Post by Blacklist on Jun 17, 2022 7:27:06 GMT -7
The Board posted a new Communications Policy found here: blracademy.org/school-board/
Assessment of changes noted below:
1. Added a Parent Blacklist - who is prohibited/banned from activities like volunteering, being an officer in an org like Booster Club or PTO, stepping foot on school grounds. In the Revision notes at the end, they didn't mention making this change to the policy, as if it's an insignificant change.
2. Added more controls for the Board President to be the one who speaks to the community, exerting the sole authority in Section 1 to "speak on behalf of the Board." This policy, in combination with others, appears to gag the other board members from speaking about decisions being made about our school and every communication goes through, and/or is sent by the Board President. This makes the new Code of Conduct statement about all directors being equal seem dishonest, as there's an obvious difference between the President and others.
Text with changes marked (red for deletions, blue for additions)
SECTION 1 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Board is responsible for establishing the Communication Policy and has the sole authority to amend it.
The Board President speaks on behalf of the Board. The Board Vice President will speak on behalf of the Board in the absence of the President. The Board President may delegate this role, as required, to any other Board member. Board members can speak on behalf of the Board with the prior approval of the Board. If Board Members are speaking to the media or other parties but not acting on behalf of the Board, they should make it clear that they are doing so in a capacity other than as a Board Member and that the information being provided is not information that the Board Member is aware of only because he or she is a Board Member.
SECTION 2 SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER CONTACT INFORMATION
Names and titles of Board members will be provided on the BLRA website, under the School Board section. This section of the website will also list the email contact information for the public Board email address.
SECTION 3 BOARD USE OF EMAIL
TheBoard Board’s use of email is required to efficiently execute the business of the school. Due to legal restrictions on this type of communication strict guidelines must be adhered to in order to remain compliant with all applicable laws. Under no circumstances shall the Board membership conduct communications though through email that violates the Colorado Sunshine Law.
SECTION 3.1 BOARD USE OF PUBLIC EMAIL
• • The Board shall maintain a public email address which will be published to the school community and serve as the primary means for the school community to contact the Board outside of public meetings
• The Board Secretary shall monitor all incoming messages to the email account. and maintain the CORA log, the Sunshine List, as well as the list of prohibited/banned persons (from the School, School Premise, and eligibility for the Board of Directors, Subcommittees, Sanctioned organizations and/or volunteerism). The Board Secretary shall alert the Board President if a response is needed. Unless otherwise instructed to another Director, the Board President will answer email inquiries on behalf of the Board but may delegate responsibilities to Directors with relevant expertise on a matter (Vice President for sanctioned organization queries, Secretary for policy questions, financial questions for Finance Committee, etc.).
o If an incoming email may be addressed through policy, the Board President or Secretary may respond to the email with the applicable policy reference.
o If an incoming email may not be directly addressed with policy the Board Secretary or any other Director may request a special meeting to address the email. If a special meeting is requested the Board President or Board Secretary shall respond to the email with the template response contained in Appendix A.
o If an incoming mail may not be directly addressed with policy and the Board membership has not requested a special meeting the Board President or Board Secretary shall respond to the email with the template response contained in Appendix B.
SECTION 3.2 BOARD MEMBER INDIVIDUAL EMAIL ACCOUNTS
• Individual email accounts may be created for each Board Member
• Individual Board Member email accounts are not intended for external communications and should not be provided to the school community
o Exceptions would include community members serving on Board committees or subcommittees
• To ensure the most efficient dissemination of Board incoming communications an auto forward rule from the Public Board email account to the individual Board Member email accounts may be established.
• Individual Board Member email accounts may be linked or synchronized to privately owned devices including computers and phones
• Due to the potential for protected or sensitive information being forwarded to the individual Board Member email accounts if a privately owned device is linked to the account the following guidelines apply to these devices:
• Directors will accept all security configurations from the email server when connecting their privately owned device to the corporate email server
• If a device is made, maintained,kept or issued for a director’s official capacity and/or in the “custody and control” of the school, their device may become subject to legal proceedings.
• Directors acknowledge that by storing or accessing public information with their privately owned device their device may become subject to legal proceedings.
• The corporation is not responsible for any loss, damage, or fees associated with loss of use as a result of legal action.
• Devices will be password or otherwise protected from unauthorized access
• Directors will notify the Board Membership of any theft, loss, or unauthorized access to a privately owned device which has been linked to their individual Board Member email account
SECTION 4 BOARD MEMBER PERSONAL USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
• The Board acknowledges that some Board Members may use social media tools for personal or professional use in their capacity other than as a Board Member. Board Members will ensure that their online activity does not conflict with the Code of Conduct or this Communication Policy.
• Board Members will not affiliate themselves with the BLRA Board on any social media account profiles to avoid being identified as a spokesperson for the Board. Board Members may forward documents through social media that are publicly available; however, in accordance with Board policy, may not comment on them.
• Board Members who use social media tools for personal use will consider how it may affect BLRA and other Board Members, recognizing that social media content is pervasive, often permanent and in many cases out of personal control once posted.
• Board Members will ensure that no material is posted to their personal pages or sites that could jeopardize the reputation of BLRA or the Board.
