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Revised (Dec 18 2009)
First-hand accounts of the policy-setting process
The preceding information describes a linear and logical process for setting policy. In reality, it is never this simple. Further, there are many different views on what constitutes an appropriate policy-setting process. Connie Denesiuk (BCSTA President and Chair of the Okanagan Skaha Board), Penny Tees (BCSTA Past President and Chair of the Kootenay Lake Board) and Cheryl Ashlie (Chair of the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Board) offer their perspectives.
Connie Denesiuk (BCSTA President and Chair of the Okanagan Skaha board)
“Policy-making can be a long process, but democracy takes time,” Connie said. It is also one of the board’s major responsibilities because it sets direction and helps staff respond to situations as they come up. A few years ago, the Okanagan Skaha Board anticipated that it could be faced with decisions whether to close schools. Enrollment was declining and excess school space was accumulating. Trustees knew they would have to talk to all stakeholders if the policy was to be accepted by everyone.The issue was raised at a public board meeting and trustees agreed that it should be passed along to the policy committee. The policy committee is made up of three trustees, the superintendent and the secretary treasurer. However, all trustees are invited to attend, and they often do. That committee determines what process will be used to establish a policy. In this case, it recommended that a subcommittee involving all stakeholders be struck. A motion went to the board meeting to that effect and it passed.
The purpose of the policy was to make sure that there was a clear process for dealing with the possibility of school closures. The subcommittee of trustees, senior staff and representatives of union groups, parents and administrators began by gathering and discussing all the background information available at that time. BCSTA provided a draft policy and legal advice for proper processes when considering school closures. “All perspectives around the table were considered,” Connie explained.
A pre-draft policy went through several revisions and each time went back to the various organizations for their comments. That feedback was presented and discussed at the subcommittee meetings. Once the subcommittee agreed on the content and wording, it was passed along to the policy committee. The draft policy was approved in principle by the board of education and again sent to the partner groups. The policy committee then recommended final approval by the board. The motion passed unanimously.
What the board ended up with was a policy and two pages of regulations identifying all the steps the board must take when considering a school closure and the length of the consultation period. “They make it very clear what we need to do as we work through the process,” she said.
A year later, the board was confronted with school closures. Did the policy help? “Absolutely,” Connie said.
Penny Tees (BCSTA Past President and Past Chair of the Kootenay Lake board)
“The policy-setting process is primarily a tool for establishing district expectations, but it can also be used as a framework for dealing with the hard issues that involve high risk and grab the public’s attention,” Penny said.
Policy discussions can be triggered by an event in another jurisdiction. In January 2008, there was a tragic accident in which seven students and a teacher from Bathurst, NB were killed when their 15-passenger van went out of control on a slippery section of a highway. Media reports talked about the fact that these vans had been involved in other fatal accidents as well.
At the very next board meeting, the superintendent explained to the board and the public what Kootenay Lake School District’s policy is regarding student travel.
“We already had policy on volunteer drivers and the use of private vehicles that was developed through a collaborative process in the past,” Penny said. The superintendent explained how transportation on school trips is handled, and the district’s various safety precautions. “Initially, we thought that vehicles that held more than nine passengers were not allowed under the policy. But over the next few weeks, we discovered that the language in the policy was open to different interpretations. Some schools occasionally used 15 passenger vans but limited the number of passengers. Clearly, we needed to review the policy to clarify the board’s intention.”
The task was given to the board’s policy committee, which includes three trustees, senior staff, and representatives from the principals, teachers, support staff and parents. They were asked to review the existing policy, the current research and information from the Ministry of Education and Transport Canada in relation to safety risks and precautions regarding the vans.
“A draft policy was sent to all the school district partners. Time was allowed for PACs, DPAC and other groups to talk about the issues with their own members,” Penny said. “It takes a good six weeks and has to be done twice when there’s a redraft.” After thorough consultation, the policy committee brings a recommendation to the board for approval.
The overall intent is to have policy that will guide and support the decisions and actions of staff. “When a problem arises unexpectedly, we want our staff to feel confident that they have the full backing of the board if they have followed district policy,” Penny explained. “If a policy in unclear, the board should open it up for review.”
In cases where there is great public interest, the Ministry of Education will sometimes issue a statement or bring in regulations. BCSTA recognized the pressure the minister was under with this issue, so Penny, in her capacity as BCSTA President, talked with the education minister about taking an approach that focused on safety and local decision-making, rather than an outright ban on the use of the vans in all school districts in the province.
“These things are never as simple as they seem at first glance. It’s important to take the time to think things through,” she said. “Local factors have to be considered. In this case, you have to consider the risk of replacing vans with transporting students in light-weight personal vehicles. Would that be safer? We learned that when certain precautions are taken, the safety risks of the vans could be mitigated.”
Cheryl Ashlie (Past Chair of the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows board)
Cheryl talked about the process and issues that came up when her board worked to develop policy for determining “optimum school size.”
The question of what size of school is most educationally sound came up many times as the board was confronted with declining enrollment and the pressure to close schools. There was so much research on the optimum size for schools that the issue became hopelessly complex, Cheryl said. For example, there is literature stating that 300 students is the best sized enrollment for schools. On the other hand, many of the district’s schools were built to accommodate 500 students. In addition, there was no point in writing policy stating that all schools from now on will have 300 students when everyone in the district knows that, for many reasons, this cannot be done.
Firing up the policy-setting process clarified the debate. The board also recognized that even great policies won’t solve all problems. Sometimes the best decision is to not develop a policy at all, but rather issue a position statement or set a direction for district staff. It appeared that was going to be the decision of Cheryl’s board on the issue of optimum school size.
Cheryl offered several key points related to the policy-setting process:
- Make sure all research information goes to everyone involved in the process. It’s not productive to bring in surprise information because it throws the process off. The point of the exercise is to reach consensus.
- As the policy is discussed, more and more people may come forward with strong opinions and urge the board to do what they believe is correct. It can make the work of trustees very difficult. However, trustees are elected to make the tough decisions, Cheryl said. She suggested that trustees recognize that “20 per cent of the public are on side almost all the time, another 20 per cent seldom like what you’re doing and you’ll hear from them continually. Then there are the other 60 per cent who are undecided and waiting to see what you do. And if you’re thoughtful and work hard, most of the time, they will say, ‘Yeah, that’s OK.’”
- Keep in mind that even the most adamant dissenters can provide relevant information. Total buy-in may not be possible but relationships can be strengthened if the board tries to ensure that a worthy point made by a strong critic is reflected in the final wording.
- If the board is locked in adversarial relationships, the policy-setting process can go off the rails very quickly. “It can be used to beat you down,” she said. Policy statements are also sometimes used to place the board in an embarrassing position.
- Because districts are run on a corporate board model, Cheryl cautioned, even if you vote against the policy, board decisions reflect on all trustees. New policy will be regarded as an initiative of everyone on your board at that time.
- Also keep in mind that future boards can change policy.
For more information about policy-setting, see Section 5, Reference materials,Policy-setting.
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Effective policy
