Seating Chart for HCPS Board Meeting February 27, 2014 Gail Moskowitz

Transcription

1 Seating Chart for HCPS Board Meeting February 27, 2014 Gail Moskowitz John Montgomery, Jr Vice Chair Varina District Lisa Marshall Chair Tuckahoe District Patrick Kinlaw Superintendent Robert Boyle, Jr. Three Chopt District Lamont Bagby Fairfield District Beverley Cocke Brookland District Sue Larsen School Board Clerk Debbie Ward School Board Clerk Wade Anderson County Attorney

2 BOARD MEETING WRITE-UP 1 Henrico County Public School Monthly School Board Meeting Write-Up Gail D. Moskowitz Virginia Commonwealth University

3 BOARD MEETING WRITE-UP 2 Henrico County Public School Monthly School Board Meeting Write-Up February 27, 2014 Policy Issues on the Agenda and Their Types: In Virginia when a School Board meets the members may appear to be addressing certain items that are deemed to be policy issues. However, the entire meeting is policy in action. Let s begin with the agenda itself and the flow of the meeting. The following six items are all regulatory policies, according to Fowler (2013). Each are mandated by rules stated in the Code of Virginia; the codified legislation of the Virginia State General Assembly. The Agenda-The Code of Virginia states that the School Board meeting must have an agenda and that it must be available to the public, how and when it must be provided and what it must include. The approval of The Agenda-The Code of Virginia mandates that this be an agenda item. HCPS Mission Statement-The Code of Virginia requires that the School Board establish a mission statement and that it reflect the standards of quality of the school system. Public Forum-The Code of Virginia mandates that the School Board provide for a public forum and indicate when during a meeting this will be called for. Approval of Minutes-The Code of Virginia mandates that this be an agenda item. The next set of policy items on the agenda, and seen below, were proffered by Superintendent Kinlaw to be voted on by the School Board members. As you can see the actions asked for by the superintendent are for the board members to vote to affirm that the decisions made interpreted and enacted the regulatory policies correctly. As Fowler (2013), rightly points out, these actions are taken as they are mandated by regulatory policy but, policy overlaps. The mandated budget,

4 BOARD MEETING WRITE-UP 3 highlighted in grey, will then become policy and the budget itself is distributive and in some cases redistributive policy. Acceptance of the Monthly Financial Statement and Budgetary Status Report for the Month Ending January 31, 2014 Acceptance of the Monthly Financial Statement for School Nutrition Services for the Month Ending January 31, 2014 Approval of Appointments and Releases from Contract for Pupil Transportation Employees Approval of Personnel Items Consideration of Recommendation for Expulsion of Student Consideration of Recommendation for Expelled Student to Attend Generating Recovery of Academic Direction (GRAD) Center Consideration of Requests for Readmission of Students Approval of Proposed Annual Financial Plan for FY Approval of the School Calendar Approval of Administrative Appointments The continuation of the agenda, shown below, highlights the last of the regulatory policies in action. The items are submitted by the chair of the School Board, Ms. Marshall. These items were offered and voted on in short order with the exception of an announcement made by Mr. Montgomery during the time allotted for the introduction of New Business. He indicated that along with the budget the board would issue a letter of support that the HCSP personnel receive raises. If this were to become policy, it would be redistributive.

