Help Me Understand the School Board
With the School Board in the news regularly these days and a meeting scheduled for Thursday, August 27, we wanted to share some information about the School Board. Where applicable, links are included to the sources.
Who is the “school board”?
Officially called the Board of Education (BOE), the school board is made up of seven trustees/members elected by geographic area to serve four-year terms. You can find your geographic area (formally called a district) on the BOE page. And, no, these districts don’t align in number OR boundary with the City Council Districts.
You will also see a Student Trustee and the Superintendent sitting with the Board on the dais/big wooden desk during Board meetings. Sitting next to the dais at tables are members of the Superintendent’s Leadership Team (SLT).
There has been some question related to Board leadership and how that is chosen. The officers are selected at the end of the calendar year and the positions rotate each year. You can read the specific process in Board Bylaw 9100.
What do they do?
“The duties of the Board include adopting the annual budget, approving all expenditures, establishing district policy, authorizing employment of personnel, approving textbooks and courses of study, and approving new and innovative academic initiatives.” (PUSD BOE site)
The Board is the elected governing body of the PUSD. It is equal in legal standing to the Pasadena and Sierra Madre City Council in the eyes of the state, as they are both municipal bodies.
How do they do it?
The PUSD Board has regular meetings each month, typically on the fourth Thursday of each month. At these meetings, Board members receive presentations from District staff, as well as have the chance to ask questions. On the second Thursday of each month, the Board also has Special Meetings and Study Sessions, as needed.
Board members (and the public) also receive information via the Friday Communiqué, Board committee meetings, Advisory Committee (LCAP, COC, Facilities, etc.) meetings, and the attachments to the Board agendas.
How do Board meetings work?
The agenda for any Board meeting must be made available to the public at least 72 hours before the meeting. Board agendas are created by the President of the Board in consultation with the Superintendent (Board Bylaw 9121). The agenda is posted on the Board website. This website is also where you can find minutes of previous meetings and video of the meetings (both live-streaming the current meeting and recordings of prior meetings).
The Board President will lead the group through the agenda. Meetings start with public comment, move through presentations, and include action items (usually votes) during each agenda item. There is also often a consent agenda, which can be passed all at once to limit the number of individual action items.
Can I talk at these meetings?
Yes! However, there are restrictions depending on the meeting type. The public comment at a Regular Meeting can be on anything related to the PUSD. If there is a specific action item on which you want to comment, you may also comment when the Board gets to that part of the agenda. In a Special Meeting, the public comment must be related only to what is on the agenda.
The Board will not respond directly to public comments or questions and are expected to be active listeners during that portion of the meeting.
There is a good description of the process on the Board Meetings page.
Where can I learn more?
The PUSD BOE page is filled with information, including agenda and minutes from Board Committees, all of the Board Policies and By-Laws, and so much more. We also encourage you to take a look at the series on School Boards at Ed100.
Is this an Election Year?
It is! This is an election year for four of the geographic areas (Districts 1, 3, 5and 7). Constituents in districts 1, 3, and 7 will be voting for their representative in November. Because Trustee Marshall McKenzie was the only candidate to qualify in District 5, she will be appointed to her seat for another four-year term.
PEN is working with other parent groups to organize a candidate forum, so keep an eye out for more details!