Icy Rain and a Few Thoughts about a Delayed BR-BOE Meeting

Brd. Sec. Peter Starrs and Consultant Judith Ferguson review data.

THE DRIVE:  It was one of those mornings when no one with a modicum of common sense should be on the road.  I think that I may have had a lapse in judgment about that basic dictum. 

Around 7:30 am, I put a pair of ice walkers over the soles of my shoes, got behind the wheel of one of the Subaru’s, and carefully drove to the Wade Building for an 8:00 am, Sunday morning public meeting billed as a “Special Session of the Board.”

Icing conditions for early today had been predicted well in advance.  This morning, roads were treacherous.  Washington Valley Road was covered with ice – too early even for road crews to salt all of the roadways.

While driving, I pulled over into the breakdown lane at least five times to let careless drivers pass. Eventually, I safely arrived at the Wade Building in Martinsville after a long, rather harrowing drive at 15 to 20 mph.

THE MEETING:  If you are wondering what in the world anyone would be doing at the Wade Building on a Sunday morning in mid-winter at that time of day and under these conditions, well, you are among the sanest of all.

Once or twice each year, after the November elections, members of the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education and the Superintendent of Schools gather together to evaluate their interactions with one another, and/or to set the direction for the coming year.  The first of these two meetings took place on the evening of December 3, 2014, in a conference room at the High School.

ATTENDANCE:  These meetings, commonly known as “Board Retreats” are rarely, if ever, attended by anyone from the public even though they are, under New Jersey Legislation, open to all citizens.  I’ve never seen anyone else at one of these gatherings.  No one shows up, because, in my view, these events are scheduled at odd hours, or at locations other than Wade Building.

 

Although to some degree understandable, yet not generally admitted, the board likes to have the benefit of its own privacy at these convocations.  Nonetheless, it is at such meetings that the public can obtain a rare insight into the thinking of individual board members and into the dynamics of the Board as a whole.

SUBJECT MATTER:  For example, the December meeting was in essence a self-evaluation session in which at least several board members really let their hair down, providing an observer with a close view of the inter-personal dynamics of that body not ordinarily available under other circumstances.

Since new board members are sworn in at the beginning of January, another “Board Retreat” took place this morning, this time with a completely different agenda, and with the aid of a paid facilitator.  The topics for discussion that were projected on a screen highlighted themes such as meeting expectations, board superintendent roles and responsibilities, building a positive board culture, the superintendent’s state of the district report, and board goals for 2015 and beyond.

TRANSPARENCY:  The foregoing are pretty cut and dry topics, but when, at 9:10,  I asked for a roughly half-inch thick copy of a document handed out to board members before the official start of the meeting, you’d think that I were asking for a classified national security CIA report.

My request was denied several times, apparently under the blanket explanation that it contained material not for public release, and that “it might have to be redacted.”  Yet, this was an open public meeting, not an executive session.

In general, the meeting was informal, a rather fragmented proceeding due to a long weather delay.  Board president Anne Marie Mead said that “it is important to have all members present.” The last two officials able to make it safely arrived over two hours after the scheduled start time.

Except for about an hour or so of agenda-level discussion and abbreviated break-out sessions facilitated by Judith Ferguson of Centennium Consultants, most of the four hours allotted were consumed by waiting and with reaching agreement on when to reconvene.

FOLLOW-UP:  In concluding the “Retreat,” the board scheduled a follow-up session for Sunday, January 25^th, at 7:00 am, presumably at the Wade Building.  An official 48-Hour Notice will be released.  Schools Superintendent Dr. Victor Hayek suggested checking the weather forecast two days in advance of that meeting. 

Thanks for reading and take care of yourselves.  It's nasty out there.

(Click on the image for an enhanced view.)