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District Policies

School Board Governance Policies

Governing policies express the school board’s values, their expectations about the way the school district will be run, and the end results they want district staff to work to achieve. The board is able to lead, direct, inspire, and control the outcomes and operations of the district through carefully crafting this set of policy statements and effectively monitoring them.

The board’s governing policies are grouped into four categories, each serving a distinct purpose. The four categories are:

GOVERNANCE CULTURE (GC): These policies define the board’s own work and how it will be carried out. They clearly state the expectations the board has for individual and collective behavior.

BOARD-SUPERINTENDENT RELATIONSHIP (BSR): These policies define how authority is delegated by the board to its point of connection – the superintendent - and how the superintendent’s performance will be evaluated.

OPERATIONAL EXPECTATIONS (OE): These policies define both the non-negotiable expectations and the clear boundaries within which the superintendent and staff must operate as they run the business of the school district. They articulate the actions and decisions the board would find either absolutely necessary or totally unacceptable.

RESULTS (R): These policies define the board’s expectations about the achievement outcomes for all students in the Ferndale School District. They become the superintendent’s and the organization’s performance targets.

Governing Policies provide a logical process for the Ferndale School Board to govern effectively. The board is committed to using them to:

  • Eliminate confusion between board and superintendent roles;
  • Focus on student outcomes and achievement results;
  • Free the superintendent and staff to do their jobs without the board's intrusion into day-to-day management decisions; and
  • Achieve control over operational decisions in a manner that maintains the board’s authority at the governance level. 

Superintendent Administrative Policies

Under a policy governance model, like the one we have implemented in Ferndale, the superintendent, not the school board, is responsible for the administrative policies and procedures that describe how the school district operates. Even though these administrative policies fall under the purview of the superintendent, in most cases the law requires the board to take official action to approve and/or adopt them. When there is not a legal mandate for doing so, the superintendent generally chooses to include new or significantly changed policies for consideration on the agenda of a board meetings anyway in order to keep board members informed. New administrative policies are included either as separate items for discussion or as part of the Superintendent’s Consent Agenda.

Administrative policies are categorized into the six following areas, which have been established at the state level and are consistent throughout school districts in Washington:  

POLICIES VS. PROCEDURES
Administrative policies are generally approved by the board and impose legal requirements on the district. New policies and policy changes often go through a public reading and comment process before they are adopted.

Procedures, on the other hand, are established by the district administration. Procedures do not require board approval. Procedures that are likely to be controversial may go through a public comment process, although this is not required.

Administrative policies and procedures are related because the procedures outline how school district personnel will implement the policies. If an administrative policy changes, procedures may need to be changed as well.

ONGOING POLICY REVIEW
Washington State School Directors Association (WSSDA) publishes a bi-monthly newsletter called Policy News that reports changes in the law, court cases, and attorney general rulings that affect school district policies. Each issue describes the specific administrative policies that have been affected and provides recommended changes. The Ferndale School District relies on the technical assistance of WSSDA and its reference policies to keep its administrative policies up-to-date.

If you have any questions regarding policies, please call the superintendent’s office at 360.383.9207 or email.

School Board Governance Policies, Interpretations, Monitoring Indicators, Goals, and Reports

GOVERNANCE CULTURE (GC): These policies define the board’s own work and how it will be carried out. They clearly state the expectations the board has for individual and collective behavior.

BOARD SUPERINTENDENT RELATIONSHIP (BSR): These policies define how authority is delegated by the board to its point of connection – the superintendent - and how the superintendent’s performance will be evaluated.

OPERATIONAL EXPECTATIONS (OE): These policies define both the non-negotiable expectations and the clear boundaries within which the superintendent and staff must operate as they run the business of the school district. They articulate the actions and decisions the board would find either absolutely necessary or totally unacceptable.

RESULTS (R): These policies define the board’s expectations about the achievement outcomes for all students in the Ferndale School District. They become the superintendent’s and the organization’s performance targets.

MONITORING SCHEDULE FOR GOVERNANCE POLICIES

*NOTE: During the first ten months of the pandemic (from February 2020 until December 2020), the Board chose to suspend its policy monitoring to allow the superintendent and administrative team to address the more pressing needs of caring for children, youth, families, and staff members and creating a new delivery system for teaching students remotely.

