THE SCHOOL BOARD OF ST. LUCIE COUNTY
Special Meeting – April 3, 2008
On April 3, 2008, The School Board of St. Lucie County held a special meeting/workshop in the
PGA Historical Library Learning Center located at 1916 Perfect Drive, Port St. Lucie, FL 34986,
at approximately 1:00 p.m.
PRESENT:
ALSO PRESENT:
MS. CAROL A. HILSON, Chairman
Member Residing in District No. 2
DR. JUDI MILLER, Vice Chairman
Member Residing in District No. 1
DR. JOHN CARVELLI
Member Residing in District No. 3
MRS. KATHRYN HENSLEY
Member Residing in District No. 4
MR. TROY INGERSOLL
Member Residing in District No. 5
MR. MICHAEL J. LANNON, Superintendent
MR. GEORGE THOMPSON, COO of Schlechty Center for
Leadership in School Reform
FOLLOW-UP WORKSHOP TO “SCHOOL BOARDS AS COMMUNITY
BUILDERS” CONFERENCE OF JANUARY 2008
The five School Board members and Superintendent Lannon met with Mr. George Thompson,
COO of Schlechty Center for Leadership in School Reform, to look at the role of school boards
in building community as community leaders.
Participants started talking about factors that would help the leadership team stay on track with
its mission. They then talked about the concept of “board norms” which Mr. Thompson
indicated were essential. The School Board would have to educate the community about what’s
going on in the district and what the Board was about. Board norms were framed around the
moral order of the Board.
To begin the frameworks, Mr. Thompson asked team members to develop a list of ten
indicators that they (collectively) would like the community to say about the Board. Responses
were as follows.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The Board provides professional leadership
The Board serves as an agent of change for the future.
The Board focuses on academic excellence.
The Board advocates community involvement in its schools.
The Board is seen as enhancing two-way communication with all of its stakeholders,
which include staff, parents, business leaders, students, and community leaders.
6. The Board speaks through its policies with integrity and fairness for every child in the
district.
7. The Board expects fair and equal treatment of children and staff.
8. The Board is seen as a team of six—that is, it includes the superintendent.
9. The Board is known for its long-range planning.
10. The Board seeks to maximize student potential and bring out the personal best in each
child.
11. The Board allocates funding and other resources for the greatest impact on student
success.
12. The Board knows its roles and responsibilities and each member carries out the
collective will of the Board.
13. The Board helps to align expectations between the community and the school district
relative to standards and goals, with all board members highly connected with the
community.
14. The Board values two-way communication.
15. The Board builds communities for the future.
16. The Board believes in and participates in lifelong learning.
17. The Board is seen as building trust and support.
18. The Board is unified in its essential beliefs.
There were many questions and comments about how to develop norms. The team needed to
decide if it wanted to pursue, develop and formalize norms, consequently, discussion was
lengthy.
Toward the end of the workshop, Mr. Thompson recommended the team schedule a second
meeting to work on the norms, to develop some goals, and to consolidate the indicators list
down to ten.
Discussion ended and the meeting adjourned at approximately 5:00 p.m.