[speedgibson] Speed Gibson: Meetings, Bloody Meetings - Part 4

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Posted by Speed Gibson:
Meetings, Bloody Meetings - Part 4
http://speedgibson.powerblogs.com/posts/1214406792.shtml


   I know, I said part 3 would be the last in this series, but I now
   think this post is best titled as the new last installment.
   Previously, I [1]rearranged the room, [2]streamlined the agenda, and
   [3]illustrated the effect these format changes would have on an actual
   meeting. But let me go back to the original [4]Sun Post Editorial that
   prompted this series:

     School Board meetings are long and not nearly as productive as they
     need to be. Instead of biting the bullet and moving ahead, board
     members continue to postpone decisions and request additional
     information from staff.
     [...]
     A four-hour School Board work session on June 9, for example, was
     frustratingly inefficient, fraught with tedious work-smithing and
     unfocused discussions. The bulk of the agenda was pushed to yet
     another work session in July. The School Board doesn't have this
     kind of time to waste.

   I highlighted the first statement, the subject of this, yes, no
   kidding, final installment. The meetings are too long.
   I'm not all that concerned about work sessions. Judging by my city
   experiences, this is how they often do work. Work sessions typically
   take up topics where it's tough to set a time frame because you're
   still working on a consensus or discover some new aspects to a
   question. Such agendas often have far more on them than possible for
   one meeting. What doesn't get done, yes, rolls over to the next
   meeting. If something can't wait, you might have to schedule an
   additional work session.
   But the regularly scheduled School Board meetings are too long, and at
   times, too unfocused. Let me quote an article by Donald R. Adams,
   published September 2005 in School Administrator Magazine titled
   [5]The Short, Productive Board Meeting.

     Board meetings are the time and place where school boards act. In
     fact, only when coming together as a body in a legal meeting do
     school board members become a board. Effective board meetings are
     the first prerequisite for an effective board.
     Furthermore, what parents and voters see at board meetings
     determines largely what they think about their board, even their
     school district. Frequent, long, unfocused or contentious meetings
     are sure signs of an ineffective, perhaps even dysfunctional,
     board. Everything matters: length, time of day, agenda, protocol,
     configuration of the room, dress, decorum, etc.

   Can I get an "Amem"?

     Board meetings are the board's meeting, not the superintendent's
     meeting. But because the primary reason boards meet is to consider
     the superintendent's agenda, board meetings are a joint
     responsibility. Most boards are happy to defer agenda preparation
     to the superintendent and welcome suggestions regarding agenda
     review and meeting management.
     Working through the board president, superintendents can and should
     make effective, professionally run board meetings a high priority.
     Superintendents have a compelling case to make: Effective board
     meetings contribute to effective district management, and they make
     board members look good.

   There are two key players, the Board chair who runs the meeting and
   the Superintendent who sets the agenda. They both share in the
   benefits of a well-run meeting. That's why I recommend changing the
   seating. The agenda is the basis of this public dialog between the
   Board and the Administration, as led by their leaders, the Chair and
   the Superintendent. That's why I say that the agenda has to be tight
   and focused, not 14 pages.

     Meetings should seldom run more than three hours in length and
     never go late into the night. Long meetings encourage boards to
     micromanage and are often a sign of bad planning.

   It's also disrespectful to the public. I've been to a District 279
   meeting that went well past midnight because of an absurd agenda
   larded with lengthy, unimportant business ahead of what the public
   came to see.
   I haven't seen the equivalent at District 281. When there's been
   controversy, like school closings, additional public hearings were
   scheduled rather than burden and overcrowd the Board room. But the
   Board could examine whether frequently taking time for musical
   presentations should be part of a meeting only to have it adjourn at
   11 pm.

References

   1. http://speedgibson.powerblogs.com/posts/1214023705.shtml
   2. http://speedgibson.powerblogs.com/posts/1214108364.shtml
   3. http://speedgibson.powerblogs.com/posts/1214183157.shtml
   4. http://www.mnsun.com/articles/2008/06/25/opinion/rs19schooledit.txt
   5. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JSD/is_8_62/ai_n15623737