Transparency, Accountability and Responsiveness

By Nicole Channing

Our district needs to provide more information to the public in order to (1) allow the public to hold board members accountable for our schools' performance and their fiduciary duties; and (2) more effectively respond to student, parent, and community concerns.

TRANSPARENCY The district should make more information available to the public explaining its financial performance and its academic performance.

School districts across the country have implemented reforms that we should consider implementing here. These include making the entire board packet (with the exception of confidential information) available to the public, opening check books, and revealing the contents of proposed very large contracts so that the public has an opportunity to comment before these contracts are signed.

I note with approval assemblywoman Sandy Galef's 2009 proposed bill (A.6338), which would require districts to reveal records of proposed collective bargaining agreements BEFORE these agreements are signed, so that the public has an opportunity to express its views before a final commitment is made.

ACCOUNTABILITY AND RESPONSIVENESS

I believe that our district needs not only to distribute more information but to compile more information to ensure that it reaches its goal of excellence for ALL students.

The district has made a concerted effort to communicate more effectively to parents and has made strides in this regard. What is missing is an effort to systematically elicit and compile feedback FROM parents and students, information about how well each of our students is progressing, and information about how well each of our teachers and programs is performing. To the degree that our ability to compile the necessary information and to communicate effectively about the performance of our schools is restricted by contract and/or by state law, we need to work to eliminate those restrictions.

I believe informal channels of communication are not enough, as they do not give a full picture of what is happening at the schools.

By the same token, it would be useful to compile feedback from teachers and administrators about what they like and dislike about how the district is being run and to make a summary of the findings public.

In general, I believe we need to give more information to the public, solicit more information from the public, and discuss more issues in public--particularly when the board is setting policy. I would propose, for but one example, that when significant policy changes are being made, they be published prior to the change and the public be invited to comment, both in writing (which could be made part of the now public board package) and at the board session.

To work for everyone, the district has to hear from everyone.