BOARD GOVERNANCE HANDBOOK - April 2023
The Last Meeting of the 2023 School Year for the Board of Trustees is Monday, December 11th at 4:45 p.m. at La Tercera School, Room G1. A new Board meeting schedule will be decided that evening for the Winter and Spring of 2024.
The Board of Trustees sets a calendar twice per year with special meetings called at their discretion.
The Annual Organizational Meeting is held before December 15th each year and is decided upon at the November meeting.
All Board Member Standing Committees (Budget and Policy Committees) will be posted in advance of the regular committee meetings.
Unity of Purpose
School district governance is the act of transforming the needs, wishes, and desires of the
community into policies that direct the community’s schools.
In a school district, the Board and Superintendent work together as a governance team. For a
governance team to work together effectively, members need to: Maintain a unity of purpose; agree
on and govern within appropriate roles; create and sustain a positive governance culture and create
a supportive structure for effective governance.
Mission (what and how; describes the present)
OAUSD will create an equitable learning environment where each student achieves their greatest
potential to learn with curiosity, think creatively, communicate effectively, and act responsibly
in a diverse and ever-changing world.
Board of Education - Commitment to Equity
We are committed to making intentional governance decisions that build an institution free of
discrimination and bias (both explicit and implicit) and eliminating disparities in educational
outcomes based on socioeconomic status, gender identity, and expression, race, religion, national
origin, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, or family background.
Core Values
Each student is a priority. We will:
● Support the whole child
● Create inclusive and equitable learning environments
● Ensure safe and supportive school communities
● Provide rigorous and challenging learning
● Create possibilities, be innovative in our thinking, sustain and build trust, and lead with an
equity lens to move the District forward.
Student Core Competencies
We will commit to offering all our students opportunities to develop and practice their skills and
traits they need to be successful in the future.
These skills and traits are outlined in the Core Competencies:
● Curiosity: Students have a sense of wonder about the unknown, an interest in what’s new, and a hunger to engage with the world. They give themselves permission to ask questions and take
advantage of opportunities to go explore what’s out there.
● Empathy: Students understand the experiences, perspectives, and needs of people around them.
They navigate relationships with generosity and patience. They imagine themselves in others’ shoes,
then put into practice the emotional sensitivity they learn in the process.
● Communication: In writing, speech, and body language, students make their points clearly and
persuasively. They know and understand that listening and literacy are just as valuable —
well-tuned analytical and interpretive skills, hearing others’ needs, and responding appropriately
is key to effective communication.
● Collaboration: By joining forces with others, students make room for a diverse range of
voices, skills, and perspectives. More than just working together, students go beyond getting the
best work done to bring the best out in each other.
● Ethics: There’s power in doing what’s right. By being honest and respecting differences in
matters of equity, decency, and appropriateness, students can determine what’s fair and what’s good,
— on the job, at home, and out in the world.
● Initiative: Students seize opportunities to grow, explore, and lead by combining hard work and
determination with purpose and critical thinking. They don’t hesitate until the crowd catches up —
they dive right in.
Governance Principles
As a Governance Board, we agree with these principles:
● Review all provided documents and backup materials before debating or deliberating an issue.
● Clearly understand the recommendations presented or the implications of our pending decisions.
Ask questions for clarification.
● Focus on the issues at hand and do not have side discussions or involve other issues.
● Focus on the Board's role in making decisions. Our individual jobs and collective
responsibilities should remain in our “What” and let the staff take care of the “How”.
● Address "what'' issues to ensure that the program administration will handle the "how" or
implementation issues.
● Respect and expect differences of opinion and philosophy.
● Uphold in the event of disagreement, we will clearly express the reasons for our disagreement.
● Commit that once a vote has been called and a decision made, we will support the
decision of the majority
