1. Effective and Reflective Governance
September, 2017

2. Students ARE the Reason!

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

4. Starts on time
Ends at a reasonable time
Follows Roberts Rules of Order
Good committee reports
Robust and open discussions
Students first

5. Responsibilities of the Board…
Set the mission and vision of school Analyze and evaluate school budget Analyze and evaluate academic progress Analyze and evaluate reports Give clear direction to school director Support school director

6. Responsibilities of the Board…
Follows (1) public school law (2) charter school law (3) charter agreement (4) approved amendments (5) open meeting laws

7. Responsibilities of the Board…
1.Design a strategic plan 2.Fiscal plan 3.Management plan 4.Organizational chart and responsibilities

8. NC Open Meetings Law

9. 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

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. NC Open Meetings Law – Closed Session
There are 9 legal reasons in NC to go into closed session
Per NCGS /11
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)

13. 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.

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

15. no
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.
Do not “reply all” to an from a board member that discusses school business.

16. Board Development

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. 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.

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

21. Board Committees Budget and Finance Committee Governance
Building/Facilities
Strategic Planning
Academic
* What is the work of these committees?
*Committee meetings must be open to the
public and properly posted.

22. 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.

23. 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

24. Planning and Procedures

25. Sample Meeting Agenda Call to order
Reading of the School’s Mission and Conflict of Interest Policy
Approval of Minutes
Public Comment
Approval of Agenda
Officer Reports
Directors report
Special Committee Reports
New Business
Announcements
Adjournment

26. 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.

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

28. 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?”

29. 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.

30. 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

31. The Amendment Process
Charter school board adopts proposed changes “pending approval by the State Board of Education” and forwards a copy using the underline and strikethrough method to the Office of Charter Schools (OCS) for an initial review.
Website – needed document:
BMM
Strikethrough
Clean Copy
Letter signed by BC and Admin

32. The Amendment Process
If amendments are not in compliance with charter law OCS will communicate suggestions to the school. The charter school incorporates those suggestions into their amendments and sends a new copy to the OCS utilizing the underline and strikethrough format clearly denoting the proposed changes.
30 – 90 days to process

33. The Amendment Process
DPI staff and/or SBE approves or denies the proposed revision to the nonprofit corporation’s bylaws or charter application.

34. General Statutes for Future Reference
115C Material Revisions of Charters
115C Nonmaterial Revisions of Charters
115C and .8 don’t apply to you right now but will in the future as amendment statutes.

35. SBE Policy CHTR-014
Requires SBE Approval – May Require CSAB Recommendation
Enrollment growth beyond allowable statute amount
Relocation outside a 5-mile radius or approved LEA
Transferring the charter to another non-profit
Altering the mission or student population
Employing or terminating a management company
Changing the application with respect to the National School Lunch Program
Remember in relocation this applies to temporary sites as well.
Recent Policy changes
HB 800

36. SBE Policy CHTR-014 OCS May Approve Bylaws
The name of the charter school
The Articles of Incorporation
Relocation outside a 5-mile radius or approved LEA
Class sizes as stated in the application
Length of the school day/academic year
Curriculum changes
Changes with respect to student transportation
Changes with respect to food service plans
One year delay requests and/or using year 2 enrollment as outlined in the approved charter

37. SBE Policy CHTR-014
Any proposed amendments not contained in the previous slides must be reviewed and approved by the State Board of Education.

38. Q & A
What is the North Carolina policy concerning meetings of public bodies?

39. Q & A
The North Carolina General Assembly has declared it to be public policy that all hearings, deliberations, and actions of public bodies be conducted publicly. NCGS

40. Q & A
What are public bodies?

41. Q & A
A public body includes government authorities, boards, commissions, committees, councils, or other bodies. This includes, cities, school administrative units, NC public universities. These groups are public bodies if their members are elected, appointed, and they are a decision making or advisory board. NCGS

42. What kind of public notice is required for public meetings?
Q & A
What kind of public notice is required for public meetings?

43. Q & A
Regular meeting …………… 7 days Special meeting …………… 48 hours Emergency meeting ……….. After all board members are notified* *You may consider only the business connected with the emergency circumstance.

44. Is it required to set up a schedule of regular meetings?
Q & A
Is it required to set up a schedule of regular meetings?

45. Q & A
No, however, if you have a schedule of regular meetings, it is required that you keep a record of the schedule on file………… …….. Best practice is to post your schedule on your web site.

46. Does the public have the right to speak at your meeting?
Q & A
Does the public have the right to speak at your meeting?

47. Q & A
No, open meeting law does not give members of the public the automatic right to speak at your meeting………. ……..Best practice is to allow time for public comments at the beginning of the meeting and limit the time each person can speak to three minutes.

48. Can you have a meeting by conference call or other electronic means?
Q & A
Can you have a meeting by conference call or other electronic means?

49. Q & A
Yes, but you must provide a location and means for the public to listen to the meeting. The meeting notice should indicate where the public may listen.

50. Can you vote by secret ballot?
Q & A
Can you vote by secret ballot?

51. Q & A no

52. Q & A
Do you have to take minutes of meetings? Do you have to keep minutes of closed session meetings?

53. Q & A
Yes, every public body is required to keep accurate minutes of all official meetings. Closed session minutes should be kept separate from regular meeting minutes and they should a general account so that a person not in attendance would have a reasonable understanding of what happened.

54. Questions?