2000 Administration

2000 Concept and Roles in Administration

2001 Administration Concept and Roles in Administration

Concept and Roles in Administration

The Superintendent shall direct and coordinate the administrative staff in implementing the educational philosophy, and achieving the goals and general objectives of the Board of Education, within the guidelines established by Board of Education policy, law and employee agreements. The Board of Education expects the administration to demonstrate leadership and to develop good working relationships with the community for the achievement of common goals.

The Superintendent of Schools is encouraged to conduct the operations of the school system in a collaborative manner.

BOARD‑SUPERINTENDENT RELATIONS

School Governance Position Statement

The following delineation of roles and responsibilities should be followed with integrity and commitment to ensure that board members and the Superintendent fulfill the obligations to provide the best possible education for their school district's children.

Board of Education Responsibilities	Superintendent of Schools’ Responsibilities
To establish and regularly review all policies, ensuring they are lawful and designed to improve the quality of the school district.	To implement policies approved by the board and recommend changes, if appropriate. To develop, implement and inform the Board of administrative procedures necessary to implement board policy.
To hire, support, and conduct an annual formal evaluation of the Superintendent of schools.	To serve as the school boards’ chief executive officer and educational leader.
To refer administrative communications, including questions, complaints and personnel inquiries to the Superintendent, as appropriate, and to follow the board-established chain of command.	To respond to communications, as appropriate and ensure the adherence and appropriate response through the chain of command. To keep board members informed about district issues in a timely manner.
To seek the Superintendent’s recommendation before taking action.	To provide the board with good information for informed decision-making, as appropriate.
To adopt, advocate for, and oversee a school budget which is responsive to district goals and meets the needs of all students.	To prepare, advocate for, and implement an annual budget that addresses district goals and meets the needs of all students; and reports regularly to the board on status of the budget and any concerns or other issues about which the board should be informed.
To delegate to the Superintendent responsibility for all administrative functions, except those specifically reserved to the board through board policy.	To oversee the organization and management of the district’s day-to-day operations.
To conduct an annual self-evaluation of its own leadership, governance, and teamwork	To participate, as appropriate, in the annual self-evaluation of the board.
To ensure appropriate resources for the Superintendent to carry out his/her responsibilities.	To recommend appropriate resources to ensure he/she can carry out his/her responsibilities.
To have the board chair work with the Superintendent to develop meeting agendas.	To work closely with the board chair to develop meeting agendas.
To determine hiring procedures that clearly define board and Superintendent responsibilities.	To hire personnel for the school district and ensure that each employee is properly supervised and evaluated; and to make recommendations for termination of employment.
To communicate and interpret the school district’s mission to the public and to listen and incorporate appropriate community perspectives into board action.	To communicate community perspectives, research information, performance results and educational needs to the board and to the school staff.
To ensure there is a supportive, smoothly operating leadership team, which advocates for both children and the community.	To serve as a key, effective member of the leadership team.

The following are joint responsibilities of the Board and Superintendent. These are areas in which each Board and Superintendent should determine their respective responsibilities.

Joint Board/Superintendent Responsibilities

To work together with the community to develop a vision and goals for the school district and to monitor the achievement of those goals.

To advocate for students and the school district and promote the benefits of public education.

Provide community leadership on educational issues by creating strong linkages with appropriate organizations, agencies and other groups to provide support for healthy development and high achievement for all children.

To collectively execute their legal responsibilities.

To work collaboratively with appropriate agencies and bodies on an ongoing basis.

To collaborate with other school boards and Superintendents to inform legislators of local concerns and issues relative to education.

To participate in continuing education specifically regarding their roles and responsibilities and on relevant content areas.

To support board actions and decisions.

To periodically discuss school board/Superintendent relations.

To belong to, actively support, and participate in their professional organizations, and that each will encourage the other to do so.

To institute a process for long-range and strategic planning that will position the school district for success.

To ensure that professional development opportunities, consistent with district goals, are available to all school district employees.

To serve as liaisons to the community.

To ensure adherence to federal and state laws and board policies.

The Relationship between the Board Chair and the Superintendent

By the nature of the position, the board chair plays a key role in ensuring the effective functioning of the governance team. The chair serves as the liaison between the board and the Superintendent. The board chair will often have a very different relationship with the Superintendent of schools than others on the board. Because of this relationship, it is crucial that board chairs be chosen carefully and that ability to serve as representative of the board and, as appropriate, partner with the Superintendent, should be critical considerations in selecting the board chair.

