The Echo

Conference Recap:

Spent Thursday night Chicago-bound, took a late flight in, arrived at the hotel close to midnight.  Attended my first session today of the National School Board Association's Conference.

First lesson learned?  I'm claustophobic.

Second lesson:   It's time for an examination of our policies regarding public comment at board meetings.  Under the current policy, members of the public are given three minutes to comment; however, the board cannot address those comments.  At last month's meeting, one gentleman took us to task over his perceived lack of action from the board regarding public comment.  He also asked that his entire comment be included in the meeting minutes and provided the district with a copy of his remarks. 

Enter a school district in Texas that tackled this same issue.  The resulting policy calls for a 10 day window to respond to public comment.  Here's how it works:  Comment is given during the public meeting.  Following the meeting, the district prepares a written copy of the comment and a response co-signed by the board president and superintendent that is then mailed/emailed to the concerned constituent.  The board does not close-out or approve meeting minutes until this policy is completed.  Constitiuents may not receive the response they want, but this policy reflects the value that district leaders place on community participation. 

Lesson number three:  Meeting access -- as in podcasts, mp3 files, live web streaming, radio broadcasts and community access televised meetings.  I've been party to a couple conversations regarding this topic and when I mention that our district does not utilize technology in this manner, it's as if I've grown a second head.  Educated guess?  Utilizing technology and social media to provide additional access, transparency, and accountibility to the public is likely to become more mainstream in very near future.  Maybe the time is nearing for Christina to engage various media...

I'll be up early for Data-driven decision making...
We'll see what tomorrow brings.