Published: September 21, 2009 11:37 pm      

STARPOINT: District to look at board development program

PENDLETON — The Starpoint Board of Education wants to improve itself.

Superintendent C. Douglas Whelan introduced board members Monday night to the New York State School Boards Association’s Custom Improvement Program. The program is a board member development program that gives school boards the chance to improve certain skills or learn about specific topics. Those skills could include problem-solving or improved communication between members and topics such as legal issues.

Whelan said the workshop would be tailored to what a school board wants. When a board decides to join the program, each member completes a survey about what skills the school board thinks it could improve upon or what topics it needs to learn.

A particular workshop would cost about $1,050 plus travel expenses for a three- to four-hour version. The full-day version for a workshop would be about $1,700, plus travel expenses.

Some board members were enthusiastic about the opportunity for additional training.

“I think it is a great idea,” board member Linda Biernat said.

Fellow member Greg Brehm agreed, but was concerned about the cost. He said there would probably be other opportunities for the board to find the proper training.

“Our education is extremely important,” Brehm said. “I would have a hard time asking for that money at this point.”

Board President Mark Ewart said he would like to see the board work more closely in unison and possibly gain more information on state education protocol. He directed the members to complete the survey, and then the board would take a look at the responses before deciding what to do next.

“If there is an overwhelming response on a particular item or items, then that would be the way to attack them,” Ewart said.

Biernat said there was a district policy about the board doing self-evaluations each year. That hasn’t been done in a while, so it could be a good time to do a self-evaluation, Biernat said.

“I think that would be an excellent way to get started,” she said.

In other board news, Vice President Michael Zimmerman was appointed as the board’s representative on the district’s health and safety committee. The committee is made up of community members and district personnel.