The Commission for School Board Excellence issued a number of recommendations Wednesday that it says will make local school boards more accountable.
The commission, formed at the request of the State Board of Education, included business leaders and educators. Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce President Al Hodge was a member of the panel.
“Currently, there is very little accountability for school board members,” said John Rice, co-chair of the commission. “We recommend a mechanism that allows boards to self-govern, but if this is unsuccessful, we recommend a process to allow the State Board of Education to intervene.”
Some of their recommendations would require state legislation including: holding boards accountable for student success and school performance; calling for school boards to be non-partisan; and creating a state-wide code of ethics and conflict-of-interest policy.
“In the case of Rome City and Floyd County schools, the leadership style and management is positive. They have ethical standards, student achievement and they don’t micro-manage the school superintendents,” said Hodge. “So many of the issues and needs that we’re seeing (in local school boards), I personally have not observed as problems in Rome City and Floyd County.”
Rome City BOE Chairwoman Judy Sims said if the recommendations evolve into policy and law they will have minimum impact on how the Rome City school board is run.
“I think what we’re doing in Rome City Schools is already focused on excellence and student success,” said Sims. “We already feel accountable for all the children in the city. We set goals and see that they are carried through, and we already have a code of ethics and a conflict-of-interest policy.”
The commission also submitted suggestions for improving local school boards that would not require state legislation. None of the recommendations made by the commission have been committed to law.
“There were, and are, additional opportunities for input and recommendations,” said Hodge. “But, I think a great majority of local school boards will want to study the recommendations and want to follow them.”
The commission’s key partners include the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education and AdvancED.
PROPOSALS
Key recommendations that would require state legislation:
Hold boards accountable for student success and school performance.
Allow boards to self-govern; but if this is unsuccessful the State Board of Education should be allowed to intervene.
Create a code of ethics and conflict-of-interest policy for all school boards.
Require candidates to agree to a code of ethics and conflict-of-interest policy in order to qualify for election.
Clarify the law relating to board and superintendent roles and responsibilities.
Require minimum qualifications for candidates.
Call for non-partisan, staggered elections for four-year terms.
Limit board size to five to seven members.
Require capacity-building education and training for board members.
Require whole-board training for board members.
Key recommendations not requiring state legislation:
Decisions made by school boards and superintendents should focus on student success.
School boards should have a strategic plan.
School systems and boards should plan succession for superintendents and board members.
School boards should have a policy for public comment and input at public board meetings.
Superintendents and board members should create a system for handling citizen requests/problems, and responses should be communicated to all board members.
Entire-board training and board-superintendent training should be required.
The business community and others should engage to recruit candidates for boards.
