It was announced last week that the Harlan Community Board of Education hired Dr. Jennifer Barnett as the new superintendent beginning on July 1, 2021. Are you aware that one of the main jobs of the school board is to hire and evalute a superintendent? According to www.mnmsba.org, "The board employs only one person, the superintendent. The superintendent is the district's chief executive officer who leads and manages the district. It is the school board's responsibility to hold the superintendent accountable for the district's performance and compliance with written board policy. The school board delegates the authority to the superintendent to recommend and evaluate all district staff within the standards established by written board policy and subsequently acts on the superintedent's recommendation(s) at its meeting(s) as required in statute." Not only does the school board hire the superintendent but they also have to review/evaluate the superintendent's performance at least once a year. The superintendent has a big job to do, so it would seem to me that maybe the evaluation would happen more often.
According to the Iowa Association of School Boards 2019-2020 Board Member Handbook, " In Iowa, nearly 1,900 men and women serve on local boards, guiding the education of more that 486,000 students in 327 school districts. Interestingly, kindergarten through grade 12 Iowa school boards may have 5 to 7 members. K-12 school board members serve four-year terms, and elections are held the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in odd-numbered years. School board members receive no pay." The Harlan Community School district has 7 board members who represent director districts 1-7 in our community. My mom was elected to represent district 2. In total, there are 4 men and 3 women currently on the school board. The board members do not have a term limit. The current board members have served on the board from 1 to 14 years. This is not the case at Harlan Community, but some school boards include a student who participates in the board meetings.
Other items Iowa school boards are responsible for are setting goals for the school district, adopting and reviewing policies, reviewing the annual budget, and working with the teachers' union to determine teachers' pay.
Do you think the superintendent should be evaluated more than once a year and why?
If our school board had a student representative, would you like to be a part of the board and why?
Do you think board members should have term limits and why?
Replies
Good topic choice and well done overall Kyia! I would like to see more of your personal thoughts and opinions in your summary.
I think that everyone apart of the school board should have a term limit just like the president and should have to quit after so long. I don't think I would want to be on the school board because it would be a waste of my time.
I think that the superintendent should be evaluated more often because of the responsability that they have. I think they should be evaluated at least twice or three times a year to ensure that they are the correct person for the job. I think I would like to be a part of the school board because I would be able to voice out my opinions for things that matter.
I agree that if the board feels like the superidente isn’t doing a good job then they should check in more often or find someone to take their place. I think it would be a good idea to have a student on the board. They would be able to voice their opinion on the matter. I do think though that they wouldn’t have much on a say in everything else that was going on.
I think that the superintendent should be evaluated every semester. No, I would not like to be a part of the school board. I think that would not be worth my time. I think board members should definitely have term limits as should superintendents.
I agree that if the board feels like the superidente isn’t doing a good job then they should check in more often or find someone to take their place. I think if a board member is doing a good job there is no reason for someone new to take their place. Also superintendents don’t have term limits, they typically sign a two year contract. They could stay at one school as long as they wanted as long as their contract is renewed by the school board.
I think the superintendent shouldn't be evaluated once a year. I think that is too long, and unnecessary. I think It should be every semester. I don't think that the school board should have a student representative because they're a student. I don't think students can be that responsible and make good decisions. They're not young adults and they don't know how to run a school.
I agree that if the board feels like the superidente isn’t doing a good job then they should check in more often or find someone to take their place. I also think that a student on the board could be a good thing and a bad thing. It could cause them to get told to say things to the board from other students. I think that it would be a difficult job to have and I think that even if there were a student on the board they may not have much of an opinion.
Yes they should be evaluated 2 times a year to see what change has happend and what new things are happening. No because it is a big responsibility and I wouldn't have time. No because we might not be able to have a new person every few years and I don't think it would be good if we would struggle and hurry to find a new board member.
I agree that the board should just make sure that the superintendent is still doing their job to the best of their ability. I agree, if I were on the board it would be a big time commitment. I also think that if the board members are doing a good job there is no reason for someone new to take their place.
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