MONTGOMERY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION RETREAT

On January 18, 2007, the Board of Education directed the Communications and Public
Engagement Committee to review Board meeting processes and issues that need to be
addressed and make recommendations to the Board.

The Board of Education of Montgomery County met at the Carver Educational Services
Center, Rockville, Maryland, on May 31, 2007, at 9:00 a.m.

Present: Ms. Nancy Navarro, President

in the Chair
Mr. Steve Abrams
Mr. Christopher Barclay
Ms. Shirley Brandman
Ms. Sharon Cox
Dr. Judith Docca
Ms. Sarah Horvitz
Mrs. Patricia O’Neill
Dr. Jerry Weast, Secretary/Treasurer

Absent: None

Other staff members present were: Roland Ikheloa, Suzann King, Glenda Rose, Joe
Lavorgna, Brian Porter, and Aggie Alvez.

What follows is a summary of the discussions and recommendations that members of the
committee made at its May 14, 2007, meeting regarding the above resolution. The
committee’s deliberations are presented in the order of the retreat’s agenda.

The decisions of the Board are denoted in blue/bold.

REVIEW OF BOARD BUSINESS PROCESSES AND MEETINGS

Time, format, and content of Board meetings

Committee Discussion: There was a consensus by the committee that the Board
needed to restructure its Board meetings in order to make the meetings more efficient
and provide more time for substantive in-depth discussions before taking appropriate
action. The committee discussed creating more time for in-depth BOE discussions by
limiting the number of discussion topics at regular Board meetings. The committee
proposed creating worksessions throughout the year devoted to key issues. The
following options for achieving these objectives are laid out for the full Board’s
deliberation and action.

• Should the Board start evening meetings earlier?

 It was decided that the evening meeting will start one hour earlier
beginning in September (closed session at 5:30 p.m., open session at
6:00 p.m., and adjournment no later than 9:30 p.m.).

• Should worksessions be added to the existing calendar or should the Board

convert all or some evening meetings?

Strategic plans will be included with the budget worksessions in January.

The agenda will include a substantial block of time for in-depth
discussion on items this fulfill the board’s role, such as policy, strategic
planning, accountability.

• Should capacity be created for Board mini-retreats in the calendar every year

By motion, the Board agreed to schedule/calendar several mini-retreats

every year.

Adding structure to Board ceremonies—sticking with a presentation plan

Committee Discussion: The committee expressed a desire to streamline the length of
presentations of the Board’s recognitions and ceremonies and the discussion centered
on creating a presentation plan that:

• Sets a maximum number of ceremonies per meeting.

• Provides for not more than 2 speakers presenting at the table—one staff to
present an overview and one community representative to speak (e.g., 3
minutes each) after the superintendent or Board president has introduced item.
• Allows time for the Board president or one Board member to speak on behalf of
the Board.
• Allows for a photo opportunity if necessary.

The Board decided to take proclamations to the event, and they will not
recognize them at the Board table. Also, the recognitions for “months”
will be in the form of a proclamation or resolution that will be read and
voted on by the Board. If there is a photo opportunity, it will be done
before or after the meeting. The Communications and Public Engagement
Committee will review using a grid and make recommendations on the
broad categories of recognitions.

All changes to the format of Board meetings will be communicated to the

public.

The operating budget worksessions will be aligned with the strategic plan
with discussions on both.

Agenda setting will use 10 hours a month to guide decision making on

items and the time allotted.
Board Retreat Page 3 May 31, 2007

All changes will begin in September.

Board member comments

Committee Discussion: Committee members expressed interest in the amount of time
devoted to Board/Superintendent Comments. There was some discussion as to the
desirability of placing it at the end of every Board meeting, rather than immediately
after Public Comments:
Should this be moved to the end of the business meeting?
Should Board members be timed to a 2-minute limit?

After a lengthy discussion, the Board agreed that the placement of the
comments should not be changed, and there should be no time limits.
However, the members agreed that they should be mindful of the time and
self-limit comments.

Public comments
Committee Discussion: The committee noted that different jurisdictions around the
state structure their Public Comments section differently. Some restrict the comments
to only items on the meeting’s agenda; some, like MCPS, allow comments on any
topic; and some do a mix of both. The Board would need to decide whether to:

Allow comments on any items as is current practice?

Restrict public comments to only items on the day’s agenda?
Do a mix of both?

After a great deal of discussion and suggestions, the Board agreed to use the
following format:

At 3:00 p.m., the first 10 slots will be filled on a first come, first served
basis and will relate to items on the agenda (only six slots will be on the
same subject). At 3:45 p.m., the last five slots will be filled on a first
come, first served basis and will be open comments not related to the
agenda.

Board papers: Defining expectations for format and content

Committee Discussion: The committee appreciated improvements that have been
made to the Board paper presentations over the years, including the executive
summaries; however, there was consensus that the Board papers could be
restructured to provide more information to the Board in a more user-friendly manner
and allow for easier decision making on the part of the Board.
• The committee expressed interest in a format for Board papers structured
with the following pieces: executive summary; issues; alignment with the
Board Retreat Page 4 May 31, 2007

strategic plan; recommended option; if appropriate, other options considered

(including pros and cons); and legal implications of option(s).

• The committee expressed interest in receiving the Board packets sooner

than the Wednesday before the Board meetings.

To be addressed in a future retreat.

TOWN HALL MEETING CONCEPT—Structuring the Board’s Meetings with the

Community to Get More Community Participation
Committee Discussion: The committee’s deliberations on this issue were consistent
with views previously expressed by individual Board members and at prior retreats.
The intent is to broaden community access to the Board at different geographic
locations and to provide an opportunity for community members to speak to the Board
on a variety of topics in a less structured environment. The following points address
the issues raised at the meeting and also reflect ideas from individual Board members
outside of the committee meeting:
• Should the town hall meeting(s) be in addition to or in lieu of the Strategic
Planning Forums?
• Should we make town hall meetings a permanent part of the Board’s annual
calendar?
• Should the Board offer the public an open, unstructured “town hall”
component at the beginning of other community meetings, like PTA cluster
meetings?
• Should the Board consider changes to cluster meetings to include more
community participation? For instance, instead of 4–5 cluster meetings a
year, the Board could have six multi-cluster meetings—one for each
community superintendent’s area.
•
To be addressed in a future retreat.

BOARD STAFFING UPDATE

Mr. Ikheloa will provide more details on the filling of the Staff Assistant position.

The following items were placed in the parking lot for future retreats:
1. Committees
2. Board papers
3. “Town hall” meetings
4. Board staffing