This is not Texas and they're called school directors here. It looks like the job requirements are the same.
One quoted quality really stepped out and saluted: "School board elections are not the place to resolve personal grievances against the schools (or district)"
Ask yourself: What values do the people I voted for in 2007 represent?
Ask yourself again: What do I want in 2009?
What does it take to be an Effective School Board Trustee?
Posted on April 16, 2009 at 8:59 pm
By PHYLLIS SNODGRASS
President, San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce
It’s that time again – the time when candidates run for school board trustee for the San Marcos CISD. Why should the Chamber of Commerce care? Because school board trustees put into motion actions which ultimately lead to the success or failure of our schools. They are the governing body that the Superintendent of Schools reports to. If education is truly the number one economic development tool of our community– then school board trustees are absolutely critical to the future success of our community.
The quality and equity of education is a priority concern of educators, parents, business and community leaders and public officials in San Marcos. To ensure high quality education, the citizens of San Marcos must identify and elect Board Trustees who are qualified to meet the many difficult challenges facing the district. In an effort to identify and define the attributes that a school Board Trustee needs to meet these challenges, more than sixty leaders from 30 community organizations and many businesses came together in 1993, then again in 2007, to develop an Attribute Profile of an Effective School Board Trustee. Based on national best practices, regional experience, and the expertise of these leaders, this Attribute Profile was created.
The following organizations participated in the collaborative development of and/or endorsed this profile:
• Austin Area Research Organization (AARO)
• Austin Area Urban League
• Austin Council of PTA’s
• Austin Independent School District
• Austin Interfaith
• Austin Partners in Education
• Capital City African American Chamber of Commerce
• Capital Metro
• City of Austin Mayor’s Office
• Community Action Network
• E3 Alliance
• Executive Women International
• Greater Austin Chamber
• Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
• Junior League
• Leadership Austin
• League of Women Voters in Austin
• Real Estate Council of Austin (RECA)
• Ready By 21 Coalition
• Southwest Key
• Texas Business & Education Coalition (TBEC)
• The Austin Project
• The University of Texas at Austin
• United Way – Capital Area
• Women’s Chamber of Commerce of Texas
• Community, Civic and Business Leaders
• Other regional school district representatives
This representative and very knowledgeable group has created a brochure to help communities in Central Texas choose the very best possible school board trustees. The brochure details the qualities highlighted by this broad range of community partners as the most important attributes of a successful school board trustee.
An Effective School Board Trustee Should:
• Be a visionary, goal-directed, and willing to take risks. Be willing to set and have experience setting policy priorities.
• Have proven and appropriate organizational, fiscal and leadership skills suitable for the size and complexity of the school district.
• Demonstrate commitment to equity and access to quality education and world-class standards of achievement for all students.
• Demonstrate the ability to build consensus and to achieve collaborative outcomes.
• Value diversity and equity as criteria for decision-making.
• Be willing to set an example and establish accountability at all levels for achievement of all students, by understanding how to identify relevant data and use it appropriately.
• Practice good and efficient governance, understanding the role of policy-maker versus administrator.
• Represent the population served by our district and be a strong advocate for public education.
• Understand the need for alignment from early childhood through college and career success and across education providers to create a continuum of success for students.
• Exhibit personal qualities that embody a positive role model for our children and our community.
School board elections are not the place to resolve personal grievances against the schools (or district) nor should they be used merely as a stepping stone for future public office. Our schools deserve quality candidates that possess the above attributes and are willing to bring their knowledge and skills to the table to benefit the students of San Marcos CISD. There is a huge time commitment involved in serving as a school board trustee and each and every one of us should be thankful to our current trustees for the dedicated service that they provide to our community. A full list of questions that should be asked of every candidate for school board trustee can be found on the chamber’s website at www.sanmarcostexas.com. Our students deserve the best, and it is up to us to support the candidates that will best meet the needs of those students.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Community Craftsmen Award
From the BCCT.
Congratulations to the teachers and students who give of their time and talent. Good show!
Morrisville students show off toy-making talents
By: MANASEE WAGH
Bucks County Courier Times
Morrisville Middle/Senior High School students have been recognized for volunteering their time and toy-making talents to benefit kids in the community.
The school recently achieved runner-up status in the national Minwax Community Craftsman Award, which rewards groups or individuals who are "doing good with wood" for other people.
Fourteen Morrisville students enrolled in woodworking made 48 toys, ranging from wooden Flintstone cars to Tic-Tac-Toe boards and two large alphabet trains. They gave the trains to displaced M.R. Reiter Elementary School Pre-K and kindergarten children to use during the school day. All the toys started as wood grown in Morrisville that was sawed by a Morrisville graduate, said technology education teacher Kevin Jones.
Some of the toy ideas come from woodworking books and the Internet, while others are unique student creations, said Jones.
This is the fourth year the students have worked on an annual toy drive in conjunction with Ivin's House, a community service organization that distributes the toys to needy children each year.