5 BOARD MEETING WRITE-UP 4 Unfinished Business Items Submitted by the School Board-The Code of Virginia mandates that this be an agenda item. New Business Items Submitted by the School Board-The Code of Virginia mandates that this be an agenda item. Announcement of Meeting Dates-The Code of Virginia mandates that this be an agenda item and mandates that the dates of meetings be publicized. Adjournment-The Code of Virginia mandates that this be an agenda item. Public Comments: Do They Address the Agenda? The only public comment made was offered by Ms. Felicia Fox, a HCPS teacher and the President of the Henrico Education Association. Her remarks did address an agenda item but they were not substantive. She brought two graduating seniors who were intending to study education in college and the three of them thanked the board for their service in recognition of School Board Appreciation month. No one spoke for or against any of the policies. Policy Board Member s Spoken Participation and Who has the Power There was almost no spoken participation from any of the School Board members during the meeting. The bulk of the meeting was taken up by recognitions and awards and student presentations, moderated by Andy Jenks, Director of Communications and Public Relations. When the board members were finally seated and focused on the policy items the superintendent read the items or the category of items, the chair asked for a motion of approval and a second motion which were offered by various members. The chair then asked for a vote. There was no discussion as the items were fully discussed in other work sessions and the chair made it clear that no discussion would be tolerated. When the superintendent offered an item in regard to a personnel issue, the county attorney, Wade Anderson, stated that it would be illegal to weigh in

6 BOARD MEETING WRITE-UP 5 on the item. The chair spoke most often. The superintendent spoke when articulating the items for consideration. The board members spoke when approving a motion and then when they indicated they were in favor of the motion. All of the motions passed unanimously. Mr. Montgomery spoke for one minute and 30 seconds when offering new business and during this time the chair interrupted him to clarify his statement. Clearly Ms. Marshall was firmly in charge of the meeting. It did not seem that any dissent was going to be tolerated in the public forum of an open School Board meeting. Surely there was very frank discussion in the board s work sessions. Verbal and Non-verbal indications of Power All of the board members looked comfortable in their own skin. They seemed business like but relaxed. There was a bit of easy levity between the members. There were no noticeable undercurrents of discomfort or power plays. Verbally Ms. Marshall was clearly in charge. She moved the meeting along with crisp efficiency. The superintendent also articulated exactly what he wanted to happen with the items he offered. The County Attorney, Mr. Wade, was quite authoritative when he weighed in. No one spoke out of turn except once when Mr. Bagby made a joke that seemed to have taken Ms. Marshall off guard. One would have to infer that the joke would be the extent of veering off from board business that the chair might have allowed. The Language Used Throughout the entire meeting there was virtually no discussion. The meeting was staged. Policy dictates that there must be a monthly School Board meeting and it must follow a predetermined parliamentary flow. The beginning of the meeting was designed to create a feel good atmosphere. Students, staff, faculty and the board itself were introduced, honored and extolled. When the focus of the meeting shifting to the more serious business of the School

7 BOARD MEETING WRITE-UP 6 Board; the tenor of the meeting shifted dramatically. Ms. Marshall s entire demeanor changed. She spoke swiftly and always on point. She made it clear that the items were to be moved through quickly and without descent. Neither Ms. Marshall nor Superintendent Kinlaw left any room for doubt that the audience was no longer welcome to participate. Several times Ms. Marshall stated outright that the members all knew that countless hours went into the material and no discussion was needed. When the budget was offered she half-heartedly stated that this was important and asked with a dearth of enthusiasm if there was any discussion. Cost Analysis/Cost-Effectiveness and the Policies As stated above, the monthly financial reports and the proposed budget for the school year were offered as items to be voted on but not discussed. All of the work was done in the appropriate committees and work sessions. If one were to look at the six documents (summarized below) plus the proposed financial plan, it would be possible to see the countless hours of meticulous work that went into the final product. The Governor s payments to all school systems for the last two school years An analysis of funds based on the Governor s proposed biennial budget for the next two years Data offered by the School Board in an effort to develop a process for greater equity in year to year slot allocation Two documents of eight pages of questions offered by members of the School Board after reviewing the proposed budget Revenue summary Budget projections

