WCSU BOARD OF DIRECTORS Governance Committee Work Plan (finalized 5/20/09) Charge from WCSU Board of Directors: To research alternative governance structures for WCSU for WCSU Board consideration. Problem Statement While WCSU boasts many dedicated and capable school board members, its governance structure is problematic for several reasons: 1.      The sheer number of school board members to whom the Superintendent is accountable and the number of school board meetings that the WCSU Superintendent must attend make it an inherently exhausting and unsustainable job. 2.      Decision-making authority assumed by the WCSU Board of Directors sometimes makes it difficult for the Superintendent to implement district-wide policies and curricula that would enhance student learning, ensure consistency from school to school, promote best practice and conduct effective strategic planning. 3.      The WCSU Board of Directors is not set up as a forum to discuss critical educational issues so those issues are brought to the eleven school boards instead. This inefficiency lies at the heart of the governance issue. 4.      The current structure inhibits efforts to achieve greater efficiency, thereby realizing cost savings, and positively impact student outcomes. Committee’s Shared Goals to Guide Development of Recommendations To adopt a governance structure that: 1.      Uses the Board of Directors to ensure accountability of the Superintendent to the schools in the supervisory union while giving him/her more authority to make and implement decisions, especially those that would result in consistency district-wide in the areas of policy and curriculum; 2.      Reflects the appropriate decision-making roles and responsibilities of school boards and the Superintendent; 3.      Makes the position of Superintendent sustainable by maintaining a focus on educational leadership. Committee's Goals 1.      To research different options for governance structures that address the aforementioned problems; 2.      Present the WSCU Board of Directors with recommended changes to our current structure (this could include “tweaking” what we have or moving to a completely different model) Committee Membership •     4 School Board members: Kim Friedman (Newfane), Alison Trowbridge (Windham), Augusta Bartlett (Marlboro), Emily Long (L&G) •     2 community members (to be confirmed)•     Superintendent •     1 Principal: Bruce Garrow•     1 Central Office staff person (determined by Superintendent in consultation with staff) Note: All committee meetings are open to the public. Any individuals not on the committee who wish to provide input into the committee’s work are welcome to participate in discussions. Action Steps & Timeline May: Committee meets for first time to adopt committee work plan, including agreement on action steps and who will carry them out Early-Mid June: Committee meets (6/11/09, Newfane Elementary School, 6:30-7:30 PM) to (1) identify additional research questions (see those identified at 5/20/09 committee meeting) and resources to use in conducting the research and (2) delegate research tasks to committee members Resources to consider using during research phase: •     Research findings from last WCSU governance committee •     VSBA•     NSBA•     Exit interview with Wendy Houlihan•     On-line survey of current school board members (use Survey Monkey)•     2 dissertations re. superintendency in VT •     Other (to be discussed) Mid-June through September: Conduct research October-December: Committee meets to discuss research findings, analyze options and develop recommendations January: Convene WCSU Board of Directors meeting to discuss committee’s recommendations and determine next steps