Maintaining appropriate communication with parents, faculty, and the Leadership Team can help ease the pressure on Trustees to share what has occurred during a meeting.
Board members are often bombarded in the school parking lot, grocery store, or even online to divulge information they may not be at liberty to discuss.
When constituents know that they will be provided with reliable, relevant information on a consistent basis, they are less likely to probe the Trustees one-on-one.
Board members are privy to sensitive information, most of it pertaining to things “strategic.” Boards, by their nature, regularly discuss critical and controversial issues (e.g., tuition gradients, financial aid levels, the school’s demographic mix, salary gradients, employee benefits, staffing levels, curriculum additions or deletions, and personnel-position additions or eliminations).
When information about these issues circulate within your community—often long before your Board has decided on them—rumors can race through the community before you even know leaks have occurred. For these and other reasons, proper distribution of Board communications is essential to avoid the rumor mill.
Share all relevant major Board concerns, considerations, and decisions with the school family in some form. The method and the degree of detail depend on the topic and the circumstances. This information should be distributed by the Board as a whole and as a result of Board policy, not by default.
Consider publishing a summary of Board activity to disseminate to faculty and staff the day after a meeting. This information should also go to parents as soon as possible through the school e-letter or the weekly or monthly mailing. If immediate notification is advisable, a special mailing or “e-blast” to parents may be warranted.
Before each Board meeting ends, hold a brief discussion to decide what information should be communicated, and how to share it. The text can then be generated by one of the participants in the meeting—an Advancement Team representative, the Business Manager, or the School Head.
Your goal is to provide a general overview of the topics discussed. Omit nonessential details, even though they might be included in the minutes, as well as specifics about any discussions that do not yet constitute a formal Board decision.
For example, the report might note that the Board continued its work on a strategic marketing plan draft, but details would not yet be available because the plan is still under consideration. While readers will recognize that they are not getting all the details, they will appreciate being given general knowledge about the Board’s direction.
Acknowledge the possibility of “loose lips,” even on a dedicated and well-intentioned Board. Train Trustees in the proper handling of sensitive issues, and the importance of maintaining consistent communication about Board matters. Discretion is everyone’s watchword when it comes to talking about Board issues.
Additional ISM resources:
The Source for Trustees Vol. 16 No. 1 Use Meeting Summaries to ‘Market’ Your Board
The Source for Trustees Vol. 16 No. 6 When a Parent Approaches You in the School Parking Lot …
Additional ISM resources for Gold members:
I&P Vol. 40 No. 9 Marketing Communications and the Parent
I&P Vol. 40 No. 2 Consolidate and Coordinate Your Parent Communications
I&P Vol. 35 No. 3 The Growing Importance of Technology in Parent Communications
