1240 Committees

Partial Policy Suspension for November 1, 2022 through July 31, 2023:

On October 26, 2022, the Seattle School Board voted to suspend the requirement for standing committees, with limited exceptions outlined below, until July 31, 2023. The Board will retain an Audit Committee and retains the authority of the Board President to establish an ad hoc committee from time to time.

Portions of this policy suspended are as indicated with strikeouts. During this partial suspension of this policy, the following will be in effect:

• After the election of officers and prior to the first meeting in January, the Board President, in consultation with the rest of the Board, shall determine the membership and chair of the Audit Committee; provided that Executive Committee, when active, membership shall consist of the Board Officers elected by the full Board in December.
• The Board President and/or their designees will provide leadership for Board activities, including the development of annual Board Goals and Objectives; the annual Evaluation of the Board; Board professional development activities; and implementation of the School Board Student Member policy including the identification of Board member mentors during the partial suspension of standing committees
• The annual Board meeting calendar will be developed collaboratively by the Board President and Superintendent for approval by the Board
• The Board President and/or their designees will develop Superintendent evaluation materials for the Board and manage the Superintendent evaluation process
• The Board President and the Superintendent will develop and approve legislative meeting and retreat agendas
• The Board President will annually approve the schedule for Board-required reporting requirements
• The Board President will provide oversight of the instructional materials adoption process

Board Committee Principles

Board committees support the policy and oversight work of the Board and shall promote unity of action by the Board as a whole by preparing policy alternatives, implications, or recommendations for Board consideration. Committees shall provide oversight, review and recommendation on policy and oversight issues defined within their charters below.

The committees may not interfere with the delegation of authority from the Board to the Superintendent. Committees may not exercise authority over the Superintendent or staff. Any direction to the Superintendent related to a committee recommendation will come from the full Board.

There are four standing committees of the Board: Executive Committee; Audit & Finance Committee; Operations Committee; and Student Services, Curriculum & Instruction Committee. Each committee shall consist of three Board Members.

After the election of officers and prior to the first meeting in January, the Board President, in consultation with the rest of the Board, shall determine the membership and chair of each Board committee; provided that Executive Committee membership shall be elected by the full Board in December.

The Board President shall determine the committee assignments for each school board student member in consultation with the student members. School board student members are non-voting advisors and will not make or second motions or vote during committee or other meetings of the Board. Board Directors assigned to each committee will endeavor to act as a mentor for the school board student members assigned to their Board Committee. The Committee Chairs will be assigned as the official board member mentor to the school board student members assigned to their committees, unless another Board Director wishes to assume that role.

The Superintendent shall designate a lead staff person to support each committee. The Committee Chair for each committee shall work closely with the designated lead staff person for their committee to develop committee agendas and ensure committee agendas and materials are circulated to Board Members, the Superintendent, and relevant staff in advance of the meeting.

All regularly scheduled, monthly Board committee meetings are generally open to the public, though an executive session may be called as part of a committee meeting. The regularly scheduled, monthly committee meetings are generally conducted as Board Special Meetings guided by the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) and Board Policy No. 1400, Meeting Conduct, Order of Business and Quorum.

Committees will generally not take public testimony or comments, but testimony or comments may be allowed at the discretion of the Chair.

Minutes of each committee meeting shall be kept that identify all of the recommendations of a majority of the committee members and all requests of a majority of the committee for follow-up work by the Superintendent or staff. (See also Board Policy Nos. 1440, Minutes, and 1620, Board-Superintendent Relationship.) Minutes shall be timely forwarded to all Board members, the Superintendent, and relevant staff.

Audio recordings of committee meetings are not generally made, but are permitted to be made by Directors, staff, or the public under state law. As a courtesy, the Chair should make an announcement to all present whenever the Chair is aware that a recording is being made. If a member of the public is recording the meeting, the Chair has the discretion to request that the staff also record the meeting for district archives, to assure the accuracy of recordings.

Generally, items must be recommended by a majority of a committee to move forward to the full Board for its consideration and action. If there is an urgent item that is unable to go through the typical committee process, the item may be added to a regular Board meeting agenda with the approval of the Board President and Superintendent.

Only committee members may vote on items before the committee. However, if a committee member is unable to attend a meeting, a substitute Board member may be recruited to participate and vote in that meeting. If a committee member is absent and a substitute member has not been arranged for or is not present, then visiting Board members shall be designated to vote on issues on the agenda, in the order of the visiting Board members’ arrival, in the order such issues appear on the agenda, until three Board members are present. Proxy votes are not permitted. All visiting Board members, whether or not permitted to vote, may participate in discussion.

The Board President may establish an ad hoc committee and committees of the whole from time to time. For committees of the whole, only the three members of the origin committee shall have the authority to vote on items, unless a committee member is absent and another Board member has been designated to vote under the rules of this policy.

