The Washington County Board of Education is Seeking the Public’s Comment on Proposed Changes to Board

Brownjam

Informations

• Publié par: Chiev
• Nombre de lectures: 18
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Washington County Board of Education is Seeking the Public’s Comment on
Proposed Changes to Board Policy BF, Entitled Policy Setting

On April 4, 2006 the Washington County Board of Education approved the first reading
of proposed changes to Board Policy BF, which is entitled Policy Setting. The Board’s
Policy Committee is seeking comments from the community on the proposed changes at
this time.

You may submit your comments on or before April 24, 2006. You should submit your
comments electronically to the members of the committee and to the staff liaison to the
committee. The e-mail addresses are as follows:

Roxanne Ober, Committee Chairperson: [e-mail]

Jackie Fischer: [e-mail]

Russell Williams: [e-mail]

Anthony J. Trotta, Esquire, Staff Liaison: [e-mail]

You may also submit written comments on or before April 24, 2006. You should
forward your written comments to:

Roxanne Ober, Committee Chairperson
Jackie Fischer
Russell Williams
or
Anthony J. Trotta, Esquire, Staff Liaison
Washington County Board Of Education
P.O. Box 730
Hagerstown, Maryland 21740

In the event you need a hard copy of the proposed changes to Board Policy BR, you may
contact the Office of Anthony J. Trotta, Esquire, Chief Legal Counsel at 301-766-2946 or
fax [phone].

Thank you.
File: BF

POLICYSETTING

The Board of Education, with the advice of the Superintendent, determines the educational policies of
the school system. Policies are defined as those principles formally adopted by the Board in order to
manage the school system. Policies guide the development, implementation and governance of the
system’s educational and operational programs. Through formulation and adoption of policy, the
Board exercises its leadership role.

I. POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND REVISION

A three-member committee of Board members will review all policy recommendations, prior to
submission to the full Board.

A. In an effort to keep its policies up-to-date, the Board shall review its policies on a continuing
basis. The Board may call for review of any policy at its discretion.

B. The Superintendent is given the commission of calling to the Board’s attention proposals for new
policies, changes in existing policies or elimination of obsolete or inadequate policies. The
Superintendent shall appoint a liaison to the Board policy committee.

C. Student organizations or interested citizens may submit proposals for new policies, changes in
existing policies or elimination of obsolete or inadequate policies to the staff liaison.

D. The committee shall consider policies of the State Board of Education, Federal, state and local
laws and regulations, court decisions, cost implications, similar policies of other school systems,
research and literature, effect on operations and those impacted by the policy, in its review. The
committee will may seek the judgment and counsel of appropriate individuals in policy
development/revision.

E. Prior to placement of a policy on the Board agenda, the committee will ensure that the proposed
policy is: a) properly classified, coded and prepared in the correct format; b) conforms with stated
philosophy, goals and objectives; and c) does not conflict with existing Board policy or regulation.
If a conflict exists, clarification must be made within the recommendations and if the text of the
new policy precipitates changes to any other policies or any set of approved administrative
guidelines, the reference to the affected policy shall be noted.

F. When a new policy is required to address a topic or when a proposed policy would substantially
alter a major school program, the committee may suggest that the Board conduct a town meeting.

II. POLICY ADOPTION

Adoption of new policies or the revision or repeal of existing policies is solely the responsibility of the
Board of Education.

A. The Board will adhere to the following procedure in considering and adopting policy proposals:

1. At a business meeting the proposed policy will be presented for a first reading, discussion,
and first vote taken.

2. If approved the proposed policy is approved by the Board at the conclusion of the first
reading, the proposed policy will be presented for a second reading, for discussion, and a
final vote at the next regularly a scheduled business meeting.

3. In an effort to provide an opportunity for citizen comment, there shall be a minimum of two
weeks between the first and second reading. In no case shall the time between the first and
second reading be longer than eight weeks. The Board may conduct a town meeting in order
to gauge the sentiment of the community with regard to a proposed policy. During discussion
of a policy proposal, the views of the public and staff will be considered.
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File: BF
4. At the second reading of the proposed policy the Board may, with respect to any such
proposed policy, adopt it, reject it, adopt it with amendments, or refer the proposed policy to
the appropriate committee or committees.

During discussion of a policy proposal, the views of the public and staff will be considered.
Amendments to the proposed policy may be made by a Board quorum.

5. An amendment offered during the second reading will not require an additional reading
except as the Board determines that the amendment requires further study and that an
additional reading would be desirable. [Note – just added a new paragraph # 5 – this is the
existing language that previously appeared in “old” paragraph #2.]

3 6. Existing policies may be repealed upon a majority vote of the Board.

B. The Board may temporarily approve a policy to meet emergency conditions; however, the above
procedure will be required before the policy will be considered permanent.

III. ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS

A. The Board shall delegate to the Superintendent the function of developing administrative rules
and regulations for implementation of its policies. Regulations accompanying policies may
require Board adoption. All other rules and regulations shall be subject to review by the Board.

B. The Superintendent will develop a process for implementing this policy that will include
coordination of policy research and development, presentation to the Board, implementation of
regulations, and maintenance of process.

C. All regulations that are adopted by the Superintendent to implement the policies adopted by the
Board, are to be submitted by the Superintendent to the Policy Committee. The Board reserves
the right to review and veto administrative rules and regulations that are inconsistent with the
adopted policies.

IV. DISSEMINATION OF POLICIES AND REGULATIONS

Board policies and administrative rules/regulations will be made accessible electronically to all
employees of the school system, members of the Board, and persons in the community. Policies will
be considered a public record and hard copies will be available for review in the Public Information
Office and in each of the schools, the central office, the public library, and upon written request
electronically on BoardDocs through the Elected Board of Education’s link on the school system’s
website, www.wcboe.k12.md.us.
Board policies and administrative rules/regulations will be made accessible electronically on
BoardDocs through the school system’s website, www.wcboe.k12.md.us. Hard copies will be
available for review in the Public Information Office.

V. ADMINISTRATION IN ABSENCE OF POLICY

The Board recognizes that it is not possible to anticipate all situations by providing applicable policies.
The Superintendent is authorized to make decisions on matters not addressed by Board policy. The
Superintendent shall promptly notify the Board of such action and, when appropriate, suggest the
need for policy. The Superintendent’s decision may be subject to Board review.



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File: BF



VI. SUSPENSION OF POLICIES

The implementation of any section or sections of the Board’s policies, not established by law or
contract, may be temporarily suspended by a majority vote of the total Board at a regular or special
meting.




Note: Supercedes and replaces – BF, BFA, BFAA-R, BFAB, BFAC, BFAD, BFB, BFB-R, BFC,
BFCA, BFD, BFDA, BFE, BFF, BFG.




Policy adopted: July 20, 2004.
Revised: ________________
Board of Education of Washington County































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