BOE Meeting Tuesday
According to a small legal notice, the Board of Education will hold a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 25 in the conference room at Plainfield High School. The topic is a discussion of board leadership goals and formal action may be taken.
So far, the meeting is not noted on the district's web site nor is an agenda posted.
In light of the NJQSAC report, it might be an interesting meeting. The report covered five aspects of district functioning: Instruction and program, fiscal management, operations, governance and personnel. Under "Governance," the district met only 11 percent of the state's indicators, when 80 percent is considered good and anything lower than 50 percent requires help from the state.
The 102-page district review section on governance had many blanks as well as a finding that the board did not operate "in accordance with standard board practices. "
Monitors found that policies, procedures and bylaws needed to be updated. Board minutes were not available in a timely way. The board did not use standard "instruments" to perform self-evaluations.
Some excerpts:
"Suggestion to district:
It is recommended that all stakeholders have equitable representation on school/community committees and that minutes, including action plans, derived by consensus be kept and approved by all participants. It is further recommended that these minutes be posted for all stakeholders to review providing openness and opportunities for building trust and effective operation of the school district."
"Notes from Interviews:
Staff and community members have expressed their perceptions that board members support the central administration exclusively and disregard other staff members concerns to the detriment of the education of the students. They report that decision making is top down and that their names may be included on committees without their input. If they do not agree with this group they are subjected to ridicule and retaliation.
All groups (including some board members) expressed the concern that communication is one way and that their concerns are not addressed. In the limited circumstances when their concerns are recognized there is limited follow through. "
"Suggestion to district:
The board needs to seek less polarizing methods in encouraging school/community communication. The CSA and school board should exercise leadership and facilitate open collaborative methods with all stakeholders thereby modeling their mission statement, i.e., no excuses etc."
"Notes from viewing the documents: Although the school board has a process for obtaining and disseminating information and decisions within the district, with parents, and with the community, it is not effective in reaching most segments of the community. This was made evident in the large turnout of a cross section of the school community at the QSAC Forum in contrast to the poor attendance at board meetings and 'forums.' ”
"Notes from Interviews:
Board members and central administration expressed defeat in their belief that many staff members and parents just want to complain. Parents do not come out to board meetings. Staff members are angry over the recent contentious contract process. “They against us” comments permeate throughout much of the dialogue.
In contrast, a large cross section of the school community attended the QSAC public forum meeting. Students, parents, community and staff members expressed a variety of opinions and interest, as well as, urgency in working to address the needs of the district including safety concerns and higher academic expectations for all students."
In looking at past Plaintalker posts on NJQSAC, I see that I reported on it at different times for the Courier News, so not all my writing on the topic is on the blog. Either way, it is a very big story for the Plainfield district and it is just starting to unfold. Maria Pellum and I are both trying to sift through the huge report and bring out key points. I believe Maria said the print-out ran to 275 pages. The full report is online, but how many people have the time or inclination to delve through it?
Interim Superintendent Peter Carter has promised a public discussion of the report and has already been addressing some of the deficiencies. The board will also have to show an effort in good faith to improve governance. The state Department of Education will be checking back in six months to see how Plainfield is doing.
--Bernice Paglia
So far, the meeting is not noted on the district's web site nor is an agenda posted.
In light of the NJQSAC report, it might be an interesting meeting. The report covered five aspects of district functioning: Instruction and program, fiscal management, operations, governance and personnel. Under "Governance," the district met only 11 percent of the state's indicators, when 80 percent is considered good and anything lower than 50 percent requires help from the state.
The 102-page district review section on governance had many blanks as well as a finding that the board did not operate "in accordance with standard board practices. "
Monitors found that policies, procedures and bylaws needed to be updated. Board minutes were not available in a timely way. The board did not use standard "instruments" to perform self-evaluations.
Some excerpts:
"Suggestion to district:
It is recommended that all stakeholders have equitable representation on school/community committees and that minutes, including action plans, derived by consensus be kept and approved by all participants. It is further recommended that these minutes be posted for all stakeholders to review providing openness and opportunities for building trust and effective operation of the school district."
"Notes from Interviews:
Staff and community members have expressed their perceptions that board members support the central administration exclusively and disregard other staff members concerns to the detriment of the education of the students. They report that decision making is top down and that their names may be included on committees without their input. If they do not agree with this group they are subjected to ridicule and retaliation.
All groups (including some board members) expressed the concern that communication is one way and that their concerns are not addressed. In the limited circumstances when their concerns are recognized there is limited follow through. "
"Suggestion to district:
The board needs to seek less polarizing methods in encouraging school/community communication. The CSA and school board should exercise leadership and facilitate open collaborative methods with all stakeholders thereby modeling their mission statement, i.e., no excuses etc."
"Notes from viewing the documents: Although the school board has a process for obtaining and disseminating information and decisions within the district, with parents, and with the community, it is not effective in reaching most segments of the community. This was made evident in the large turnout of a cross section of the school community at the QSAC Forum in contrast to the poor attendance at board meetings and 'forums.' ”
"Notes from Interviews:
Board members and central administration expressed defeat in their belief that many staff members and parents just want to complain. Parents do not come out to board meetings. Staff members are angry over the recent contentious contract process. “They against us” comments permeate throughout much of the dialogue.
In contrast, a large cross section of the school community attended the QSAC public forum meeting. Students, parents, community and staff members expressed a variety of opinions and interest, as well as, urgency in working to address the needs of the district including safety concerns and higher academic expectations for all students."
In looking at past Plaintalker posts on NJQSAC, I see that I reported on it at different times for the Courier News, so not all my writing on the topic is on the blog. Either way, it is a very big story for the Plainfield district and it is just starting to unfold. Maria Pellum and I are both trying to sift through the huge report and bring out key points. I believe Maria said the print-out ran to 275 pages. The full report is online, but how many people have the time or inclination to delve through it?
Interim Superintendent Peter Carter has promised a public discussion of the report and has already been addressing some of the deficiencies. The board will also have to show an effort in good faith to improve governance. The state Department of Education will be checking back in six months to see how Plainfield is doing.
--Bernice Paglia
posted by Bernice at 3:17 AM
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