HomeMy WebLinkAboutBoard Gov Task Force Report 1 19 December 2011 Minutes Public
REPORT NO. 1, BOARD GOVERNANCE TASK FORCE
A meeting of the Board Governance Task Force was held on 19 December 2011 commencing at
7:57 p.m. in the Trustees’ Committee Room, 133 Greenbank Road, Ottawa, with Trustee Theresa
Kavanagh in the chair and the following also in attendance:
TRUSTEE MEMBERS: Katie Holtzhauer (electronic communication), Jennifer McKenzie, Lynn
Scott and John Shea (electronic communication)
STAFF: Jennifer Adams, Director of Education and Secretary of the Board
Michèle Giroux, Executive Officer, Corporate Services
Monica Ceschia, Manager of Board Services
Sue Baker, Board/Committee Coordinator
1. Call to Order
The Chair Kavanagh called the meeting to order at 7:57 p.m.
2. Approval of Agenda
Moved by Trustee Scott,
THAT the agenda be approved.
- Carried -
3. Confirmation of Minutes
a. Report 5, 01 November 2011
Moved by Trustee Scott,
THAT Report 5 of the Board Governance Task Force, dated 01 November
2011 be confirmed.
- Carried -
4. Report 11-223, Policy Revisions to Board Governance
The Task Force had before it Report 11-223 providing for discussion a revised draft policy on
board governance based on discussions at the 01 November 2011 Task Force meeting and subsequent
comments received from trustees.
Executive Officer Giroux recalled that the Governance Task Force has been working for the past
two meetings on a draft governance policy. Following the last meeting, all trustees were invited to submit
comments on the draft policy. Input was received from two trustees and their comments were included in
the latest policy draft. The revisions included some clarification of language, differentiation between
policy statements and specific directives, and differentiation between the roles and responsibilities of the
Board and staff where appropriate. Also included in the latest draft for information is the list of legislated
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Board responsibilities as stated in Section 169.1 of the Education Act. Executive Officer Giroux added
that just prior to releasing the agenda for this evening’s meeting, additional input was received from
Trustee Scott. In order to facilitate discussion of Trustee Scott’s input, staff has mapped her input to
relevant statements contained in the draft policy. Executive Officer Giroux suggested that the Task Force
discuss the input and policy statements and come to agreement on desired concepts that should be
included in the policy.
Trustee Scott expressed appreciation to staff for their work in incorporating input received from
earlier discussions. She noted that her input has been drawn from governance documents of
approximately twelve different school boards. She expressed concern that the Board has not yet
determined what elements it wants included in its governance policy, how the policy should be organized,
or whether behaviour expectations belong in a governance policy or code of conduct. She also submitted
that the policy should distinguish between the responsibilities of the Board of Trustees and individual
Board members. Trustee Scott noted that a draft policy prepared by the Task Force, without input from
all Board members, could lead to extensive “wordsmithing” at the Board level.
Executive Officer Giroux suggested that the responsibilities of Board members could be
referenced briefly in the governance policy and enumerated in specific detail in a code of conduct. She
noted that it would be important not to overlap or duplicate statements in the governance policy that are
already contained in other policy documents.
The Task Force reviewed the input provided by Trustee Scott along with relevant statements that
were included in the draft policy. The following points were noted:
The review would begin with the belief statements and the definitions would be dealt with
later;
Belief statements could be categorized as follows:
Legal and/or policy framework;
o
Student focus;
o
Strategy/vision;
o
Board/Director roles;
o
Transparency;
o
Board culture/climate;
o
Unity; and
o
Continuous improvement;
o
The Task Force agreed to select one simple statement for each category that best represents
the thinking of the group; and
The benefits to society and the responsibility of the Board to the community may be
considered an additional category of belief statements.
1. Legal and/or Policy Framework:
In addition to the Province of Ontario statutes and regulations, the Board is bound by federal
laws (i.e., Human Rights and Criminal codes) and municipal bylaws;
It would be difficult for the Board to state that it would ensure that all Board and
organizational action is consistent with law and the District’s policies;
There may be times when the Board may consciously choose to disobey the law, for example,
opting not to submit a balanced budget; and
The Board’s self-evaluation exercise is a monitoring and evaluation process that could
determine whether the Board governs lawfully or not.
