BBI Board Staff Relations

                                                                                                     Board Policy Manual
                                                                                             DeKalb County School District




 Board Policy BBI: Board-Staff Relations                                                                    Status: ADOPTED

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


The DeKalb County Board of Education wishes to maintain open channels of communication with District staff,
including District employees and contractors. The primary line of communication, however, will be through the
Superintendent, and official business of the District shall not be carried on between staff and Board members except
as directed by the Superintendent.
  A. Staff Communications to the Board

      All communications or open reports to the Board or any of its subcommittees from principals, supervisors,
      teachers, or other staff members will be submitted through the Superintendent. Staff should not contact
      Board members regarding school or District business, and staff interests or concerns should be communicated
      through the chain of command unless otherwise directed by the Superintendent.
      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 the appropriate department handling employee grievances and concerns or through the
      whistleblower hotline.

      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

      All Board member communications, questions, policies or directives of staff interest and concern will be
      communicated to staff members through the Superintendent. Board members should not contact staff to
      discuss school or District business. The Superintendent will develop appropriate methods to keep staff fully
      informed of the Board’s problems, concerns and actions. Board member requests to meet with or require
      information from a staff member shall be at the direction of the Superintendent.
      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. Board Member Visits to Schools
      The ultimate responsibility for a school’s operation lies with the Superintendent. There are advantages for
      obtaining knowledge about a school’s operation by individual Board members visiting the school. However,
      some problems can be encountered by Board members visiting schools, including the following:
         1. It is impossible to separate the identity of a Board member from that of a private citizen.
         2. Evaluation of staff members and employees is an administrative responsibility, not a Board member’s
            responsibility.
         3. Board members must not make general statements or promises that could be construed to be the
            position of the Board.

         4. Board members should not make statements to teachers and employees which could be construed as a
            procedural directive.
  D. Guidelines for Visiting Schools
      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. 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 shall be enforced in the manner set out in the Board Member Code of Ethics Policy, Descriptor
  Code BH, Paragraph F. Staff members who violate this policy shall be sanctioned as determined by the
  Superintendent.