Board Governance Resources
Quality governance is a key factor in the overall success of any public charter school. Below are some resources to support this important work.
Governance: Establishes what the school will do (vision, strategy, and policy) and ensures that the management team gets it done.
Management: Determines how to accomplish the goals (educational expertise) and who will carry out the work (personnel management).
Primary Roles of a Public Charter School Governing Board
Stewardship
- Act as a steward of the school’s mission, vision, and core values
- Engage in stewardship through strategic planning and establishing school culture
School Leadership
- Hire effective school leadership
- Provide a quality coaching and evaluation process for administration by establishing policy to guide the day-to-day work of administration
- Hold school leaders accountable to their management duties
Governance
- Engage in strong governance practices
- Comply with Open Meetings Law and adopt procedures such as Robert’s Rules of Order
Oversight
- Provide appropriate oversight regarding academic performance, operational compliance, and financial solvency of the school
- Monitor relevant data regularly to inform decisions, strategic plans, and leadership management
Governance Resources
| Document/Link | Description |
|---|---|
| Developing Ethical Standards | This document offers resources and guidance for developing ethical standards. |
| Conflict of Interest Survey | This document can help facilitate conversation about real or potential conflicts of interest board members may have. Consider incorporating it into new board member orientation process or as an annual review for existing board members. |
| Idaho Open Meetings Law Manual | This summary of open meetings law is published by the Idaho Office of the Attorney General. |
| Roberts Rules of Order Summary | Robert’s Rules of Order provide the most common form of parliamentary procedure used in the United States. Charter school governing boards typically adopt these practices, to varying degrees, to ensure fair and orderly proceedings at board meetings. First published in 1876 by Henry Martyn Robert, the full text includes more than 500 pages of explanations. This summary is a good starting place. |
| Highly Effective Boards | This document provides guidance regarding what work belongs at a full-board level and what should be delegated to committees or administration. It provides an outline of the most common charter school board committees and describes the scope of work for which each committee is generally responsible. |
| Sample Meeting Minutes | Looking for a sample format for meeting minutes? This document provides a template for the most important information to include. |