DMPS School Board Meeting 11/20/2007 - Policy Governance

Policy Governance, a registered trademark of John Carvey, is the name given to a process by which a board measures and monitors a business’ operations. The process also has been applied to school boards and the districts they oversee. The Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS) School Board voted on November 20th to be governed by Policy Governance as detailed in a collection of individual policies.

Board Vice President Ginny Strong sees the implementation of Policy Governance as a means by which the board can hold the superintendent accountable for managing the schools. Strong compared the idea of Policy Governance to the practice in prior years of superintendents informing the board about what should be measured and how it would be measured. Teree Caldwell-Johnson abstained from voting because she wanted to talk with board members of other school districts about their experiences with Policy Governance before supporting its application in Des Moines. Jon Narcisse was concerned about delegating to district staff oversight that should remain with the elected board. Connie Boesen believes Policy Governance gives more clarity for the board. Board President Dick Murphy praised Strong’s work and comments on Policy Governance as “outstanding again.” Murphy later noted that Iowa City’s school board has used Policy Governance for about two years and that board is happy with it. These are similar to comments the individual members made at the November 6th board meeting.

At the request of DMEA President Alan Young, the board changed a few words. For instance, changing “undignified” to “unprofessional” with reference to staff working conditions. DMEA is the union representing teachers and school staff. At both the November 6th and November 20th meetings, Young objected to the phrasing of Policy Governance items in negative terms, e.g., “the Superintendent shall not fail to provide quarterly summaries….” Young also recommended that the various measurement and policy guidelines be organized and weighted in terms of importance.

Other members of the public speaking at the November 6th meeting were Bob Mickle and Nan Stillians. Mickle repeated his regular comment that neighborhood associations are a good way to reach the public but that they take several weeks to discuss an issue. Stillians noted that some of the proposed policies had backwards language and were difficult to understand.

Information provided in the November 20th agenda listed the dates of work sessions and Board meetings in which Policy Governance was discussed. At the November board meetings, board members stressed repeatedly that Policy Governance is intended to help improve board and community communications, as well as establishing guidelines for evaluating the superintendent. Comments made during the November 6th meeting and after the November 20th meeting indicate that the discussion of Policy Governance at the school board meetings held in July were little more than a word-for-word reading of the proposed policies. The work sessions were open to the public, but I do not know what, if any, advance public notice was given for them.

Patty Link, chair of the linkage committee, a formal term indicating communications between the community, the board, and the district administration, asked how the community representatives to the linkage committee is to be appointed. Link asked if she should just choose someone. Murphy responded, “sure.” Boesen said that there are interested volunteers and that the linkage committee (Link, Boesen, and Jeannette Woods) would discuss the process.

Beth Nigut, the district’s general counsel, said the 100-800 Series of Policies and Procedures would still exist and govern the board, except where the new Policy Governance policies conflict.

M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa and reports on school board meetings for AroundDesMoines.com.