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Perhaps no single area of Board of Education responsibility is more important than establishing good working
relationships with the Superintendent. Failure to meet this responsibility results in disruption of the educational
program of the District and poor community attitudes toward the schools.
To build and maintain productive and effective relationships between the Board and the Superintendent and to
develop an excellent educational program, both the Board and the Superintendent will maintain a system of
communication and interaction that builds upon mutual respect and trust.
Accordingly, the Board and Superintendent will:
A. Demonstrate respect for the opinions of each other;
B. Maintain focus on common goals;
C. Place the welfare of the school system above personal prestige or gain;
D. Share both credit and blame;
E. Exercise honesty in all written and interpersonal interaction, avoiding misleading information;
F. Make every reasonable effort to protect the integrity and promote the positive image of the district and of
each other;
G. Focus on issues rather than personality;
H. Maintain appropriate confidentiality;
I. Openly share personal concerns, information, knowledge and agendas; and
J. Communicate with each other in a timely manner.
The Board’s primary connection to the operation of the District is the Superintendent.
A. Unity of control
Only decisions of the Board acting as an entity are binding on the Superintendent. Accordingly:
1. Decisions or instructions of individual Board members, officers or committees are not binding on the
Superintendent except in rare instances when the Board has specifically delegated such authority.
2. Requests from individual Board members or committees for information or assistance without Board
authorization will be directed to the Superintendent, who may refuse such requests that, in his/her opinion,
require a material amount of staff time or resources or that are disruptive or unreasonable.
B. Accountability of the Superintendent
The Superintendent is accountable to the Board and will be evaluated pursuant to Policy 1240. All authority
over and accountability of staff is considered to be the responsibility of the Superintendent. Accordingly:
1. The Board will not give instructions to persons who report directly or indirectly to the Superintendent.
2. The Board will not formally evaluate any staff member other than the Superintendent.
3. Individual Board members shall refer to the Superintendent all criticisms, complaints, nd suggestions
brought to their attention by employees or members of the public. The Superintendent will notify the
individual Board member that follow-up has occurred.
C. Board – Superintendent Relationship
1. The Board believes that it is the primary duty of the Board to establish policies and that of the
Superintendent to administer such policies.
2. The Board will seek recommendations of the Superintendent when originating or changing policy. The
Superintendent will bring forward new or amended policies when appropriate or as directed.
3. The Superintendent should be given the latitude to determine the best method of implementing the policies
of the Board.
4. The Superintendent is the primary professional advisor to the Board. He/she is responsible for the
development, supervision and operation of the school program and facilities.
5. His/her methods should be made known to the staff through the administrative procedures of the District.
The Board shall retain oversight supervision of such administrative procedures.
6. The Superintendent and those administrators directed by the Superintendent shall attend all meetings,
when feasible.
7. Administrative participation at Board meetings shall be by professional counsel, guidance, and
recommendation – as distinct from Board deliberation, debate, and voting.
8. The Board is responsible for determining the success of the Superintendent in meeting the goals
established by the Board through annual evaluations of the Superintendent’s performance, in accordance
with Policy 1240.
D. Delegation of Board Authority
The Board’s specific role is to deliberate and to establish policies of the organization but not to implement
them. The Board delegates authority with limitations to the Superintendent who is held fully accountable to
the Board for compliance with its policies.
1. With respect to District goals and objectives, the Board will establish general guidelines to be observed in
the development of further policy and action. The Board reserves the right to issue either restrictive or
general policy statements.
2. The authority of the Superintendent to act and to establish administrative procedures begins where the
policy statements of the Board end. The Board will monitor the Superintendent’s compliance with policy.
3. The Superintendent is empowered to assign and use resources; to employ, promote, discipline and
deploy staff; to translate policies of the Board into action; to speak as agent of the Board; to organize and
delegate administrative responsibilities; and other duties as included in the Superintendent’s job
description.
4. The Superintendent may not perform, cause, or allow to be performed any act that is unlawful; in violation
of commonly accepted business and professional ethics; in violation of any contracts into which the Board
has entered; or in violation of policies adopted by the Board to limit the Superintendent’s authority.
5. Should the Superintendent or his/her designee consider it unwise or impractical to comply with an explicit
Board policy, the Superintendent will inform the Board of the decision. The Board will decide whether such
judgment was warranted.
6. When law or other authority calls for Board approval of decisions, Board approval will be routinely given if
those decisions have been made by the Superintendent within the restrictions of Board policies.
Revised 10/26/09
Approved/Adopted: July 13, 2009 |
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