Development of Members of the Board

The Board desires that its individual members learn, understand, and practice effective governance principles. The Board is responsible for Board member orientation and development. Members of the Board have an equal opportunity to attend state and national meetings designed to familiarize members with public school issues, governance, and legislation.

The Board President and/or Superintendent shall provide all members of the Board with information regarding pertinent education materials, publications, and notices of training or development.

Mandatory Training for Members of the Board

Each member of the Board is responsible for the member’s own compliance with the mandatory training laws that are described below:

  1. Each member of the Board, elected or appointed to fill a vacancy of at least one year’s duration, must complete at least 4 hours of professional development leadership training in education and labor law, financial oversight and accountability, fiduciary responsibilities, and trauma-informed practices for students and staff within the first year of the member’s first term.
  2. Each member of the Board must complete training on the Open Meetings Act no later than 90 days after taking the oath of office for the first time. After completing the training, each member of the Board must file a copy of the certificate of completion with the Board. Training on the Open Meetings Act is only required once.
  3. Each member of the Board must complete a training program on evaluations under the Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA) before participating in a vote on a tenured teacher’s dismissal using the optional alternative evaluation dismissal process. This dismissal process is available after the District’s PERA implementation date.

The Superintendent or designee shall maintain on the District website a log identifying the complete training and development activities of each member of the Board, including both mandatory and non-mandatory training.

Board Self-Evaluation

The Board will conduct periodic self-evaluations with the goal of continuous improvement.

Orientation for New Board Members

The orientation process for newly elected or appointed members of the Board includes:

  1. The Board President or Superintendent, or their designees, shall give each new member of the Board a copy of or online access to the Board Policy Manual, the Board’s regular meeting minutes for the past year, and other helpful information including material describing the District and explaining the Board’s roles and responsibilities.
  2. The Board President or designee shall schedule one or more special Board meetings, or schedule time during regular meetings, for members of the Board to become acquainted and review Board processes and procedures.
  3. The Board President may request a veteran Board member to mentor a new member.
  4. All new members are encouraged to attend workshops for new members conducted by the Illinois Association of School Boards.

Candidates

The Superintendent or designee shall invite all current candidates for the office of members of the Board to attend:

  1. Board meetings, except that this invitation shall not extend to any closed meetings, and
  2. Pre-election workshops for candidates, if any.

Adopted: October 20, 1997
Revised: January 25, 2016; November 15, 2021; February 26, 2024