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BIA

 NEW BOARD MEMBER ORIENTATION

A new Board member or a member-elect of the school unit shall be afforded the fullest measures of courtesy and cooperation by the Board and staff.  Every feasible effort shall be made to assist the new member to become fully informed about the Board’s functions, policies, procedures, and current issues.

          A.        In the interim between appointment/election and actually assuming office, the new member will be invited to attend meetings and functions of the Board and is to receive reports and communications normally sent to Board members.

B.         New members will be encouraged to attend appropriate out-of-district orientation and boardsmanship workshops.  Registrations and arrangements should be made through the Superintendent’s office prior to attendance.

C.        The new member is to be provided with access to copies of all appropriate publications, the Board policy manual, and publications of the national and state school boards associations including the MSBA Handbook.

D.        An orientation session is to be scheduled and conducted by the Chair and the Superintendent for any new Board member(s) as soon as practical.  Ample time is to be provided for the roles and responsibilities of the Board and individual members to be discussed, along with the basic ways the Board functions, general information about the school system, and resources which are available.  All Board members are to be invited to the orientation session and encouraged to attend.  The experience should serve as a useful review of basic boardsmanship concepts for experienced members as they provide information and counsel to new members.

E.         The Board Chair and members of the administrative staff will also confer with the new members as necessary on special problems or concerns.

Adopted:  8/30/99