WORK SESSION. Dwight D. Jones, Superintendent of Schools

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1 MINUTES CLARK COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF SCHOOL TRUSTEES ADMINISTRATIVE CENTER, ROOM WEST SAHARA AVENUE, LAS VEGAS, NV WORK SESSION Thursday, October 13, :00 p.m. Roll Call: Members Present Carolyn Edwards, President Dr. Linda E. Young, Vice President Deanna L. Wright, Clerk Lorraine Alderman, Member John Cole, Member Erin E. Cranor, Member Chris Garvey, Member Dwight D. Jones, Superintendent of Schools Also present were: Mark Wood, Board Counsel, District Attorney s Office; Jeff Weiler, Chief Financial Officer, Operations Support Unit; Sue Daellenbach, Assistant Superintendent, Assessment, Accountability, Research, and School Improvement; Greg Halopoff, Director, Central Information Student and Human Resource Services, Technology and Information Systems Services Division; Celese Rayford, Principal, Mabel Hoggard Elementary School; Jeffrey Horn, Principal, Green Valley High School; Kenneth Turner, Special Assistant to the Superintendent, Office of the Superintendent; and Stephanie Gatlin, Transcriber/Recording Secretary, Board Office. ADOPT AGENDA Adopt agenda. Motion: Young Second: Cole Vote: Unanimous SCHOOLS PERFORMANCE FRAMEWORK Update and discussion on the development of a school performance framework. Dr. Turner gave a presentation to the Board of the School Performance Framework. His presentation included, but was not limited to: A Look Ahead: Phase I Reforms, Challenges are Substantial but Solvable, Logic in a System of Accountability and Support, What s New Since August 3 Board Meeting, Features and Starting Assumptions, Structure of Academic Indicators, Likely Candidates for Other Factors, Summary of Options for Combining Data, Makeup of Technical Advisory Panel (TAP), Middle Schools by Ratings, Elementary Schools by Ratings, SPF Distinguished Schools, and Where We Go From Here. Page 1 of 5

2 SCHOOLS PERFORMANCE FRAMEWORK (continued) Ms. Rayford and Mr. Horn shared some observations discussed at a TAP meeting, such as staff s perceptions of the performance of students based on the location of their school. Trustee Young commented that with regard to other factors as shown on page 16 of 24, ensuring that children are not hungry is also important to their learning environment. Trustee Cranor noted that other factors may differ between schools. She asked if there would be a mechanism that would allow different factors that are not a part of the framework to be shared among different schools that find those particular factors important to their community. Superintendent Jones agreed that there may be some different pieces that different schools may want to focus on because of the uniqueness of the District s schools. He said to measure accurately, there must be consistency, and he is looking forward to having discussions and gathering input for ways to move forward to have consistency across all of the schools and to still allow the different schools to focus on what is important for them. Dr. Turner added that there have been discussions about the importance of allowing flexibility and how input should be gathered that allows the community to tell the District what is most important to them. Trustee Cranor asked if there would be a mechanism built into this framework that would allow a community to choose another priority to focus on once they feel one has been mastered. Superintendent Jones said others have done what Trustee Cranor described so there are models to follow. Trustee Edwards asked that a percentage code be included in the distinguished schools chart. Dr. Turner said that some information coming forward would be related to high schools, and that staff has not done any work related to alternative schools. Trustee Edwards commented that an analysis of charter schools is an important part of the discussion. OPERATIONAL DASHBOARD Presentation and discussion on the development of a data visualization tool (also known as a dashboard) that will be used as part of a systemwide effort to support the efficient and transparent access, analysis, and reporting of performance data in the operational area of finance, human resources, technology, facilities management, transportation, and food services. Page 2 of 5