8 BOARD MEETING WRITE-UP 7 The materials show that the superintendent, the School Board, school administrators, other school staff, parents and community members, participated in this massive effort. It appears that data was examined to determine the needs of the entire county and individual schools. Priorities were established. On the resources and revenue side, federal, state, individual and local funds/allocations, including the new meal tax and money in reserve were tracked. The expenditure side of the budget includes an in-depth analysis that included all employee salaries, training and benefit packages, technology, operations and maintenance, pupil transportation and administration. The Frames of Bolman and Deal If one were to briefly sum-up the structural frame of leadership as described by Bolman and Deal (2008) it would be to say that a template is used as to how the work will get done and who will do it. This School Board meeting did just that, it followed a prescription and the chair, Ms. Marshall, appeared to be extremely comfortable with the flow. This said, it would also be important to look at the non-policy making part of the meeting that offered a look at another Bolman and Deal Frame, that of the symbolic. The symbolic frame would have a leader integrate culture, ceremony and ritual. These actions would be used to evoke a sense of belonging. The agenda shows that the meeting begins with symbols that bring the audience together; a nondenominational invocation and the pledge of allegiance. Next there are student performances and recognitions that have a certain level of pageantry. One Policy and What Might Have Been More Effective In truth the School Board is worthy of much praise for how hard they work with few resources. It is very easy to judge from an observational position. The one discomfort that could be found at this School Board meeting is the strong armed approach to making sure that there

9 BOARD MEETING WRITE-UP 8 would be no discussion. Perhaps a lighter touch may have encouraged more participation. However, it surely would not have produced a better outcome as every policy was successfully passed.

10 BOARD MEETING WRITE-UP 9 References Bolman, L.G. and Deal, T.E. Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice and leadership. (4 th ed.) San Francisco: Josey-Bass, Fowler, F. C. Policy studies for educational leaders: An introduction. (4 th ed.) Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2013.

11 3/2/2014 BoardDocs LT Thursday, February 27, 2014 Monthly Meeting - 6:00 p.m. New Bridge School Auditorium 1. Approval of Agenda 1.01 Approval of Agenda 2. Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance 2.01 Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance 3. Introduction of Visitors 3.01 Introduction of Visitors 4. Performance Highlight 4.01 Performance Highlight Glen Allen High School 5. Recognitions 5.01 Recognition of School Board Appreciation Month 5.02 Recognition of School Board Clerk Appreciation Week 5.03 Recognition of the "ABCD" Award 5.04 Recognition of the 2013 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching 5.05 Recognition of Amanda Schultz and Mary Calvaneso, Instructional Assistants at Varina High School 5.06 Recognition of Paul Dippold 5.07 Recognition of the 2013 Book Bowl Winner 5.08 Recognition of Virginia High School League Fall Regional and State Champions 5.09 Recognition of Career and Technical Education Month 5.10 Recognition of the Ray Tate Memorial Award for Outstanding Support of Career and Technical Education 5.11 Recognition of the Central Office Employee of the Month for January and February 6. Highlight on Instruction 6.01 Highlight on Instruction School/Community Partnerships 7. HCPS Mission Statement 7.01 HCPS Mission Statement 8. Public Forum 8.01 Public Forum 9. Approval of Minutes 9.01 Approval of Minutes 1/2

12 3/2/2014 BoardDocs LT 10. Consent Items Acceptance of the Monthly Financial Statement and Budgetary Status Report for the Month Ending January 31, Acceptance of the Monthly Financial Statement for School Nutrition Services for the Month Ending January 31, Approval of Appointments and Releases from Contract for Pupil Transportation Employees Approval of Personnel Items Audio - Approval of Consent Items 11. Items Presented by the Superintendent Consideration of Recommendation for Expulsion of Student Consideration of Recommendation for Expelled Student to Attend Generating Recovery of Academic Direction (GRAD) Center Consideration of Requests for Readmission of Students Approval of Proposed Annual Financial Plan for FY Approval of the School Calendar Approval of Administrative Appointments 12. Items Presented by the School Board Unfinished Business Items Submitted by the School Board New Business Items Submitted by the School Board Announcement of Meeting Dates 13. Adjournment 2/2