REAL COMMUNITY REPRESENTATION
The lack of real, open public debate is a serious transparency issue and the community must respond by electing school board members that are committed to real representation and true transparency.
I Will Implement Board Policies To Ensure Real Community Representation
Minnesota School Board Association recommends school board members be involved in committees and advisory boards that include curriculum, safety and finance and work directly with administration to represent the values, ideals, and voice of the community the district serves. Further, surrounding boards operate in this fashion, yet the ISD 728 school board has abdicated its representative power to their administration, thus rendering their direct representation in these areas null and void. Further, involving board members directly on a variety of key advisory committees is congruent with Minnesota law S123B.09 which governs school board member duties as below.
The board shall make, and when deemed advisable, change or repeal rules relating to the organization and management of the board and the duties of its officers.
The board must superintend and manage the schools of the district; adopt rules for their organization, government, and instruction; keep registers; and prescribe textbooks and courses of study. The board may enter into an agreement with a postsecondary institution for secondary or postsecondary nonsectarian courses to be taught at a secondary school, nonsectarian postsecondary institution, or another location.
For a more expanded explanation of elected school board member duties, click on the following link citing MN statute: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/123B.02#stat.123B.02.1
The current practice of the ISD 728 board governance model does not include school board member involvement in any of the above committees/advisory boards working directly with staff in key areas. This also causes concern under MN Statues above in terms of the current governance model limiting what the law dictates are expected duties of elected school board members, thus causing concern for a lack real representation of the community’s interests. In addition, several currently elected long-time board members voted in 2017 to disband the policy sub-committee and hand the editing of 728’s policies to the administration shortly after the current superintendent, Dr. Bittman was hired. While the current board still votes on policies that impact the district, they are not actively involved in crafting those policies. Not only does this present a significant issue in terms of real representation for the community as explained previously but stifles any real public debate on public school policy that impacts our community. The lack of real, open public debate is a serious transparency issue and the community must respond by electing school board members that are committed to real representation and true transparency. A transparent operations and organizational model would also lend itself to improved alignment with the purpose of Minnesota’s Open Meeting Laws.