3 OPERATIONAL DASHBOARD (continued) Superintendent Jones said what was being presented to the Board today was an example of how staff is looking at building a type of performance framework for the operational aspect of the District. Dr. Turner presented the operational dashboard to the Board. His presentation included, but was not limited to, the following: video screenshots of the Operational Dashboard, Intent, What Value Do Dashboards Have?, What is Performance Management?, Context, A Look Ahead: Phase I Performance, and Gibson Study. Trustee Cole expressed a concern with inundating the public with so much information individuals are left with more questions. He asked what would be the approach for providing the public with an appropriate level of information. Superintendent Jones said he would be relying partly on staff to work with other employees to gather input, and he would take direction from the Board to say what part of this information is appropriate for the public. Trustee Cranor commented that this tool would allow the District to look at what belongs in a budget process and budget document in terms of doing performance-based budgeting and planning based on what performance is. Trustee Cole asked if there is appetite to incorporate a zero-base budget process on a periodic basis. Mr. Weiler said that could be looked into. Trustee Edwards noted that the Gibson reported pointed out that District custodial staff are paid more than industry standards and cover more square footage than the industry standard in their responsibilities. She suggested evaluating whether or not the District is getting its return on investment for paying them more and what that return on investment is before making the decision that the staff is being overpaid based only on that fact that they are paid more than industry standards. APPROVE CLARK COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES GOVERNANCE PROCESS Approval regarding the Clark County School District Board of Trustees governance process and future professional development regarding governance. Trustee Edwards explained that this is a follow-up discussion regarding the Board s and the Superintendent s thoughts regarding Policy Governance when the Board met with Bill Charney at the Board retreat on September 24, Page 3 of 5

4 APPROVE CLARK COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES GOVERNANCE PROCESS (continued) Trustee Edwards said she felt this was an important governance structure to have in place unless it was replaced with another. She said that it should be modified to allow the Board to be responsive to its constituents. Trustee Alderman said she could support continuing with Policy Governance as long as the Board treats it as a document that could be modified and shaped as necessary. Trustee Cranor commented that she appreciates the opportunity and flexibility in the governance structure to be able to work as a team with the Superintendent toward their common goals. Trustee Wright said she felt that the governance model as presented by John Carver does not work for the Board because they are an elected board and have constituents that they need to provide support to. She said her concern is the perception that the public has that with Policy Governance the Board does not maintain its authority, and that the Board is not given complete and accurate information by staff. Trustee Cole said he has a greater understanding of Policy Governance and is willing to give the Superintendent the latitude he needs to accomplish his job. Trustee Young expressed that her concern with the governance structure is that she needs to be able to work effectively with her fellow Board members, as well as with the Superintendent and with staff. She said Policy Governance does not feel like an effective governance tool because she feels that it does not allow her to be a part of a team, and she feels there is a disconnect with this governance process. She asked if there has ever been an analysis done of the effectiveness of Policy Governance. She suggested that the Board conduct a study of the 10 largest school districts in the country in terms of student achievement and the governance structure they use. She suggested then looking at the top 10 districts that use Policy Governance and their student achievement data. Trustee Garvey said she takes issue with the response time with the process of Policy Governance. She agreed with looking at the effectiveness of this governance structure and agreed with implementing some modifications. Trustee Edwards gave a brief history of Policy Governance and said it should be recognized by the Board as a tool that could be modified to meet the Board s needs and that guides the Board s and the Superintendent s work. She suggested that some discussion needs to take place about how to help constituents navigate the system and how the Board can make the system more responsive. She offered that the frustration being expressed by some Board members is in the non-responsiveness of the system. She suggested using the Board s debriefing document to ask the question of how Policy Governance is working for the Board. She said she has spoken with the Superintendent about having a training session on how to approach different constituent concerns or issues. Page 4 of 5

5 APPROVE CLARK COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES GOVERNANCE PROCESS (continued) Superintendent Jones commented that this is a very helpful discussion to continue to have. He said it is important for him to find the right balance in this system to serve the Board and to accomplish the goals of the District and the Board. AGENDA PLANNING: ITEMS FOR FUTURE AGENDAS DISCUSSION AND REQUEST FOR SPECIAL MEETINGS PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD ADJOURN: 4:36 p.m. Motion: Young Second: Alderman Vote: Unanimous Page 5 of 5