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Board
Operating Principals
Kershaw County
Board of School Trustees - Adopted March 1, 2011
- School board meetings are well
planned and organized; School Board members are regular in
their attendance and prepared for meetings. When Board
members are unable to attend the meeting, they inform the
Board Chairman and make every effort to inform themselves
about the issues discussed and agreements reached at those
meetings. Board members engage in open and honest
deliberations at their meetings - especting differences of
opinion within the board and those who appear before the
board. Board members are also committed to support decisions
of the School Board once issues have been deliberated and
voted upon.
- School Board members are
knowledgeable about the needs and priorities of the school
division and informed about education generally. Information
is gathered through a variety of sources including: analysis
of data from national, state, and local reports; systematic
and continuous solicitation of input from stakeholders
including: school visits, school events, public hearings and
informal contacts; participation in professional meetings,
and outside reading.
- School Board members make decisions
based upon thorough and thoughtful analysis of available
information—not political pressure or influence of special
interest groups and in the best interests of the entire
school system. At the same time, the School Board is
decisive - willing to deal with difficult issues in a timely
way.
- Meeting student needs and promoting
high levels of student performance are the top priorities of
this School Board. We are also committed to celebrating the
successes of students and others associated with the school
division on a regular basis.
- The School Board functions as a
policy making group. They do not individually or collective
engage in micromanagement of the school division and engage
in periodic reviews of their relationship with the
administration to clarify roles and relationships.
Individual School Board members make it clear to their
constituencies that they have no authority as individuals
and make every effort to refer problems or complaints
through proper channels.
- Effective communication at all
levels is critical. School Board members use appropriate
channels to solicit information regarding school division
operating procedures. School Board members communicate with
each other and the superintendent prior to the school board
meeting when issues or concerns about a report or
recommendation will be raised. “No surprises”, is the
guiding principle.
- Recognizing that we must be good
stewards of scarce resources, we are committed to a system
of accountability that includes strategic planning, an
ongoing review of our mission and goals, collection and
analysis of data as an integral part of our priority setting
and decision making processes, and systematic evaluation and
reporting on multiple dimensions.
- Finally, the School Board is
committed to soliciting input and providing regular and
relevant feedback to the community on the needs,
achievements, and problems facing the school division.
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