Clean Version Board Policy BBI_ Board-Staff Relations

                                                                                   Board Policy Manual
                                                                           DeKalb County School District

Board Policy BBI: Board-Staff Relations                                                   Status: DRAFT

Original Adopted Date: 03/21/2012 | Last Revised Date: 08/20/2024 | Last Reviewed Date:
11/03/2014




Clean Version

The DeKalb County Board of Education wishes to maintain open channels of communication with
district staff, including district employees, contractors, and vendors. The primary line of
communication, however, will be through the superintendent, and official business of the district
will not be carried on between staff and board members except as directed by the superintendent.



    A. Staff Communications to the Board


        This procedure does not deny the right of any employee to appeal to the board from
        administrative decisions on important matters, provided that the superintendent has been
        notified of the forthcoming appeal and that it is processed in accordance with the board’s
        policy on complaints and grievances. Staff are encouraged to report concerns to employee
        relations department handling employee grievances and concerns or through the
        whistleblower hotline 1.888.475.0482 at the Audit & Compliance department. If the
        complaint or concern is with Audit & Compliance department, then staff is encouraged to
        report to the Chief Legal Officer. If there are complaints or concerns about the
        superintendent, those should be reported directly to the Board Chair who will consult with
        the General Counsel.

        Staff members are also reminded that board meetings are public meetings. As such, they
        provide an excellent opportunity to observe firsthand the board’s deliberations on problems
        of staff concern.

    B. Board Communications to Staff


        If a board member brings to the superintendent a request or concern regarding board
        governance or otherwise requiring full board consensus, the request or concern will be
        referred to the board chair. Any responses by the superintendent should be made through
        the chair based on agreed communication channels to ensure that the response is shared
        with the full board.

    C. Guidelines for Board Member Visits to Schools

        The ultimate responsibility for a school’s operation lies with the superintendent. There are
        advantages to obtaining knowledge about a school’s operation by individual board members
        visiting the school.
   Board members are encouraged to visit schools during open houses and other times
   specially arranged for the general public. In addition, board members are encouraged to visit
   the schools to speak with, listen to, and observe the operations and procedures of the
   school to gain knowledge for policy-making decisions in the areas of finance, personnel,
   curriculum, facilities and transportation.

   The following guidelines apply when board members visit schools:


       1. There should be no interruption of classes or other activities.

       2. Class visitation or observation should be done only with the approval of the
          principal.

       3. Review of evaluation information of any teacher or employee should be done only in
          executive session of a board meeting.

       4. The board member should not act or speak independently in making decisions or
          commitments of a course of action of the board.

  Board members must recognize that their presence in the schools could be subject to a
  variety of interpretations by school employees and the public. Such visits will be regarded as
  informal expressions of interest in school affairs and not as “inspections” or visits for
  supervisory or administrative purposes.

E. Enforcement

   This policy will be enforced in the manner set out in the Board Member Code of Ethics
   Policy BH.