As an award, the school's technology education department will receive $1,500 worth of Minwax products. The top prize is a $5,000 cash grant, a supply of Minwax products and a consultation with leading finishing expert Bruce Johnson.
Congratulations to the teachers and students who give of their time and talent. Good show!
Morrisville students show off toy-making talents
By: MANASEE WAGH
Bucks County Courier Times
Morrisville Middle/Senior High School students have been recognized for volunteering their time and toy-making talents to benefit kids in the community.
The school recently achieved runner-up status in the national Minwax Community Craftsman Award, which rewards groups or individuals who are "doing good with wood" for other people.
Fourteen Morrisville students enrolled in woodworking made 48 toys, ranging from wooden Flintstone cars to Tic-Tac-Toe boards and two large alphabet trains. They gave the trains to displaced M.R. Reiter Elementary School Pre-K and kindergarten children to use during the school day. All the toys started as wood grown in Morrisville that was sawed by a Morrisville graduate, said technology education teacher Kevin Jones.
Some of the toy ideas come from woodworking books and the Internet, while others are unique student creations, said Jones.
This is the fourth year the students have worked on an annual toy drive in conjunction with Ivin's House, a community service organization that distributes the toys to needy children each year.
As an award, the school's technology education department will receive $1,500 worth of Minwax products. The top prize is a $5,000 cash grant, a supply of Minwax products and a consultation with leading finishing expert Bruce Johnson.
Neshaminy Budget: Good News and Bad News
From the BCCT.
Board facing tough budget decisions
By: RACHEL CANELLI
Burlington County Times
Good news! Neshaminy’s budget should fall within the Act 1 tax spending limit. The bad news: Everybody won’t like something about it. That’s what business administrator Joseph Paradise told the Neshaminy school board this week about the district’s previously projected $167 million spending plan. To meet the tax law’s allowable 4.1 percent increase, which equals 6 mills or $4.6 million in Neshaminy, officials said they need to shrink a $14 million deficit to $4.5 million.
It’s unclear who, or what, will suffer the most. But administrators said the cuts will involve program changes and elimination and service reductions from the cabinet to the custodians, including teachers.
“We’re not sure how we’re going to do that yet,” said Paradise. “It’s still a work in progress. Every part of the district will be affected. But there’s no other way to do it. There’s no magic bullet.”
Revenues, including property and business taxes, are down almost $3 million to about $153 million, Paradise reported last month. Since officials don’t want to use any more of the dwindling $1.2 million savings account, taxpayers would see an average $500 increase to help fill that gap, administrators said.
For that reason, some homeowners, many senior citizens, have been petitioning the board for a zero percent budget/tax increase.
To ease the burden, board members and administrators have discussed sharing elementary art, music and gym teachers, advertising at sporting events, reducing the pre-first program, going paperless, increasing class size, charging community groups to use facilities, eliminating lead teachers, decreasing bus routes and charging for extra-curricular activities.
Neshaminy qualifies, though, for about $3.3 million in exceptions, including for special education. So, that could bump the district’s allowable total increase to 7 percent, or 10.32 mills. But the board members previously voted to try their best not to use those.
Paradise is expected to present the updated budget to the board during its April 28 meeting, which begins at 7 p.m., in Maple Point Middle School’s board room.
Board facing tough budget decisions
By: RACHEL CANELLI
Burlington County Times
Good news! Neshaminy’s budget should fall within the Act 1 tax spending limit. The bad news: Everybody won’t like something about it. That’s what business administrator Joseph Paradise told the Neshaminy school board this week about the district’s previously projected $167 million spending plan. To meet the tax law’s allowable 4.1 percent increase, which equals 6 mills or $4.6 million in Neshaminy, officials said they need to shrink a $14 million deficit to $4.5 million.
It’s unclear who, or what, will suffer the most. But administrators said the cuts will involve program changes and elimination and service reductions from the cabinet to the custodians, including teachers.
“We’re not sure how we’re going to do that yet,” said Paradise. “It’s still a work in progress. Every part of the district will be affected. But there’s no other way to do it. There’s no magic bullet.”
Revenues, including property and business taxes, are down almost $3 million to about $153 million, Paradise reported last month. Since officials don’t want to use any more of the dwindling $1.2 million savings account, taxpayers would see an average $500 increase to help fill that gap, administrators said.
For that reason, some homeowners, many senior citizens, have been petitioning the board for a zero percent budget/tax increase.
To ease the burden, board members and administrators have discussed sharing elementary art, music and gym teachers, advertising at sporting events, reducing the pre-first program, going paperless, increasing class size, charging community groups to use facilities, eliminating lead teachers, decreasing bus routes and charging for extra-curricular activities.
Neshaminy qualifies, though, for about $3.3 million in exceptions, including for special education. So, that could bump the district’s allowable total increase to 7 percent, or 10.32 mills. But the board members previously voted to try their best not to use those.
Paradise is expected to present the updated budget to the board during its April 28 meeting, which begins at 7 p.m., in Maple Point Middle School’s board room.
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