Standing Committees, Charter of Responsibility

The charter for each standing committee shall be as follows:

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee shall consist of the president, vice president, and member-at-large. The charter of the Executive Committee is to:

• Ensure the leveraged use of Board Policy No. 0030, Ensuring Educational and Racial Equity
• In coordination with the Superintendent and lead committee staff, develop an annual Executive Committee work plan
• Develop, review and recommend Series 1000 and applicable Series 0000 and 4000 policies for consideration by the Board
• Make recommendations with respect to Equity, Partnerships & Engagement; Public Affairs; African American Male Achievement; coordination of legal issues; collective bargaining agreements; and the academic calendar
• In coordination with the Superintendent and lead committee staff, annually conduct a comprehensive review of policy work contained within each committee’s work plan to confirm alignment to the strategic plan, consistency with this policy, and coordination across committees, including reassignment of topics when necessary to balance committee work loads
• Provide leadership for Board activities, including the development of annual Board Goals and Objectives; the annual Evaluation of the Board; Board professional development activities; and implementation of the School Board Student Member policy
• Develop the annual Board meeting calendar
• Be a sounding board for the Superintendent
• Draft Superintendent evaluation materials for the Board and manage the Superintendent evaluation process
• Work with staff to develop a strategy and plan to address emerging priorities/issues, including identifying and referring to the appropriate committee provided, however, that the Board President may determine which committee an issue or action should be referred to when it is not clear under this policy and a determination is needed prior to the next meeting of the Executive Committee. The Board President may also refer an urgent item for review by a committee other than would normally review the item per this policy if the relevant committee will not meet prior to the date when Committee review or Board action is needed. In such case, the Chair of the committee that would normally review the item should be notified.
• Develop and approve legislative meeting and retreat agendas; however, Committee approval is not required to modify Board meeting or retreat agendas to either postpone an item to a future meeting or to add an urgent item if such change to the agenda is approved by the Board President and Superintendent
• Work with the Superintendent to guide the preparation of Strategic Plan updates as needed
• Work with the Superintendent to identify the departments and major program areas to give Oversight Work Session presentations each year under Board Policy No. 1010
• Draft a legislative agenda for consideration and approval by the Board and coordinate government relations for federal, state, and local jurisdictions
  • Draft positions on State and City of Seattle resolutions, ballot measures and initiatives for consideration and approval by the Board as needed
  • Interface with the Washington State School Directors’ Association (WSSDA) and other school districts
  • Coordinate with government entities and other education advocacy groups
• Annually approve and edit the list of Board-required reporting requirements to remain consistent with strategic goals and student outcomes focused

Audit & Finance Committee

Three Board members shall serve on the committee as determined and selected by the Board president. The charter of the committee is to:

Ensure the leveraged use of Board Policy No. 0030, Ensuring Educational and Racial Equity

• In coordination with the Superintendent and lead committee staff, develop an annual Audit & Finance Committee work plan
• Develop, review and recommend Series 5000 and applicable Series 6000 policies for consideration by the Board
• Make recommendations with respect to Business and Finance; Budget Development; Contracting; Accounting; cash handling at schools; Risk Management; Procurement; Internal Audit; and Human Resources issues, including staffing, evaluation, professional development/trainings, and compensation except with respect to actions related to collective bargaining agreements, which should be referred to the Executive Committee
• Monitor all financial statements of the district
• Recommend budget guiding principles for consideration and approval by the Board
• Provide oversight of the budget development process, including recommending the budget timeline

• Conduct budget-based program reviews in consultation with the Student Services, Curriculum & Instruction and Operations Committees
• Provide supervision to the Office of Internal Audit, which reports to the Audit & Finance Committee, as outlined in Board Policy No. 6550
• Approve and manage changes to the annual internal audit work plan
• Monitor corrective action plans implemented in response to external audits and reviews conducted by the Washington State Auditors’ Office, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, and other outside agencies
• Monitor Risk Management issues of the district

At the discretion of the Chair of the Audit & Finance Committee, one or more “public advisors” may be added as non-voting advisors to the Committee. The position of public advisor shall be publicly advertised. The advertisement shall include the responsibilities and the term of service for the public advisor position, as determined by the Audit & Finance Committee.

Operations Committee

Three Board members shall serve on the committee as determined and selected by the Board president. The charter of the committee is to:

• Ensure the leveraged use of Board Policy No. 0030, Ensuring Educational and Racial Equity
• In coordination with the Superintendent and lead committee staff, develop an annual Operations Committee work plan
• Develop, review and recommend applicable Series 3000, 4000, and 6000 policies for consideration by the Board
• Make recommendations with respect to Operations; Nutrition Services; Transportation; Capital Projects and Planning; Facilities; Sustainability; Enrollment Planning; Admissions; Boundaries; Athletics; Safety and Security relating primarily to property; and general technology infrastructure
• Review capital programs’ budgets on a monthly basis
• Review and make recommendations to the Board regarding the annual capital budget
• Oversee levy planning and prioritization process and recommend levy guiding principles for consideration by the full Board
• Provide overarching guidance on space utilization
• In consultation with the Executive Committee, review and recommend action on facility joint use agreements

Student Services, Curriculum & Instruction Committee

Three Board members shall serve on the committee as determined and selected by the Board president. The charter of the committee is to:

• Ensure the leveraged use of Board Policy No. 0030, Ensuring Educational and Racial Equity
• In coordination with the Superintendent and lead committee staff, develop an annual Student Services, Curriculum & Instruction Committee work plan
• Make recommendations with respect to Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction; District Educational Research and Program Evaluation; Schools & Continuous Improvement; Coordinated School Health; Special Education Services; Safety, Security, and relations with law enforcement, except with respect to property issues overseen by the Operations Committee; Highly Capable Services; English Learners; student-focused technology and general technology plans, policies, and key technology strategies, except with respect to technology infrastructure and levy planning overseen by the Operations Committee; the City of Seattle Families, Education, Preschool and Promise Levy, or successor levy; and school day waiver requests to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
• Develop, review and recommend Series 2000 and applicable Series 0000, 3000 and 4000 policies
• Provide oversight of the instructional materials adoption process

Other Assignments

The president may appoint Board members to external Board committees and Board task forces as appropriate.