Board Norms

The members of the Gwinnett County Board of Education are committed to working together as a highly functioning governance team to provide a world-class public education that equitably meets the needs of all students in our district. They are focused on leading as a united governance team—duly elected Board of Education members and the Superintendent—each in their respective roles with strong collaboration and mutual trust.

In an effort to enhance the Board’s ability to focus on the business of the school district and to educate and communicate in a transparent manner, the Gwinnett School Board identified the need for the development and adoption of norms that reflect shared agreements and guidelines. The establishment of norms is a best practice of highly effective Boards… one that had not been addressed in the past by the Gwinnett County Board of Education.

In February of 2021, the governance team launched its work to build a cohesive team, learning about each other, the work of School Boards, and how they can best serve the children of Gwinnett County. The Board’s professional development program, facilitated by the Georgia School Boards Association, included the creation of Board norms that support interpersonal board development, cultivate a culture of respect and decorum, establish clear expectations, and provide a framework of stability that will guide the Board and its members now, and into the future. These norms were developed over a six-month period through a series of individual, small group, and large group learning that focused on established good Board practices. They reflect months of discussion and consensus building regarding the Board-Superintendent team and will guide the behavior and relationships of the governance team as it moves forward.

The Board’s norms supplement its policies, which exist to provide a code of ethics, structure, operating guidelines, general meeting parameters, and the basic roles and responsibilities of the School Board. The agreed-upon norms also embrace the Standards for Effective Governance of Georgia School Systems, which are approved by the State Board of Education. Those standards address the following domains: Governance, Strategic Planning, Board and Community Relations, Policy Development, Board Meetings, Personnel, Financial Governance, and Ethics.

Please note that there are some norms that will require policy or procedural changes. As a result, all norms may not be implemented at the time of adoption. For example, some norms related to Board meetings will need to be reflected in changes to Policy BCBI: Public Participation in Board Meetings. Any changes to current policy will be done in accordance with Policy BD: Policy Development, including the announcement of revisions, opportunities for public input, and discussion by the Board prior to approval.

Governance Roles and Responsibilities

The governance team agrees to:

Always put students first when making decisions and keep student achievement as the main focus of Board actions.
Lead as a united governance team—duly elected Board of Education members and the Superintendent—each in their respective roles with strong collaboration and mutual trust.
Act as a policymaking body separate from the roles and responsibilities authorized to the Superintendent.
Follow the Code of Ethics and disclose any conflicts of interest.
Ensure fiscal accountability, including oversight of the management and alignment of finances to meet the needs of strategic plan implementation.
Commit to academic accountability, educational equity, and addressing the social emotional welfare of staff and students.
Designate the Superintendent as the chief executive officer, fully delegating authority to provide educational leadership, manage daily operations, and perform all duties assigned by law.

Chain of Command

The governance team agrees that:

The Superintendent is responsible and accountable for the day-to-day operations of the school district, providing equity and consistency to ensure increased student achievement for all students.
Issues and concerns received by the Board or individual members will be referred to the Superintendent.
Board members will submit their requests for assistance, reports, data, etc., through the Superintendent rather than to staff directly. The Superintendent will provide a response to the collective Board.
Board members will follow the chain of command, educating, instructing, and encouraging others to do the same.

Superintendent

The governance team agrees to:

Hire and hold accountable the Superintendent, designating him or her as chief executive officer with the authority to provide educational leadership, manage daily operations, and perform all duties assigned by law.
Respect the Superintendent’s professional recommendations and decisions, even when there is disagreement, and protect the Superintendent’s authority.
Take recommendations from the Superintendent seriously, and carefully research and review before taking action.
Operate as a governance team with the Superintendent as a key member.
Establish the Superintendent’s annual performance goals jointly with the Superintendent in alignment with the strategic plan and provide feedback to the Superintendent at least biannually via formative and summative evaluation procedures.
Always follow the chain of command to avoid micromanaging the Superintendent’s operation of the district.
Communicate openly and honestly, with no surprises in Board meetings or public events.
Be supportive of Board decisions even when there is disagreement.

Decision-Making Process

The governance team agrees to:

Always put students first when making decisions.
Study the issues, provide input, discuss with stakeholders, and rely on the Superintendent, staff expertise, and other Board members before making a decision.
Be open-minded and respectful of diverse opinions, seeking input from all sides.
Provide a safe space for communications for all stakeholders.
Be prepared and knowledgeable about educational issues and topics.
Support decisions made by the governance team once a decision is made.
Support the implementation of decisions by the superintendent.
Support the majority decision in the public, even when members voted in opposition.

