School Policy

Kristin DeLuca
Oakland University

Author Note

Kristin DeLuca, Department of Organizational Leadership, Oakland University

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Kristin DeLuca, Department of

Organizational Leadership, Oakland University, Rochester, MI 48309

Contact: kdeluca@oakland.edu
 Effective policies are at the core of successful organizations and are extremely

important for school district governance. School policy must address local, state, and federal

needs and laws. According to Kim Adlam, the Executive Secretary to the Superintendent and

Board of Education, Chippewa Valley Schools currently uses an organization, called NEOLA, to

oversee board policy. NEOLA oversees the current by-laws and Board policies on the district

website and notifies the district of required updates required by local, state, and/or federal

laws. NEOLA’s recommendations have been prepared and are overseen by outside counsel and

Michigan Association of School Board’s legal counsel. Chippewa Valley Schools maintains the

by-laws and board policies on the website through a program called BoardDocs; Chippewa

Valley Schools no longer maintains hard copies of board policies: it is all electronically stored (K.

Adlam, personal communication, August 4, 2021).

The Chippewa Valley Schools District policy manual consists of ten sections which

include: bylaws, administration, program, professional staff, support staff, students, finances,

property, operations, and relations. Each section consists of codes that fall under that topic.

The topics range from district goals to responsibilities of the superintendent to the use of

school facilities.

Chippewa Valley School’s codes po0122 and po0143 outline the powers and authority of

the School Board to set district policies. Code 0122 was adopted by Chippewa Valley Schools in

2003 and last revised in 2013, it states the powers of the board of education as follows:

“The district shall operate as a General Powers School District. As such it has all of the

rights, powers and duties expressly state in statute; may exercise a power implied or
 incident to any power expressly stated in statute; and except as provided by law, may

exercise a power incidental or appropriate to the performance of any function related

to the operation of the District in the interests of public elementary and secondary

education in the district.” (Policy Manual, p. 1).

Code 0143, adopted in 2003, further explains the authority of the board to set policy. Under

School Code 0143, it explains that individual board members do not possess the powers that

the entire Board possesses and that the Board cannot set forth a policy that was not approved

at an official meeting by a majority vote of its members.

While Chippewa Valley Schools policy manual consists of over a hundred topics

pertaining to the function and governance of the district, it may be necessary, at times, to set

new policy for various reasons. In speaking with the Executive Secretary of Ron Roberts,

Superintendent of Chippewa Valley Schools, she stated,

“In most cases, policies and bylaws are implemented as a result of the current state of

what’s going on in the community. For instance, with COVID and the pandemic, some

policies were mandated by the laws set forth by the federal or state government. In this

case, the Administrator brought it to the attention of the Superintendent, who called a

sub-committee meeting made up of three of the Board of Education members (a

chairperson and two others). After the sub committee and administration went over

the details in the sub-committee meeting, it was brought to the full Board of Education

for approval and adoption.” (K. Adlam, personal communication, August 4, 2021).
 Once a new policy is adopted, the superintendent’s secretary will send the information

to NEOLA who then edits, finalizes, and adds the policy to the district website. The policy does

not become “official” until the Board of Education approves and adopts the policy. According

to Kim Adlam, some policies are handled differently because they are federal requirements.

She referred to policy 2266: a district Title IX policy. The policy was a federal requirement that

was required to be adopted by a certain date or the district would be issued a $100,000 fine;

therefore, the process for adoption did not require the same process as outlined above (K.

Adlam, personal communication, August 4, 2021).

When the Board of Education adopts a new policy, the policy is included in the meeting

minutes and uploaded to the district website which allows for stakeholders to have access to

the most current policies. The district also informs employees when new policies are

implemented that may impact them. While I doubt that most employees or stakeholders have

accessed the district’s policies, I think the district has a well-organized system and format for

communicating district policies.

In reviewing the protocol for adopting, revising, and implementing policies, I think

Chippewa has a lot of strengths. Along with having the opportunity to interview Ms. Adlam, the

secretary of the Superintendent, I also had the opportunity to review communication from

NEOLA. This helped me to understand the communication the district receives when new laws

are passed which includes guidance on policies that should be adopted. I think it is smart to

have a third party, such as NEOLA, oversee a district’s policies to ensure the district is in

compliance with local, state, and federal laws and mandates. Overall, I think Chippewa Valley
Schools has a very strong system for implementing, reviewing, and making board policy

accessible for stakeholders.

After having the opportunity to talk with Ms. Adlam and understanding Chippewa Valley

School’s process for district policy, I now have a better understanding of the powers of the

Board of Education and the types of policies that are in place in the district. During the past

year, I have watched almost every board meeting, which have been mostly controversial. One

board member, in particular, makes requests that are outside of his scope of authority. In

reading and understanding the Board’s by-laws and policies, I feel more knowledgeable about

the district and board policy and will have a better understanding when policies are discussed

at board meetings or implemented and revised in the future.

 References

Chippewa Valley Schools. (2002-2021). BoardDocs. Retrieved August 5, 2021, from

https://go.boarddocs.com/mi/chip/Board.nsf/Public?open&id=policies.