Times they are a changing over at the BOE. While they still hold secret meetings, at least according to the Amanda Pinot article in The Hour which mentions to email notice only of a meeting that the public was not told about, Greg Burnett held steady and refused to allow educational policy changes to precede without discussion. Greg, talk to Bruce Kimmel about getting items on the agenda. We pick up from Pinto’s story:
The agenda noted the committee would discuss a timeline for full board discussion of several issues. It did not, however, allow for the members — Board Chairwoman Jody Bishop-Pullan, committee Chairwoman Susan Hamilton, Greg Burnett, and Migdalia Rivas — to delve into the specifics of about a half dozen policies.
Lack of discussion on these items seemed to trouble Burnett, who said he wanted to discuss the individual policies — which include those about homework, promotion and retention, and change of grade placement.
“We’ve got to utilize our time better,” Burnett said of the meeting. “This is a waste.”
The meeting — which was noticed through e-mail though it saw no attendance from the public — came after board member Bruce Kimmel, in a recent interview, discussed his concern with the boards’ commitment to noticing and frequently holding its committee meetings.Thursday’s meeting was dominated by questions about what falls under the board’s purview, and how items submitted by Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Karen Lang, should be submitted to the full board.
“Should we, as the policy committee be giving the board our recommendation, view, etcetera, or basically that we’re telling Karen to bring it to the board, that’s our stamp of approval?,” Burnett asked.
Hamilton said the board conformed with Burnett’s latter point.
Burnett said he couldn’t provide such a stamp without discussing the policies with the board, and voiced frustration about the board’s inability to discuss the specific policies since they were not noted on the agenda.
“I think it’s a shame we can’t sit here right now and look at these in detail and see if they’re ready,” he said. “I’m not comfortable saying ‘take these to the board’ before we as a committee have the opportunity for dialogue and discussion about this.”
Hamilton said the board discussed the policies before, but Burnett said they were not in completed form at the time.
The committee — at Burnett’s request — agreed to hold a meeting Aug. 21, with discussion of promotion and retention at the elementary level, early acceptance to kindergarten, change of grade placement, progress reports, and elementary level homework policies on the agenda.
And Burnett did even better asking that Karen Lang, the erstwhile develop of incoherent educational policies, or someone from her office to show up and explain to the BOE what the policies are meant to do.
Can the rest of the BOE kick the rubber stamp habit?
The Hour: Policy committee meeting ends in frustration, By AMANDA PINTO, August 9, 2007