Usually the chair and Superintendent collaborate on developing the meeting agenda and other operational issues facing the board. The Superintendent will depend on the chair for guidance, and the chair should look to the Superintendent for the same, not only in setting the agenda, but also in carrying out other joint board/Superintendent responsibilities.

The Superintendent is a non‑voting member of the district leadership team, and should be accorded the proper respect. Likewise, the Superintendent is an employee of the board, and the board has a responsibility to insulate the Superintendent from outside pressures, in particular, political pressure. The chair has a responsibility to ensure that the Superintendent can do his/her job without undue outside interference. The chair must also ensure that individual board members understand their roles and responsibilities, not only in terms of the board/Superintendent relationship, but also as the board relates to the students, community, staff, government agencies and others affected by the board. Understanding that board members are individuals, with different opinions and agendas, the board chair still has the responsibility, to the extent possible, for keeping everyone "on the same page". In particular, the chair must make every effort to ensure that once district policy has been properly established, the board speaks "in one voice" as the Superintendent implements that policy. This will, in the long run, pay dividends in terms of credibility of the board and will lead to more efficient and effective board action.

COMMITMENT TO DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES
IN RELATION TO COMMUNITY, STAFF, STUDENTS

Board‑Staff Communications

The Winchester Board of Education recognizes the need to maintain open communication between itself and the staff. Essentially, communications with staff deal with three general areas ‑‑ administration, policy, and philosophy. While the Board recognizes the necessity for Board‑staff communications, it also recognizes that administrative matters must be dealt with through its chief administrator. Hence, the basic line of communication for administrative matters shall be through the Board Chair who shall communicate with the Superintendent.

Staff Communications to the Board

All formal reports to the Board or any Board committee from administrators, supervisors, teachers or other staff members shall be submitted through the Superintendent. This necessary procedure shall not be construed as denying the right of any employee to appeal to the Board from administrative decisions on important matters, provided that the Superintendent shall have been notified of the forthcoming appeal and that it is processed in accordance with the Board's policy on complaints and grievances.

Staff members are also reminded that Board meetings are public meetings. As such, they provide an excellent opportunity to observe and participate firsthand the Board's deliberations on problems of staff concern.

Board Communication to Staff

All official communications, policies and directives of staff interest and concern will be communicated to staff members through the Superintendent, and the Superintendent will employ all such media as are appropriate to keep staff fully informed of the Board's problems, concerns and actions.

Request for Information from the Administration

Board members seeking data and information from staff members or requesting to meet directly with a member of the staff shall request that the Board Chair request such data and information or such meeting from the Superintendent. If the Board Chair declines to make the request any three Board Members may request such data and information or such meeting and upon receipt of such request the Chair shall place such request on the agenda of the next regularly scheduled meeting or at a special meeting called for such purpose and the request shall be voted upon by the full board. If the Board by majority vote elects to send the request to the Superintendent, the Chair shall submit such request to the Superintendent. The Superintendent shall to the extent possible provide such data and information and provide to such Board Members the opportunity to meet directly with the staff. The Superintendent may attend any such meeting. The Superintendent may provide to Committee Chairs or Board Committees more extensive rights to meet directly with staff, but such permission if granted can be withdrawn by the Superintendent at any time subject only to the right of the full board to require such a meeting.

Visits to Schools

Individual Board members interested in visiting schools or classrooms will make arrangements for visitations through the administrators of the various schools. Such visits shall be regarded as informal expressions of interest in school affairs and not as "inspections" or visits for supervisory or administrative purposes. Official visits by Board members will be conducted only under Board authorization and with the full knowledge of staff, including the Superintendent, building administrators and other supervisors.

Social Interaction

Staff and Board members share an interest in the schools and in education generally, and it is to be expected that when they meet at social affairs and other functions, they will informally discuss such matters as educational trends, issues, and innovations and general school district problems. Individual Board members have no special authority except when they are convened at a legal meeting of the Board or vested with special authority by Board action. Board of Education members are expected to avoid discussion of:

Matters that are, or have the potential of becoming, the subject of an executive session;

Information and data contained in personnel records protected by the privacy act;

Contested issues that may require final resolution by the Board;

Board business that would be violative of FOI rules and regulations.

(cf. 2220 - Representative and Deliberative Groups re staff involvement in decision making)

(cf. 5145 - Civil and Legal Rights & Responsibilities)

(cf. 9133 - Special/Advisory Committee re: staff advisory committee and student advisory committee)

Legal Reference: Connecticut General Statutes

10‑220 Duties of boards of education.

2100 Administrative Staff Organization

2130 Job Descriptions

2231 Policy and Procedures