way, he/she will be referred to the Chair.