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.

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Board Governance Resources

The PCSC appreciates the hard work of charter school governing boards and offers resources to support them.

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/LinkDescription
Developing Ethical StandardsThis document outlines requirements and provides 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. 
Standards for Effective PrincipalsPublic charter school boards are required to use a particular model to evaluate school administrators each year. This document outlines the core standards of that evaluation model. Additional resources to support administrator evaluation process can be found on the SDE’s website. 
Idaho Open Meetings Law ManualThis summary of open meetings law is published by the Idaho Office of the Attorney General. 
Roberts Rules of Order SummaryRobert’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 BoardsThis 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.
Board Guidebook – Self Reflection This document provides resources to help school boards reflect on successes and challenges.
Board Guidebook – Recruitment and Retention This document provides resources and exercises to support strong recruitment and retention practices from a governance perspective. 
Board Guidebook – Strategic Planning This document provides resources to help school boards begin or expand a strategic planning process.
Board Guidebook – School Safety This document provides resources for governing boards regarding the oversight of school safety.
Board Guidebook – Authorizer Relationships This document explores the relationship between authorizers and charter schools in Idaho. It can help board members better understand the PCSC’s role and how it differs from that of the school’s board.
Board Guidebook – Summer Engagement This document provides ideas for independent reading to help board members keep learning all year.
Board Guidebook – Back to Basics This document offers resources and exercises to use as new board member orientation or as annual review for experienced board members.