1The Board of Education of Montgomery County met in Retreat at the CarverEducational Services Center, Rockville, Maryland, on June 24, 2008, at 9:00 a.m.Present: Ms. Shirley Brandman, Vice Presidentin the ChairMr. Christopher BarclayMs. Sharon CoxDr. Judy DoccaMr. Benjamin MoskowitzMrs. Patricia O

NeillDr. Jerry Weast, Secretary/TreasurerAbsent: Mr. Steve AbramsMs. Nancy Navarro, PresidentOthers attending the retreat: Mr. Larry Bowers, Mr. Roland Ikheloa, Ms. SuzannKing, Ms. Laura Steinberg, and Mrs. Glenda Rose (recorder).

Stated Outcomes by the end of the retreat session:

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Review the Operating and Capital Budget processes to ascertain whatchanges, if any, should be made for next year

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Review the integration of committee work with the work of the Board toensure that committee work plans are aligned with the strategic plan andsupport/inform Board decision making

Operating and Capital Budget Processes

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Review of Operating Budget Process – What worked well, what needsimprovement, and suggestions for modifying the process next year.

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Review of Capital Budget Process – What worked well, what needsimprovement, and suggestions for modifying the process next year.

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Review of September 20 and October 11 Forums on the Strategic Plan –

What worked well, what needs improvement, and suggestions for modifyingthe process next year.

Integrating the Work of Board Committees with the Work of the Board

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Committee Work Plans – What are the work plans, how are the itemsdetermined, and what is the Board’s role in determining work plans?

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How are the work plans aligned with the Strategic Plan and the Board’swork? – Are the items in the work plans properly Board work and what isthe connection to the work of the full Board?

Operating Budget Process

The Board determined that there was a need to clearly align budget formationwith strategic plan priorities. The focus of outreach efforts for forumparticipants should stress the strategic direction with realistic budgetconstraints. In this vein, there could be a one-page information piece availableto the public to help them with their testimony. In tight fiscal times, the budgetformation process needs to be narrowed to the most important initiatives.In the future, there is a need to be able to set expectations early based onfinancial forecast and not create expectations during forums that are unrealisticgiven economic conditions. The Board needs to articulate the connectionbetween the financial climate and the ability to deliver on expectations raised atforums. How do we link the strategic plan to the child? How do we influencethe funding agencies?Finally, the Board must find ways to listen to the community in order to hearnew voices (like the County Council and county executive hold town hallmeetings). The Board needs to move forward with a cohesive strategy thatunites and mobilizes the PTA and the community on how serious the budgetpicture is.The decision was to keep the forums, but not make promises for the budgetand focus on the Board’s goals. The Strategic Planning Committee shouldreview the process, and the Communications and Public EngagementCommittee should craft a message to provide information to the community aswell as the PTA leadership. There was a suggestion to use the template of theCounty Council to organize information for the Board.

Capital Budget and Boundary Hearing Process

The Board noted that the calendar and timeline is very tight for budget andboundary processes. Therefore, the consensus was to keep the process forthe superintendent’s recommendation followed by Board-adopted alternativesfor public hearing. Information for Capital Budget should be organized inpackets, e.g., need for additions ranked by percent utilization similar to the wayCounty Council packets are organized.