Adopted: Approval February 3, 2009
Revised:
Revision 1 - 20 March, 2012 – Revised for individual board member email accounts
Revision 2 - April 2017 – updated and added social media
File: BLRA Board Communications Policy Rev1.doc
CROSS REF.:Revision 3 – Discussion May, 2022, Approved June, 2022
-Expanded on Board use of public email/responses to email, and duties
-Clarified/expanded language around privately-owned devices based on legal guidelines
- Clarification on appendix B to align with previously revised policies
Assessment of changes noted below:
1. Added a Parent Blacklist - who is prohibited/banned from activities like volunteering, being an officer in an org like Booster Club or PTO, stepping foot on school grounds. In the Revision notes at the end, they didn't mention making this change to the policy, as if it's an insignificant change.
2. Added more controls for the Board President to be the one who speaks to the community, exerting the sole authority in Section 1 to "speak on behalf of the Board." This policy, in combination with others, appears to gag the other board members from speaking about decisions being made about our school and every communication goes through, and/or is sent by the Board President. This makes the new Code of Conduct statement about all directors being equal seem dishonest, as there's an obvious difference between the President and others.
Text with changes marked (red for deletions, blue for additions)
SECTION 1 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Board is responsible for establishing the Communication Policy and has the sole authority to amend it.
The Board President speaks on behalf of the Board. The Board Vice President will speak on behalf of the Board in the absence of the President. The Board President may delegate this role, as required, to any other Board member. Board members can speak on behalf of the Board with the prior approval of the Board. If Board Members are speaking to the media or other parties but not acting on behalf of the Board, they should make it clear that they are doing so in a capacity other than as a Board Member and that the information being provided is not information that the Board Member is aware of only because he or she is a Board Member.
SECTION 2 SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER CONTACT INFORMATION
Names and titles of Board members will be provided on the BLRA website, under the School Board section. This section of the website will also list the email contact information for the public Board email address.
SECTION 3 BOARD USE OF EMAIL
The
SECTION 3.1 BOARD USE OF PUBLIC EMAIL
• • The Board shall maintain a public email address which will be published to the school community and serve as the primary means for the school community to contact the Board outside of public meetings
• The Board Secretary shall monitor all incoming messages to the email account. and maintain the CORA log, the Sunshine List, as well as the list of prohibited/banned persons (from the School, School Premise, and eligibility for the Board of Directors, Subcommittees, Sanctioned organizations and/or volunteerism). The Board Secretary shall alert the Board President if a response is needed. Unless otherwise instructed to another Director, the Board President will answer email inquiries on behalf of the Board but may delegate responsibilities to Directors with relevant expertise on a matter (Vice President for sanctioned organization queries, Secretary for policy questions, financial questions for Finance Committee, etc.).
o If an incoming email may be addressed through policy, the Board President or Secretary may respond to the email with the applicable policy reference.
o If an incoming email may not be directly addressed with policy the Board Secretary or any other Director may request a special meeting to address the email. If a special meeting is requested the Board President or Board Secretary shall respond to the email with the template response contained in Appendix A.
o If an incoming mail may not be directly addressed with policy and the Board membership has not requested a special meeting the Board President or Board Secretary shall respond to the email with the template response contained in Appendix B.
SECTION 3.2 BOARD MEMBER INDIVIDUAL EMAIL ACCOUNTS
• Individual email accounts may be created for each Board Member
• Individual Board Member email accounts are not intended for external communications and should not be provided to the school community
o Exceptions would include community members serving on Board committees or subcommittees
• To ensure the most efficient dissemination of Board incoming communications an auto forward rule from the Public Board email account to the individual Board Member email accounts may be established.
• Individual Board Member email accounts may be linked or synchronized to privately owned devices including computers and phones
• Due to the potential for protected or sensitive information being forwarded to the individual Board Member email accounts if a privately owned device is linked to the account the following guidelines apply to these devices:
• Directors will accept all security configurations from the email server when connecting their privately owned device to the corporate email server
• If a device is made, maintained,kept or issued for a director’s official capacity and/or in the “custody and control” of the school, their device may become subject to legal proceedings.
• Directors acknowledge that by storing or accessing public information with their privately owned device their device may become subject to legal proceedings.
• The corporation is not responsible for any loss, damage, or fees associated with loss of use as a result of legal action.
• Devices will be password or otherwise protected from unauthorized access
• Directors will notify the Board Membership of any theft, loss, or unauthorized access to a privately owned device which has been linked to their individual Board Member email account
SECTION 4 BOARD MEMBER PERSONAL USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
• The Board acknowledges that some Board Members may use social media tools for personal or professional use in their capacity other than as a Board Member. Board Members will ensure that their online activity does not conflict with the Code of Conduct or this Communication Policy.
• Board Members will not affiliate themselves with the BLRA Board on any social media account profiles to avoid being identified as a spokesperson for the Board. Board Members may forward documents through social media that are publicly available; however, in accordance with Board policy, may not comment on them.
• Board Members who use social media tools for personal use will consider how it may affect BLRA and other Board Members, recognizing that social media content is pervasive, often permanent and in many cases out of personal control once posted.
• Board Members will ensure that no material is posted to their personal pages or sites that could jeopardize the reputation of BLRA or the Board.
Adopted: Approval February 3, 2009
Revised:
Revision 1 - 20 March, 2012 – Revised for individual board member email accounts
Revision 2 - April 2017 – updated and added social media
CROSS REF.:
-Expanded on Board use of public email/responses to email, and duties
-Clarified/expanded language around privately-owned devices based on legal guidelines
- Clarification on appendix B to align with previously revised policies