Schedule for Operational Expectations and Results Governance Policy Monitoring Reports

Policy Number and Title

Executive responsible for writing first draft First draft due
to the   Superintendent  
First draft provided to the School Board Board discussion and suggested edits    

Board approval of final draft on the consent agenda

OE-9 Learning Environment Kellie, Faye June 15, 2021

June 2021
Board Meeting

July 2021
Board Meeting

August 2021
Board Meeting

OE-5 Financial Planning Mark July 15, 2021

July 2021

Board Meeting

August 2021
Board Meeting

September 2021 Board Meeting
OE-7 Asset Protection Mark August 15, 2021

August 2021
Board Meeting

September 2021
Board Meeting

October 2021
Board Meeting
R-3 Citizenship Faye September 15, 2021

September 2021 Board Meeting

October 2021 Board Meeting

November 2021
Board Meeting
OE-4 Personnel Administration John October 15, 2021

October 2021
Board Meeting

November 2021
Board Meeting

December 2021
Board Meeting

R-2.5 Social Studies Kellie, Faye October 15, 2021

October 2021
Board Meeting

November 2021
Board Meeting

December 2021
Board Meeting

R-2.6 Arts Kellie, Faye November 15, 2021

November 2021 Board Meeting

December 2021 Board Meeting

January 2022
Board Meeting

OE-2 Succession Planning Kristi December 15, 2021 December 2021 Board Meeting

January 2022
Board Meeting

February 2022
Board Meeting

R-1 Mission Kristi January 15, 2022

January 2022
Board Meeting

February 2022
Board Meeting

March 2022
Board Meeting

R-5 Early Child-hood Readiness Kellie February 15, 2022

February 2022
Board Meeting

March 2022
Board Meeting

April 2022
Board Meeting

OE-11 Facilities Mark March 15, 2022

March 2022

Board Meeting

April 2022

Board Meeting

May 2022

Board Meeting

R-2.9 World Languages Faye April 15, 2022

April 2022
Board Meeting

May 2022
Board Meeting

June 2022
Board Meeting

R-2.8 Electives Faye May 15, 2022

May 2022
Board Meeting

June 2022
Board Meeting

July 2022
Board Meeting

OE-1 Global Expectations Kristi June 15, 2022

June 2022

Board Meeting

July 2022

Board Meeting

August 2022

Board Meeting

R-4 Character/SEL Kellie, Faye June 15, 2022

June 2022
Board Meeting

July 2022
Board Meeting

August 2022
Board Meeting

OE-12 Safety Mark July 15, 2022

July 2022
Board Meeting

August 2022
Board Meeting

September 2022
Board Meeting

R-2.2 Mathematics Kellie, Faye August 15, 2022

August 2022
Board Meeting

September 2022
Board Meeting

October 2022
Board Meeting

OE-6 Financial Administration Mark September 15, 2022

September 2022
Board Meeting

October 2022
Board Meeting

December 2022
Board Meeting

R-2.1 English/ Language Arts Kellie, Faye October 15, 2022

October 2022
Board Meeting

November 2022
Board Meeting

December 2022
Board Meeting

OE-10 Instructional Program Kellie, Faye November 15, 2022

November 2022
Board Meeting

December 2022
Board Meeting

January 2023
Board Meeting

OE-8 Communi-cation with Board Kristi December 15, 2022

December 2022
Board Meeting

January 2023
Board Meeting

February 2023
Board Meeting

R-2.3 Science Kellie, Faye January 15, 2023

January 2023
Board Meeting

February 2023
Board Meeting

March 2023
Board Meeting

OE-3 Relationship with Community Kristi February 15, 2023

February 2023
Board Meeting

March 2023
Board Meeting

April 2023
Board Meeting

R-2.4 Technology Mark, Kristi March 15, 2023

March 2023
Board Meeting

April 2023
Board Meeting

May 2023
Board Meeting

R-2.7 Health & PE Kellie, Faye April 15, 2023

April 2023
Board Meeting

May 2023
Board Meeting

June 2023
Board Meeting

R-6 Career Readiness Faye, Kristi May 15, 2023

May 2023
Board Meeting

June 2023
Board Meeting

July 2023
Board Meeting