9005 BB - Governance Standards

Adopted: 10/10/01
Revised: 5/10/17
 

These Professional Governance Standards are adopted as a guide to Board members’ official activities. Members of the San Diego County Board of Education shall uphold these principles for effective governance.

The San Diego County Board of Education acknowledges that, in addition to the students who are directly served, local school districts are its primary clients and that the San Diego County Office of Education should provide programs and services to address the identified needs of these school districts.

These Professional Governance Standards are based upon the premise that Board members have commitments to the following principles:

1. Community. Each member should be responsive to the diverse range of residents of the county and not solely to those within his/her educational district, those who have supported his/her election, or those with whom he/she is otherwise affiliated.
    
2. County Board of Education. No member shall use the funds, services, equipment, or other resources of the San Diego County Office of Education for the purpose of urging the support or defeat of any ballot measure or candidate, including any candidate for election to the County Board of Education.
   
   Each member shall refrain from representing him/herself as the spokesperson for the San Diego County Board of Education unless explicitly authorized to represent the Board as provided in Board Policy 1110, Media Relations, and Board Bylaw 9010, Public Statements.
    
3. Districts. Each member should act without favoritism on behalf of all school and community college districts in the county and not solely on behalf of those districts with which he/she has an affiliation.
    
4. Individuals. Each member should govern in a dignified and professional manner and exhibit care and concern for every individual in the community, from the least to the most influential. As an integral part of his/her duties, he/she represents the authority and responsibility of local government, which should be accessible to all individuals.
    
5. Laws and Policies. Each member should operate openly, with trust and integrity, and comply with the United States and California Constitutions, the Education Code of the State of California, other laws pertaining to public education and established policies and bylaws of the San Diego County Board of Education.
    
6. Decision-making. Each member should be aware that, as an elected representative, he/she can neither relinquish nor delegate this responsibility to any other individual or group.
    
7. Policy-making. Each member should be aware that the role of the Board is to set and monitor policy, not to manage the administration of the San Diego County Office of Education or to individually give direction to staff.

Board members bring unique skills, values and beliefs to the Board. In order to form an effective governance team, members must work with each other and the County Superintendent of Schools to ensure that a high quality education is provided to each student in San Diego County Office of Education schools and programs and that the needs of local school districts are met.

To be effective, an individual Board member:

1. Focuses on the role of the County Office of Education in providing services to local school districts and the community
    
2. Keeps learning and achievement for all students, especially San Diego County Office of Education students, as a priority
    
3. Works collaboratively with the County Superintendent of Schools so that the shared goals of the County Board of Education and the mission of the San Diego County Office of Education can be implemented
    
4. Values, supports, and advocates for public education at the local, state and federal levels
    
5. Acts with dignity and understands the implications of demeanor and behavior
    
6. Considers his/her position on the Board as a public trust and does not use it for private advantage or personal gain
    
7. Works toward a consensus in conducting Board business
    
8. Remains constantly aware that he/she has no legal authority except when acting as a member of the Board and that authority rests with the Board as a whole and not with individual Board members. A member shall present concerns and concepts through the process of Board debate. He/she shall abide by and support the majority decision, communicate a common vision, and take collective responsibility for the Board’s performance.
    
9. Seeks informed input from the residents of the educational district he/she represents to incorporate all stakeholder views into the deliberations and decisions of the Board
    
10. Recognizes and respects differences of perspective and style on the Board and among staff, students, parents, and the community. He/she shall respect divergent opinions.
     
11. Devotes sufficient time, thought, and study to proposed actions to base decisions upon all available facts and vote in accordance with honest convictions, unswayed by partisan bias of any kind
     
12. Acts in accordance with Board bylaws related to closed sessions and refrains from discussing closed session deliberations of the Board in public, in accordance with Brown Act provisions; respects and protects confidential matters to which members have access in the course of their official duties
     
13. Understands the distinctions between Board, superintendent, and administrative roles and refrains from performing management functions that are the responsibility of the County Superintendent and staff
     
14. Participates in professional development and commits the time and energy necessary to be an informed and effective leader
     
15. Periodically evaluates his/her own performance and believes that the Board should do the same

Board Policy: 1110

Board Bylaw: 9010, 9011, 9200, 9240, 9321, 9400

Derivation: Former Board Bylaw No. 9271, Adopted 10/10/01. Amended and Renamed 1/9/08. Amended, Renamed, and Renumbered 9005, 5/10/17.

Legal Reference:
Education Code
1040, 1042, 35160-35160.1
Government Code
1090, 1098, 1125-1129, 54950-54962, 87300-87313

Management Resources:
San Diego County Board of Education Resolution No. 17-07 in Support of Professional Governance Standards, July 11, 2007
Professional Governance Standards for County Boards, California School Boards Association, October 2014, www.csba.org
County Board Member Handbook: A Guide to Effective Governance, California County Boards of Education, 2015, www.theccbe.org