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July-August, 2007
Panels for secretaries grew out of requests
Holly Jack, IASB administrative assistant in the Lombard office, answers the question for this issue. She has been instrumental in developing programming for school district secretaries who do the work of the board secretary.
Question: I've seen information about different sessions that IASB sponsors for board secretaries. Why do they need special training and what do you offer?
Answer: School board secretaries are usually members of the school board who are nominated and elected by their fellow board members for that designated office. In many districts, however, the person who carries out the day-to-day work of the school board secretary is a district employee who prepares minutes and board packets, serves as the local election official, fields questions about parliamentary procedure, sends in registrations for conference, files required state forms … the list can go on and on. We refer to these individuals as "board support professionals."
The board secretary serves an important function in every district. As a long-time employee, that secretary may know more specifics and history about the district than the superintendent or board members. If that secretary leaves or retires, a wealth of knowledge and perspective can often walk out the door, which means a replacement may have many questions about roles and responsibilities.
Even if a secretary has no plans to leave or retire soon, there is the issue of new laws and procedures. Staying up-to-date is extremely important for the district to be in legal compliance. From that aspect, providing professional development for secretaries who support the board would seem to be an important function … but one that no one seemed to be doing.
For a number of years, Anna Lovern, IASB director of policy services, conducted sessions on Sunday morning at the Joint Annual Conference in Chicago so that board secretaries would have the opportunity to network and discuss common problems and concerns. I attended one of those sessions and saw that board support personnel attended, not just board members.
As we began getting requests for more information on board secretary duties, we decided to offer a breakout session at a DuPage Division dinner meeting, expecting 10 or 11 people. We had 30 attend. Only one was a board member; the rest were district employees.
Sensing that the need was greater than anticipated, we began to brainstorm about doing similar sessions at the next annual conference. In 2003, we offered a general presentation outlining the duties of the board secretary, along with a session with an attorney regarding their legal responsibilities. We had 150 people at that session and realized that the following year we might need a bigger room!
In 2004, we expanded to six sessions at conference and drew 185 people, as well as offering some regional workshops. From there we just kept expanding the offerings … more conference panels and more stand-alone workshops, including sessions on elections, parliamentary procedures, and the Open Meetings and Freedom of Information acts.
In 2007, the board secretary's strand at conference will include 12 break-out sessions and an enormous networking session where secretaries from all over the state will share tips and techniques. We've expanded beyond the general topics of agendas and minutes to:
And this is just a partial list of the ideas our planning committee has been brainstorming as future panel topics.
Secretaries — and their school districts — benefit from these sessions not only because of the learning they can get from the topics presented, but also because of the opportunity they get to network with people who do the same job. Not all districts handle their board support issues the same, but networking gives everyone a chance to see how someone else might handle a problem they have encountered.
I must be honest. The Association benefits from these sessions as well. Bringing secretaries in for professional development opportunities, whether at annual conference, at a division panel or at a stand-alone workshop, gives IASB staff the chance to get to know the people who often serve as the gatekeepers for local school boards. In turn, these secretaries get to know the Association and become knowledgeable about IASB resources. They can then pass that information along to their superintendent and board members.
Using session evaluations, surveys and a planning committee made of secretaries from all over the state, IASB staff tries to design subsequent sessions around what secretaries tell us they need and want to know. As long as secretaries ask us questions, we'll try to find the answers … and keep looking for bigger rooms for their panel sessions.