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:
- 1000 -- Board of Directors. Policies pertaining to School Board meetings, board member elections and governance.
- 2000 -- Instruction. Policies pertaining to student learning programs, school organization, and instructional requirements.
- 3000 -- Students. Policies pertaining to admission and attendance, rights and responsibilities, and student activities.
- 4000 -- Community Relations. Policies pertaining to communications with the public, public participation in schools, public access to staff and students, and relations with other agencies.
- 5000 -- Personnel. Policies pertaining to recruitment, hiring, employment, compensation, leaves, and benefits.
- 6000 -- Management Support. Policies pertaining to financial planning, revenues, purchasing, risk management, transportation, food service, school property, and capital projects.
1000 -- Board of Directors. Policies pertaining to School Board meetings, board member elections and governance.
2000 -- Instruction. Policies pertaining to student learning programs, school organization, and instructional requirements.
3000 -- Students. Policies pertaining to admission and attendance, rights and responsibilities, and student activities.
4000 -- Community Relations. Policies pertaining to communications with the public, public participation in schools, public access to staff and students, and relations with other agencies.
5000 -- Personnel. Policies pertaining to recruitment, hiring, employment, compensation, leaves, and benefits.
6000 -- Management Support. Policies pertaining to financial planning, revenues, purchasing, risk management, transportation, food service, school property, and capital projects.
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 |
July 2021 |
August 2021 |
OE-5 Financial Planning | Mark | July 15, 2021 |
July 2021 Board Meeting |
August 2021 |
September 2021 Board Meeting |
OE-7 Asset Protection | Mark | August 15, 2021 |
August 2021 |
September 2021 |
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 |
November 2021 |
December 2021 |
R-2.5 Social Studies | Kellie, Faye | October 15, 2021 |
October 2021 |
November 2021 |
December 2021 |
R-2.6 Arts | Kellie, Faye | November 15, 2021 |
November 2021 Board Meeting |
December 2021 Board Meeting |
January 2022 |
OE-2 Succession Planning | Kristi | December 15, 2021 | December 2021 Board Meeting |
January 2022 |
February 2022 |
R-1 Mission | Kristi | January 15, 2022 |
January 2022 |
February 2022 |
March 2022 |
R-5 Early Child-hood Readiness | Kellie | February 15, 2022 |
February 2022 |
March 2022 |
April 2022 |
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 |
May 2022 |
June 2022 |
R-2.8 Electives | Faye | May 15, 2022 |
May 2022 |
June 2022 |
July 2022 |
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 |
July 2022 |
August 2022 |
OE-12 Safety | Mark | July 15, 2022 |
July 2022 |
August 2022 |
September 2022 |
R-2.2 Mathematics | Kellie, Faye | August 15, 2022 |
August 2022 |
September 2022 |
October 2022 |
OE-6 Financial Administration | Mark | September 15, 2022 |
September 2022 |
October 2022 |
December 2022 |
R-2.1 English/ Language Arts | Kellie, Faye | October 15, 2022 |
October 2022 |
November 2022 |
December 2022 |
OE-10 Instructional Program | Kellie, Faye | November 15, 2022 |
November 2022 |
December 2022 |
January 2023 |
OE-8 Communi-cation with Board | Kristi | December 15, 2022 |
December 2022 |
January 2023 |
February 2023 |
R-2.3 Science | Kellie, Faye | January 15, 2023 |
January 2023 |
February 2023 |
March 2023 |
OE-3 Relationship with Community | Kristi | February 15, 2023 |
February 2023 |
March 2023 |
April 2023 |
R-2.4 Technology | Mark, Kristi | March 15, 2023 |
March 2023 |
April 2023 |
May 2023 |
R-2.7 Health & PE | Kellie, Faye | April 15, 2023 |
April 2023 |
May 2023 |
June 2023 |
R-6 Career Readiness | Faye, Kristi | May 15, 2023 |
May 2023 |
June 2023 |
July 2023 |