1. Effective and Reflective Governance
OCS Regional Huddle
Lincoln Charter School
July 18, 2017
Craig Tucker

2. Goals
Students!
Procedural Success
Relational Success
Reflection

3. Students ARE the Reason!

4. Goals
Procedural Success

5. What are the characteristics of a good board meeting?

6. Responsibilities of the Board…
Follow open meetings law, charter school law, policies, approved amendments, public school law, school’s approved bylaws, and charter agreement.

7. Responsibilities of the Board…
Design a non-profit strategic plan, fiscal plan, management plan along with who is responsible for what role or duty.

8. Responsibilities of the Board…
Follow parliamentary procedures

9. Responsibilities of the Board…
Analyze and evaluate reports

10. NC Open Meetings Law

11. NC Open Meetings Law (NCGS 143-318.10)
All board meetings and committee meetings must be open to the public and provide appropriate notice in advance of the meeting date, time, and location:
Regular Meetings: 7 Days
Special Meetings: 48 Hours (Special Meetings include subcommittee meetings)
Emergency Meetings: Immediate after notice is given to all board members

12. NC Open Meetings Law
All meetings must be properly noticed physically at the school and on the school’s website.
Meeting minutes should be taken and approved at every meeting.
Meeting minutes should be kept in a location available to the public.

13. NC Open Meetings Law – Closed Session
Closed session procedures:
State the purpose of going into closed session verbally and in the meeting minutes
Closed session discussion must be kept confidential
Maintain limited closed session minutes. Keep these notes separate from open meeting minutes.
All voting must take place, in regular open session.

14. NC Open Meetings Law – Closed Session
There are 9 legal reasons in NC to go into closed session.
1. Privileged Information – General Statute 132 (Personnel, Student, Closed Session)
2. Discuss Award or Scholarship
3. Consult with attorney (not about general policy)
4. Expansion: (Real estate/business negotiation)
5. Negotiations: (terms of employment contracts)
6. Personnel matters
7. Investigate concerns of criminal matters
8. Form emergency plans for response to School violence
9. Briefings from law and safety (public safety issues or response to terrorism)

15. NC Open Meetings Law – Closed Session
What do you do if you want to make a decision based on the closed session discussion?
Come out of closed session and vote
Make a motion that states to the public what the vote is for (Example: Voting yes or no on package A does not tell the public what package A is).
Remember, you must come out of closed session to adjourn the meeting.

16. Can the board make decisions about the school through email?

17. Electronic “discussions” of school business involving several board members could be construed as a meeting and are in violation of the open meetings law.
You can communicate via , just communicate individually and avoid a quorum of board members.

18. Board Development

19. Number of Board Members
Each charter school board should have between 5 and 9 members. OCS highly recommends that charter school staff members do not sit on the charter school board due to conflict of interest.

20. Nepotism/Conflict of Interest Policies
*UPDATE*: CHTR – 006 – This policy is likely to be updated at an upcoming SBE meeting.
Below is the nepotism/conflict of interest information found in the charter agreement:
4.3. The Nonprofit board of directors shall adopt and ensure compliance with a conflict of interest and anti-nepotism policy. This policy shall include, at a minimum, the following provisions:
1. No voting member of the governing board shall be an employee of a for-profit company that provides substantial services to the charter school for a fee.
2. (a) Prior to employing any immediate family, as defined in G.S. 115C‑12.2, of any member of the board of directors or a charter school employee with supervisory authority shall be employed or engaged as an employee, independent contractor, or otherwise by the board of directors in any capacity, such proposed employment or engagement shall be:
(i) disclosed to the board of directors and
(ii) approved by the board of directors in a duly called open‑session meeting. (b) The burden of disclosure of such a conflict of interest shall be on the applicable board member or employee with supervisory authority. If the requirements of this subsection are complied with, the charter school may employ immediate family of any member of the board of directors or a charter school employee with supervisory authority.

21. Nepotism/Conflict of Interest Policies
3. A requirement that a person shall not be disqualified from serving as a member of a charter school's board of directors because of the existence of a conflict of interest, so long as the person's actions comply with:
a. the school's conflict of interest policy established as provided in this subsection; and
b. applicable law
4. No teacher or staff member that is immediate family of the chief administrator shall be hired without the board of directors evaluating their credentials, establishing a structure to prevent conflicts of interest, and notifying the Department, with evidence, that this process has occurred.
5. The requirements of Chapter 55A of the General Statutes related to conflicts of interest.

22. Board Election Policies
Best Practice Recommendations:
Staggered terms
2 – 3 Year Terms
Term Limits
Nomination Process
5. Election Process

23. Board Committees Budget and Finance Committee Governance
Building/Facilities
Strategic Planning
Academic
What is the work of each committee?

24. Budget and Board Oversight
Charter school finances are the number one reason for charter school closure nationally.
The finance committee should review the budget and project projections monthly and share this information with the board.
The board should have governance policies regarding finances and spending limits.

25. Budget and Board Oversight
The entire board should always know the financial health of the school including:
The number of students currently attending
The number of student attrition each month
The current financial budget surplus or deficit
The cost of major projects of the school

26. Planning and Procedures

27. Board Meetings
CHTR …“As a matter of practice, nonprofit boards overseeing public charter schools should meet no less than 8 times a year”

28. Sample Meeting Agenda Call to order
Reading of the School’s Mission and Board’s Purpose
Approval of Minutes
Public Comment
Officer Reports
Special Committee Reports
New Business
Announcements
Adjournment

29. Parliamentary Procedure
Present motions Second motions Debate/Discuss
Vote on Motions Record vote results
Remember, the board chair must restate the motion so all members of the board and audience can hear the motion. All voting, according to open meeting laws, must be completed in open session.

30. Meeting Minutes Minutes serve a variety of functions: Informative
Reflective
Evaluative
Prospective

31. Meeting Minutes Activity

32. Goals
Students!
Procedural Success
Relational Success
Reflection

33. Roles and Responsibilities of Board vs. Administration
Board Responsibilities
Administration Responsibilities
Responsibility is to make sure the school performs through clear evaluative measures.
The board asks “How well should the school perform at ….?”
The board asks “What is our goal for the year?”
Leads and develops plans and procedures that drive the school’s performance
The administration asks “How will I …..?”
The administration asks “How will I achieve the board’s goal?”

34. Roles and Responsibilities of Board vs. Administration
The Board
The Administration
Ends (Results)
Why?
What?
How Much?
Means (Strategies)
How?
When?
Where?
Who?
Mission
Vision
Goals
Policies
Objectives
Strategies
Action Plans
Procedures
Monitor
VOTE!
Implement
RECOMMEND
Retrieved from Cornell-Feist, Marci. Charter Schools Trustees Guide.

35. Roles and Responsibilities of Board vs. Administration
Policies
Time and Attention
Governance
Mission
Strategy
Viability
Leadership
Board’s Decisions
Principal’s
Advice
Partnership
Authorizations
Finance policies
Enrollment
Employment Terms
Shared Decisions:
Board and Administrator
Operational
Staffing
Program
Systems
Board’s
Administrator
Decisions

36. Reflection Activity

37. Questions?