POLICY TYPE: GOVERNANCE PROCESS
POLICY NO: GP-8
SUBJECT: COMMUNICATION PROTOCOLS
EFFECTIVE: July 1, 2012
REVISED: August 19, 2013; April 16, 2019; June 2, 2023
POLICY: In order to provide for effective communication and clearly distinguish the Council’s own unique work from the work of its staff, the Council must establish the following protocols with respect to the various stakeholders in the educational community:
- Communication with Staff: The DEC must communicate with staff through the Superintendent in recognition of the concept of “the principle of one employee”.
- Communication with Schools: DEC’s must communicate with the schools through the Superintendent who will inform the principals of DEC policies. Principals will share this information with the PSSC’s.
- DEC Liaison with PSSC: DEC members will fulfill their liaison role by attending PSSC Meetings/Cluster Meetings to become aware of educational issues at the school level. Communication at this level will be general in nature and will be shared with the DEC within the context of the policy governance framework.
- Communication between the DEC and the district will be two-way and is the assigned responsibility of the Chair and the Superintendent.
- Issues raised to individual Council members and to the Council as a whole: In order to properly assign issues, Councilors should bring issues to the attention of the Superintendent through the Chair. Most issues can be resolved by district staff; however, those issues deemed to be associated with the district as a whole and needing Council attention will be placed on regular meeting agendas.
An issue pertinent to an individual school is the responsibility of the PSSC and will not be assigned to the DEC agenda. The DEC recognizes, however, that an individual or group may wish to make a presentation to the Council on an issue of relevance to the district as a whole. In these situations, the following protocol will be followed:
- The individual or group representative will first discuss the issue with the Superintendent who is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the school district.
- The individual or group representative may subsequently consult with the DEC Chair who will decide whether the issue has merit and relevance as a DEC concern. Should the Chair deem this to be the case, he or she may permit the individual or group representative to make a presentation at an upcoming Council meeting under the following conditions:
(a) the request must be made at least 3 weeks prior to a Council meeting.
(b) the presentation will not exceed 15 minutes, and
(c) following the presentation, the DEC may choose to discuss the issue, or to defer discussion to a later meeting, or (as in the case with all operational concerns), to instruct the Superintendent to deal with the issue in keeping with the policies as set forth by the District Education Council.
The Chair will report to all members any communication for delegation status.
- Communication with the media will be the responsibility of the Chair and the Superintendent. Generally, the Chair will address Council issues, and district operational issues will be addressed by the Superintendent. It is imperative that the Chair and Superintendent work in concert on issues of a public nature.
MONITORING:
Method(s): Report by Chair and Superintendent
Frequency: Annually
Month(s): March