The school board for Robbinsdale Area Public Schools is continuing its efforts to improve communication among board members by receiving observations and recommendations from a Minneapolis-based law firm.
“The school board retained this firm to help the board create processes and habits to support the effective administration of school board meetings and our work as a governing body of the school district,” Chair ReNae Bowman said before introducing Liz Vieira, an attorney with Squires, Waldspurger & Mace, P.A., during the school board’s Oct. 7 meeting. All board members were present at the meeting with the exception of Director John Vento.
Vieira began by complimenting Robbinsdale Schools for being a student-centered district and encouraged the board to keep that top of mind.
“We know that you all have students’ best interest at heart, and that it’s your role, to benefit them and the broader community, but these meetings need to focus primarily on students,” she said.
The law firm is also recommending that board members assume positive intent when communicating with each other.
“If we know that we’re all here for the same reason, it shouldn’t be hard to understand that even as board members have different opinions on how to do what’s right by students, that they’re all speaking on doing their best to advocate on behalf of those students,” Vieira said.
The attorney then made a recommendation around the idea that “formalities minimize personalities” while suggesting going back to the basics of Robert’s Rules of Order, which is a set of guidelines for conducting meetings meant to ensure that everyone has a voice and discussions stay on topic.
“We use Robert’s Rules as a way to keep the focus on the agenda items that are before the board at a given time and on those current needs, not on the past and not on the future,” Vieira said, noting that a helpful rule to follow is first having a motion and a second on an issue before going into any debate. “That keeps the discussion germane, limited and focused on the actual question before the board, rather than trying to get into hypotheticals about what might happen with a different motion or what might change about something related to that particular motion in the future.”
The attorney also addressed the topic of transparency in the context of being a school board member.
“Transparency doesn’t mean that every thought that a board member has has to be shared at this table at the time a motion is under consideration,” she said. “Part of being a board member is preparing adequately for meetings and having some of those discussions at your work sessions so that the board can save the true business-oriented items for its business meetings.”
The law firm recommended that board members work to review all materials available from administration and ask questions in advance of work sessions. This is meant to ensure that staff has time to respond to questions and gather information.
“Those discussions during a work session really lay the foundation for the upcoming decision to happen at the board meeting,” Vieira said, adding that the board should adjust its meeting process to have one work session and one business meeting each month.
Vieira said the firm is also suggesting scheduling training for the board that will go into more depth on the recommendations.
The board’s past dysfunction was detailed in a 34-page workplace conduct investigation by Red Cedar Consulting, which delved into complaints of harassment, discrimination, sarcastic emails and shouting. Many of the allegations were not sustained, with most being considered as violations of the board’s internal values of respect.
During a meeting in August to discuss the investigation’s findings, members voted 4-2 to censure Director Sharon E. Brooks for violating the board’s discrimination, harassment and violence policy. Censuring generally refers to a formal warning to a person that if a certain behavior continues, they will be expelled or suspended.
The Robbinsdale School Board could look much different in the new year, with seven candidates vying for three open seats in the November election.
The seats to be decided are currently held by Greta Evans-Becker, Helen Bassett and John Vento. Evans-Becker and Bassett are seeking reelection in the race, which includes candidates Deborah Campion, Barbara Breher, Aviva Hillenbrand, Aileen White and Kenneth Wutoh.
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