The introspective exercise by the Monroe School Board, and shared last week with the public, was something all governmental bodies ought to consider doing.
The board's seven members recently completed a self-evaluation to determine how well they're performing their duties and responsibilities. It would be easy to discount the findings - how hard do we expect elected officials to grade themselves, right?
But the board's members seemed to take the project seriously, and some interesting ideas resulted.
One of them is the question of whether the school board should once again have some of its meetings in school buildings, rather than just the district office. This might encourage greater participation from students and parents, particularly if specific issues related to the school are tied into the meeting.
The need for better and more extensive training for new members also was raised in the survey. Having hard-copy policy books available to new board members was suggested. Both would be good steps.
The board's members also said they could do more to learn about school programs and trends, and do more community outreach. Both would contribute to keeping the board informed and in touch.
The board also pointed out some of its strengths, including the way it runs board meetings and the way it communicates with district administration. It lauded the efforts of Superintendent Larry Brown and Business Manager Ron Olson in that regard. We, too, have seen vast improvements in those areas.
There was nothing groundbreaking in the survey, but the pointing out of strengths and weaknesses is a helpful exercise, nonetheless. In addition to finding out what the school board thinks of itself, it would be productive to ask the community stakeholders for their input, as well.
The board's seven members recently completed a self-evaluation to determine how well they're performing their duties and responsibilities. It would be easy to discount the findings - how hard do we expect elected officials to grade themselves, right?
But the board's members seemed to take the project seriously, and some interesting ideas resulted.
One of them is the question of whether the school board should once again have some of its meetings in school buildings, rather than just the district office. This might encourage greater participation from students and parents, particularly if specific issues related to the school are tied into the meeting.
The need for better and more extensive training for new members also was raised in the survey. Having hard-copy policy books available to new board members was suggested. Both would be good steps.
The board's members also said they could do more to learn about school programs and trends, and do more community outreach. Both would contribute to keeping the board informed and in touch.
The board also pointed out some of its strengths, including the way it runs board meetings and the way it communicates with district administration. It lauded the efforts of Superintendent Larry Brown and Business Manager Ron Olson in that regard. We, too, have seen vast improvements in those areas.
There was nothing groundbreaking in the survey, but the pointing out of strengths and weaknesses is a helpful exercise, nonetheless. In addition to finding out what the school board thinks of itself, it would be productive to ask the community stakeholders for their input, as well.
