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Minutes for SB427 - Committee on Education
Short Title
Requiring school districts to publicly list the names and email addresses of current school board members, authorizing local school board members to add new items to board meeting discussions, ask questions or engage in discussion with members of the public and access school property, authorizing members of the public to address school boards at board meetings and authorizing payment of annual dues to any not-for-profit organization that provides services to member school districts.
Minutes Content for Wed, Mar 13, 2024
Vice Chair Erickson opened the hearing on SB427 by asking the revisor, Tamera Lawrence, Senior Assistant Revisor, The Office of the Revisor of Statutes, to give an overview. (Attachment 1)
Proponents:
Dave Trabert, CEO, Kansas Policy Institute, said this bill removes barriers that prevent school board members from representing their constituents and ensures that parents can advocate for their children. Each provision of the bill is prompted by requests for help from parents and school board members who have been frustrated by policies often adopted long ago by previous boards.Testimony included examples and rebuttals of objections. (Attachment 2)
Amy Cawvey, School Board Member of Lansing USD 469, supports individual board members to add items to the meeting agenda. Denying an individual board member the right to contribute agenda items restricts their ability to fully represent constituents. Ms Cawvey advocated for the authorization of payment for training from any non-profit source providing school board member training. This financial support would enhance her ability to serve constituents. Declining achievement scores necessitates transparency from board members and the ability to enact policies for crucial education changes.(Attachment 3)
Carla Wiegers, resident in Lansing USD 469, supports transparency and convenient availability of school board member contact information to stakeholders, the ease and willingness to add new items to the agenda, engage with the public at board meetings, allow community stakeholders to freely attend and civilly comment during public time. Also supported is considering training from multiple sources and nonprofit organizations to be able to discern the important responsibilities that school board members have in serving the people of their community. To ensure agenda items don't drop off the radar, it may be valuable for the board to establish a running list of items for the group to get to in a timely manner.
The ability to call special meetings by the board president, or a group of three, is vital. The control and accessibility of the school board of all school grounds, district property and buildings is key for board members to recognize and assume responsibility. When a viable structure is neglected to a point of being unsafe and no longer in condition to use, there has been a failure in management of that public school resource.It is the responsibility and stewardship of the school board to remain up to date on the maintenance of facilities that they are entrusted to oversee by community stakeholders. (Attachment 4)
Kirsten Workman, registered nurse and Lansing USD 469 School Board Member, supports this bill because it addresses several tactics currently being used to obfuscate information and discourage engagement from and with school board members who might otherwise discover areas in need of improvement and bring accountability to district employees. All voters, especially parents, must have the ability to hold their school districts accountable. Anything to promote transparency and preserve the dialogue between those paid to educate children and those who love them most can only be of benefit to our students. (Attachment 5)
Robert Merritt, Member, Goddard Board of Education, referred to his experience as a school board member. Goddard BOE published members' addresses on the board website but not email or phone numbers. If they do, security needs to be in place. Regarding members adding items to the agenda, it is recommended that the President be told a week in advance. As to board members conversing with a member of the public at a school board meeting, it is recommended it be kept to five minutes. At Goddard, a staff person will interview anyone requesting to speak at a board meeting and often times, the issue is resolved. No matter what happens to this bill, this legislature should require new members be trained by a professionally prepared curriculum that is neutral and not affiliated with school districts. (Attachment 6)
Vanessa Reid, Member of Leavenworth USD 453 School Board, reported that Leavenworth BOE publishes an email address for parents to reach Members. It can be very challenging to have board discussions on issues that are important because board policy prevents anyone from adding an agenda item during or before the meeting without majority approval. The Members are told they should not have any verbal or physical reaction during the public comment period of the board meetings, it sends a bad message to parents. Board meetings are held in public for a reason and we should not be prevented from engaging with concerned citizens. This district also will not allow members to visit schools even though members may need to follow up on concerns or just see how things are going.(Attachment 7)
Proponent written only submitted by:
Ward Cassidy, Executive Director, Kansas School Board Resource Center (Attachment 8)
Cathy Boote, Derby USD 260 School Board Member (Attachment 9)
Karen Overbey, Leavenworth USD453 School Board Member (Attachment 10)
Dr. Janet Neufeld, Graduate School Professor, retired Kansas Administrator (Attachment 11)
Opponents:
Leah Fliter, Assistant Executive Director for Adovocacy, Kansas Associaton of School Boards, said this bill's provisions violate local school boards' constitutional rights to oversee their districts by imposing unnecessary and disruptive procedures and interfering with the efficient and effective governance of local public schools. The bill imposes meeting requirements on local school boards of education that go beyond what is required of any other public bodies, including beyond what the members of the legislature impose upon themselves.
The proposed new language interferes with local control and impedes the efficient, transparent management of school district business y boards of education. This expansion of the authority of a single board member is contrary to other state law and principles of good board governance. It would also decrease the transparency of board meetings.This provision would make school board meetings less transparent rather than more transparent.Our boards go to great lengths to ensure board meetings are accessible to the public, as the law requires, and to seek input from individuals in attendance in most meetings. (Attachment 12)
Opponent written only submitted by:
Jerry Henn, Assistant Executive Director, USA-Kansas and Kansas School Superintendents Association (Attachment 13)
Vice Chair Erickson closed the hearing on SB427.
