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School Board to be more active in policy creation

The school board is going to look into changing the way it governs the district, and will likely make a decision early in the new year.
For the last few years, the relationship between the school board and the administration has followed the Carver model, which means that the board has a hand in policy only to tell district management what not to do.
"As it now stands, the (school) board has no hand in writing policy or procedure, unless they are directed by legislation to do so," Human Resources Manager Ernie Inglehart said in a memo to the board.
He argued that the issue ought to be clarified and proposed the board should have the control of creating policy, which means the board ought to provide positive direction to management.
He recommended that the board's policy manual be changed to reflect this, and that a new section be added to the board's bylaws. Bylaw changes require three readings, although it is technically possible to do that at one meeting.
"We believe the changes will streamline the creation of policy," Mr. Inglehart said.
The board agreed to take a formal look at the proposal, and will do so possibly as soon as next month.