Board Meetings

The governance team agrees to:

Focus a majority of its meeting time on student achievement.
Act and conduct the business of the school district before the public in a respectful and professional manner.
Align action items with the system’s mission, vision, values, and strategic plan.
Conduct Board meetings that provide a strong force in forming the public’s view and perception about the effectiveness of the governance team.
Establish procedures to ensure that meetings are in accordance with local Board policy, the open meetings law, and that public comments are aligned with meeting agenda items.
Ensure that speakers address topics from the agenda and refrain from using staff, Board member, or individual names or making personal attacks when addressing the Board.
Provide equitable opportunities for community members, including multilingual individuals, to provide feedback to Board members to ensure all voices are heard.
Be on time and fully prepared to discuss and act on action items.
Dress appropriately – business attire at work sessions and board meetings; casual attire at board retreats.
Be recognized by the Board Chair before speaking, following Roberts Rules of Order.
Be mindful of airtime and voice equity.
Be mindful of inclusion of all voices and engagement of diverse perspectives.
Avoid surprises for staff or fellow Board members.
Use active listening skills during staff presentations and public comment portions of the meeting – and no sidebar conversations or looking at their devices unless they are used for taking digital notes.
Use the consent agenda appropriately.
Keep an open mind while listening to the opinions of fellow Board members, staff, and the public.
Respect the confidentiality of information and conversations discussed during executive session in accordance with OCGA 50-14-1 & 50-14-3.
Use information in a manner that does not disparage or cause safety risks to other Board members and their families.
Ensure a safe and secure environment for all Board meeting attendees, inclusive of best practice security protocols for public meetings with elected officials.
Collaborate with the individual Board representative for the execution of his/her Area Board Meeting to maximize student and community engagement.

Communication among Board Members/Superintendent

The governance team agrees to:

Ongoing, transparent communication with community stakeholders while maintaining confidentiality regarding sensitive matters, including items discussed in executive sessions, and refraining from discussing the intentions of fellow board members.
Incorporate good, timely, open and constant communication.
Expect the Superintendent to communicate with all Board members regularly using selected modes.
Communicate/share information regarding system business through Board members’ individual district email addresses.
Direct all stakeholders’ questions, input, or discussion to the Superintendent who will communicate them as needed to the Board.
Provide information or data they wish to share with other Board members or staff to the Superintendent who will distribute it to pertinent parties.
Charge the Board Coordinator to reply to emails from constituents that are sent to all members of the Board. That reply will include the Superintendent and other Board members on the thread and inform the constituent that the Superintendent or his/her designee will respond to the inquiry/request.
Understand that requests for information from individual Board members to the Superintendent that he or she determines will likely require considerable time and effort must be approved by a majority of the Board or may result in the Superintendent providing a timeline for providing the information.
Establish a process to ensure that Board members are kept informed of school incidents, district positions, and position statements.

Communication with Staff

The governance team agrees that:

There is an open line of communication between Board members and the Superintendent and Board members may always contact the Superintendent.
When Board members have information requests, inquiries, and/or concerns or have been notified of inquiries and/or concerns from stakeholders, they will refer the issue to the Superintendent or his designee.
The Superintendent is the only employee that reports directly to the Board of Education.
They will go through the Superintendent when wanting to communicate with staff.
If there are concerns about a staff member, they will speak privately with the Superintendent about it.
To the extent possible, information requests regarding staff presentations will be made to the Superintendent in advance of the meeting.
They always will be respectful of the staff.

Communication with Stakeholders/Community

Communication with News Media

The governance team agrees that:

When it pertains to matters of the Board, the Board Chair is designated as the official spokesperson and will collaborate with the district Communications Department.
Embrace the Superintendent or his/her designee as the official spokesperson for the district.
For most media inquiries, individual Board members should refer to/confer with the district Communications Department.

Social Media

The governance team agrees to:

Preserve an option to have social media accounts (pages and groups) representing board members.
Allow social media accounts that positively engage constituents, post news about school district, share information, inspire/motivate, educate, and responsibly represent the School Board.
Refrain from responding to negative, offensive, and disrespectful comments on social media.
Be positive and mindful of how their actions on social media reflect on the whole Board.
Be mindful on posting about politics on their Board representative social media pages.
Rely on the district social media sites to relay critical information during a crisis.
Allow the district to send out updates first before reposting.
Send any social media information that may further an awareness of community concerns or controversy to the Superintendent and Board Chair.

School Visits

The governance team agrees that:

Board members may visit schools, to look, listen, and learn for understanding and advocacy.
Board members should contact Principals to request/schedule a school visit at least 24 hours in advance.
Board members communicate school visits with the Superintendent prior to the visit. They also may provide a post-visit summary, if necessary.
Board members may be invited to attend school events, council meetings, curriculum nights, PTA meetings, staff meetings, etc.
Board members may attend school functions as a parent or as a community member (e.g. sporting events, performances, etc.).
They will follow visitor sign-in procedures, be respectful of the staff’s time, and maintain professional conduct.
Invitations to sporting or extracurricular events where Board members will be recognized in a formal or ceremonial capacity should be sent to the Board Coordinator, the Superintendent, and the Board members.

Self-Assessment

The governance team agrees to:

Complete an annual governance team self-assessment aligned with the required eight domains identified in the Standards for Effective Governance of Georgia School Systems. The domains are: Governance, Strategic Planning, Board and Community Relations, Policy Development, Board Meetings, Personnel, Financial Governance, and Ethics.
Develop and implement action plans, training, and retreats based on the self-assessment results.
Sign, annually, certification of individual and collective commitment of the Georgia State Standards for School Boards and the Code of Ethics.

Strategic Planning

The governance team agrees to:

Commit to a vision of high expectations for student achievement and quality instruction and define clear goals toward that vision.
Make sure these goals remain their district’s top priorities and that nothing detracts from them.
Have strong shared beliefs and values that meld the limitless possibilities for student learning with an unshakeable confidence in the district’s ability to teach all children at high levels.
Annually commit to support and report the action plans outlined in the district’s strategic plan.