Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. is rewording its policy regarding communications between the school board and staff members.
The school board has approved a revision to board policy 3112, making two changes.
The first is a revision to the policy’s Section C, which focuses on social interaction. The section previously stated that discussion of certain “confidential subjects” between staff and board members was considered “unethical conduct.” These subjects include, but are not limited to, “personnel grievances and problems, student due process, contract negotiations, and litigation.”
The revised policy states the above discussions are “strongly discouraged, given potential legal liability.”
Both versions of the policy note that 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.”
The second change was the addition of a Section D stating that all staff can make remarks or “present concerns” during the time for public comment at a school board meeting. They are, however, required to follow the same procedures as all other speakers, which include “refraining from using the names of individual students and/or staff members.”
Superintendent Jim Roberts said at a previous board meeting that the proposed section on public comments was a way to clear up “confusion” about whether or not staff are allowed to speak at board meetings.
The revision included no changes for Sections A and B of the policy, which state that official communications from staff members to the school board (and vice versa) are to be submitted through superintendent.
Section A adds, “All business of the school corporation must follow the chain-of-command established by the superintendent. This procedure is not intended to deny any staff member the right to appeal to the board on important matters through established procedures.”
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A link to BCSC District School Board Policies can be found at www.bcscschools.org/schoolboard. At the time of this writing, policy 3112 has not yet been updated in the online manual to reflect the approved revisions.
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