1/6/2009 School Board Comments Clarified

School Board Comments Clarified

I was one of the speakers at the December 15 Board Meeting at Draughn High School. I had much to say and only five minutes to speak, so I wanted to clarify my comments from that meeting for anyone who may be interested, and to comment on the Board Meeting held January 5th.

At the December 15 meeting I asked the Board to post the draft policies and any ancillary documents relating to the Board meetings on the School Board website. The following is an excerpt from my comments: “My first concern is the public’s access to board minutes, non-confidential attachments to board minutes and access to current board policy and procedure. The December 3, 2007 Minutes reflect that the Superintendant indicated that the current board minutes with attachments were available online. On March 3, 2008 the Superintendant indicated that the current board policy manual was online. I am sure you are all aware that the Board Minutes have not been posted online since June, 2008. Of the available minutes online, there are seldom ancillary documents posted with the minutes. Additionally, procedures followed by the Board that should be part of the current policy manual are not included online either.”

I also asked the Board to clarify its policies – I specifically said “My second concern is the clarity of posted board policies and procedures. Having reviewed policy manuals of other districts, I know that it is possible to adopt clear and specific policies that give the public notice of what is expected of all of the parties that have business with the school board.”

My third point was concern regarding the language in the draft media policies. At this meeting I commented on draft versions of the policies that had been published in The News Herald, and urged the Board to enlist the help of the NCHSA (North Carolina High School Association) in customizing the policy, because the draft that I had access to did not appear to have any legal review. I knew that the NCHSA had reviewed policies in the past for Burke, and I contacted NCHSA to see if they were helping draft this policy (they were not). Another speaker at the meeting (who is also a lawyer) must have been referring to the same policy I read when he called the draft policies “ludicrous.”

My concern at the time was that the Board had not submitted the policy to their attorney, and I thought that perhaps they were trying to save money by drafting the policy without legal guidance. I specifically said: “The NCBSA has developed sophisticated and valuable expertise in assisting local school districts in keeping their policies current and in compliance with legal mandates. The NCBSA is a resource that the board has relied on in the past as a source of policies, and it seems prudent that they are consulted regarding policies of such significance to our community.”



At the time I spoke I was not aware that the draft that I was publicly commenting on had already been scrapped and a new draft had been submitted to the Board. The newer draft (draft #5) had obviously been reviewed by Board Attorney Jonathan Jones and had come a long way in addressing my concerns. Although embarrassed that I did not have the current policy (not for lack of trying), I was pleased that some legal guidance had been implemented in the newer version.

At the January 5th Board meeting , Mr. Richard Avery, another local attorney, spoke generally about his concerns regarding the language in the draft policies (Draft #5), that policies were already in place to deal with the issues, and that all that was needed to address parental concerns was an “opt out” provision added to the current policy. Mr. Avery’s comment period was abruptly cut off by Ms. Norman before he finished, because he had reached the five minute mark. His was the only public comment.

In spite of Ms. Norman’s obvious intent to close the matter regarding Mr. Avery’s comments and concerns, I was pleased that the Board Attorney later addressed the Board regarding the need to hear the public’s opinions (including Mr. Avery’s legal concerns) about the language in the proposed policies.

I was also pleased to hear that Ms. Norman planned to update the Board Policy Manual. She has charged Mr. Rick Sherrill with that task. For what it is worth, I am personally very impressed with Caldwell county’s online policy manual and found it very professional and progressive (who knew?), and hope that Mr. Sherrill will consult that Policy Manual as one of his resources for the Burke Manual.

I was extremely impressed with Mr. Tony Cox, the new Assistant Superintendant in charge of Finance and Auxiliary Services. He seemed incredibly professional, approachable and capable. As a parent I appreciated that he referred to his department as the “Caregivers” since his department is responsible for the care and safety of the children while they are in school.

Although this meeting was much more “tame” than previous meetings, I urge the citizens of Burke County to continue to attend the Board Meetings. It is your right to address the Board with your concerns, and to hold the Board members accountable for their comments and decisions.

Catherine Thomas
Morganton, NC 28655