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The Governance Task Force agreed that the following statement be included in the draft policy:
The Board will govern lawfully.
2. Benefit to Society:
Task Force members suggested that the following concepts be captured in a belief statement:
The Board has a commitment to strong public education that benefits society as a whole in
terms of shaping societal values;
Board members are mindful of the impact of their decisions on individual communities and
society at large;
The Board is committed to providing leadership and good governance to benefit public
education; and
The Board is committed to creating a strong public education system for the betterment of the
community as a whole.
3. Student Focus:
Task Force members suggested that the following concepts be captured in a belief statement:
Through effective governance the Board will focus decision-making on educational outcomes
including student achievement and well-being;
The Board is committed to providing leadership and good governance to benefit educational
outcomes of student achievement and student well-being;
The Board will foster a culture of creativity and innovation; and
The Board will support programs and services which challenge all students to achieve their
personal best.
4. Strategy and Vision:
Task Force members suggested that the following concepts be captured in a belief statement:
The Board will maintain a strategic focus on the work of the district and govern with a long-
term vision; and
The Board will create a climate in which all students are challenged to find their unique
passion in learning and life (this statement could be considered as a strategic goal and not a
governance commitment).
5. Board and Director Roles:
Task Force members suggested that the following concepts be captured in a belief statement:
The Board recognizes that there is a division of responsibilities between the roles of the
Board and the Director;
The role of the Board is anything that the community thinks is important enough to raise to
the Board;
The Board’s governance perspective is better if it works at the top of the pyramid and the
managerial and day-to-day operational roles are carried out by staff;
The Board reserves the right to dig as deeply as necessary to carry out its work; and
The Board’s responsibility is to provide policy direction to staff.
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Trustee McKenzie expressed the opinion that, given the number of decisions made within the
district throughout the year, it is difficult to know and/or enunciate in a governance policy at what point a
senior management decision becomes a Board policy decision.
It was suggested that further discussion of this item could take place at the next Trustee/Senior
Staff retreat.
6. Transparency:
Task Force members suggested that the following concepts be captured in a belief statement:
The Board is committed to transparency, ensuring compliance with legislative requirements,
and making every reasonable effort to hold all deliberation, debate and decision-making in
public.
In response to concerns expressed by Trustee McKenzie that Board members take part in appeal
hearings and phone calls with constituents that are not transparent or public, Executive Officer Giroux
noted that freedom of information and protection of privacy legislation guarantees or restricts access to
certain types of information; however, the process of providing information is transparent.
7. Culture/Climate:
Task Force members suggested that the following concepts be captured in a belief statement:
The following statement is considered to be a governance statement: “The Board is
committed to developing an effective board culture of collaboration, respect, trust, candor and
open expression of diverse and divergent viewpoints”; and
The following statement is considered to be a belief statement: “The Board recognizes and
values the diversity of its community, making decisions with integrity and respect for all”.
8. Unity:
Task Force members suggested that the following concepts be captured in a belief statement:
When the Board makes a decision, it is made as a group, without undue influence from any
particular special interest group;
The Board is not bound to follow the advice of its advisory committees;
The Board will make decisions that are in the best interests of the entire district;
Individual trustees will support the decisions of the Board;
Board members shall render all decisions based on available facts and independent
judgement;
Specific Board member responsibilities may be better captured in a code of conduct; and
Unity refers to cohesiveness, autonomy, without influence and impartiality, and integrity.
9. Continuous Improvement:
Task Force members suggested that the following concepts be captured in a belief statement:
The Board shall engage in board development to increase the collective capacity of the
Board;
Trustees each bring their own expertise to the job;
Board members are interested in improving their governance; and
Board members require up-to-date information to make decisions.
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5. Next Steps: Board Governance
Chair Kavanagh noted that the review of the draft governance policy would continue at the next
meeting of the Board Governance Task Force.
6. New Business
There was no new business.
7. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 10:00 p.m.
Theresa Kavanagh
Chair
Board Governance Task Force
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