Last Night SLPS Board Meeting

From John Ginsburg:

Went to the special school board meeting last night. My first Board experience.

Apparently, at the end of last year, the board voted to bring in a team from the Missouri School Board Association, a non-profit group of which SLPS is a member, to help them with improving how they are as a Board. The guy
facilitating was an excellent presenter and gave a 7-point formula that has come from working with many other School Boards around the state and learning what factors work and what don't. He was well-versed in the statistics facing the SLPS, good with concrete examples, and patient with the members. This was the first of a four-part consulting series, if the Board decides to continue with him.

Veronica O'Brien was noticeably absent, as she left before the guy started. Perhaps she thought it was not necessary, but it certainly makes it difficult for a consultant to build the efforts of the team if not all the team participates. Ron Jackson thought that it was the wrong topic - that they shouldn't have even talked specifically about how to operate as a Board until they were able to deal with their interpersonal challenges. He was polite, but skeptical. The presenter
assured him that that would be dealt with in a later session.

Most of the other observers in the room left before the presentation was over, as did Bob Archibald, but I thought it was interesting. Even if the material was not rocket science, the presenter was engaging, thought-provoking, and experienced. Given the current situation on the board, they could probably use the help.