About

The Scarborough School Board publicly commits to the following operating protocols:

1. The Board will represent the needs and interests of every student in our district. We will stay flexible, endeavor to meet the needs of every student, while advocating for adequate and appropriate resources.
    
2. We will work to keep both the Superintendent and fellow Board members fully aware of current issues and concerns. Surprises to the Board or the Superintendent from either individual Board members, the Superintendent, or Leadership Council will be the exception, not the rule. We agree to ask the Board Chair or the Superintendent to place an item on the agenda instead of bringing it up unexpectedly at the meeting.
    
3. The Board values direct input from stakeholders in the decision-making process, will facilitate receiving feedback (meetings and/or forums, etc.) and will seek to foster community engagement.
    
4. All personnel complaints and criticisms received by the Board or its individual members will be directed to the Superintendent. While the Board is eager to listen to its constituents and staff, each inquiry to individual members of the Board is to be referred to the person who can properly and expeditiously address the issue, or to the Superintendent.  Board members agree that significant feedback obtained on an individual basis will be shared with all other board members.
    
5. The Board will emphasize planning, policy-making, and communication rather than becoming involved in the management of the schools.
    
6. The Board will establish annual goals, assess its collective effectiveness by yearly self-evaluation and address any improvement opportunities identified.
    
7. The Board will establish annual goals for the Superintendent in alignment with overall mission and values of the school district and will evaluate the superintendent annually.
    
8. The Chair will respond to emails but may delegate a response to another member. Individual members, including the chair, may collaborate on responses when requested. Members who receive an email individually will forward the email to the other board members.
    
9. Only the Board as a whole has authority. An individual Board member can not take unilateral action.
    
10. While we encourage debate and differing points of view, we will do it with care and respect.
     
11. The Board recognizes that publicly discussing questions in meetings is important for transparency. We agree to move the question forward when discussion is concluded or becomes overly repetitive. Issues that require or lead to in-depth discussion should be moved to a Workshop Session.
     
12. Executive sessions will only be used to discuss authorized subjects as outlined in Maine Statute. Board members will be held to the strictest confidentiality regarding executive session subjects and discussions.
     
13. We agree that committee chairs will act in good faith to schedule meetings which can be attended by the full committee and relevant staff.  Committee chairs are responsible for providing agendas at least three business days prior to the meeting and meeting minutes within one week of the meeting.  All committee meetings will be recorded and/or live streamed whenever possible.

Adopted June 6, 2019
Revised March 16, 2023
Revised October 17, 2024

Annually the School Board sets goals for itself with manageable and accountable action items/objectives.  These are reviewed throughout the year and revisions/updates are made accordingly.

Goal 1: Collaborate with the Town Council to develop and implement a plan to address facility constraints relative to community growth and student programming needs.

1.  Action item/objective: Plan for interim spacing needs.
2.  Action item/objective: Budget for expenditures associated with   the interim plan.

Goal 2: Promote and Grow a district wide culture of trust, inclusion, and collaboration.

1. Action item/objective: Focus on effective communication with the community, staff and students.
2. Action item/objective: Build capacity and understanding about student-centered work happening within the district through routine presentations.
3. Action item/objective: Annually review the progress made on the DEI Committee’s recommendations.

Goal 3: Continue to strengthen student success, achievement and wellbeing through ongoing development in all subject areas, district-wide student support opportunities, social emotional learning, and through district-wide DEI work.

1. Action item/objective: The Superintendent will report quarterly progress on all aspects of academics, including those with benchmarks.

Approved November 7, 2024