[*A portion of this meeting is without audio.*] [00:33:54] STILL ADDING. OKAY. [00:35:47] I REMEMBER THAT. [00:36:28] ALL RIGHT. SO YOU CAN DRAW A SPORTS ANALOGY OR ANY TEAM ANALOGY. [C. REQUIRED BOARD TRAINING: BBD TEAM BUILDING] [00:36:32] BUT IF YOU THINK ABOUT A PRODUCTIVE TEAM, IT'S KIND OF NONSENSICAL TO NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE INDIVIDUAL TALENT OF THE MEMBERS. [00:36:41] THEY HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER TO ACCOMPLISH SOMETHING. [00:36:44] SO WE DON'T TAKE THESE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, BASIC ASSESSMENTS JUST BECAUSE THEY SOUND COOL. [00:36:49] I WANT TO JUST BRIEFLY SHARE BEFORE WE ANALYZE FOR THIS PARTICULAR SITUATION THE BASIS OR THE MOTIVATION FOR IT. [00:36:57] IN THIS RESEARCH CALLED THE SOCIOLOGY OF SCHOOL BOARDS, THEY TALK ABOUT THIS CONCEPT OF CLOSURE. AGAIN, THE WHOLE GOAL IS TO LOOK AT HIGH PERFORMING TEAMS. AND THIS TERM CLOSURE REFERS TO BASICALLY HOW WELL THE BOARD MEMBERS AND SUPERINTENDENT GET ALONG. AGAIN, WE'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, APPLYING THIS FROM SOME OUTSIDE INDUSTRY. IT WAS BASED ON BOARD RESEARCH. CLOSURE DEALS WITH HOW WELL THE BOARD MANAGES DIVERSE AND PLURAL INTERESTS, PERSONALITY STYLES, ETCETERA. AND I'VE ONLY MENTIONED TWO OF THEM. AND THEN THE OTHER KEY THING THEY NOTE IS THAT IT HELPS TO ALIGN BOARD MEMBERS PERCEPTION OR CONCEPTIONS ABOUT WHAT THE ROLE IS AND WHAT THE DISTRICT ACTUALLY NEEDS, RIGHT? WHAT THEY PERCEIVE WILL BE THE VANTAGE POINT OF BEING ON THE BOARD. AND THEN WHAT? IN OUR CASE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE CONTEXT, WHAT THE EDUCATION CODE REALLY REQUIRES. SO SUBSTITUTE CLOSURE FOR WHATEVER WORD YOU THINK IS MOST SUITABLE IN A CONVERSATION WHEN YOU'RE TALKING WITH YOUR BUDDIES, BONDING OR JUST CAMARADERIE, WHATEVER YOU WANT. BUT JUST KEEP IN MIND THAT THERE IS AN EMPIRICAL BIT OF INFORMATION BEHIND WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. AND SO AS WE GO FORWARD, I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU JUST KIND OF ALONG THAT BECAUSE WE'LL COME BACK TO IT. BUT LET'S BE REAL FOR A SECOND. WORDS LIKE MANAGING DIVERSE INTERESTS OR PERSONALITIES, IF WE'RE HONEST, COULD THAT POSSIBLY HAVE A NEGATIVE CONNOTATION? POTENTIALLY? NOT ALWAYS. MAYBE. IN YOUR VIEW, WHAT DOES MANAGEMENT MEAN IN THIS CONTEXT? IT'S A HEALTHY APPROACH, BUT WHAT DO YOU THINK IT MEANS IN THIS CONTEXT? GIVE ME ANOTHER WORD OR TELL ME WHAT IT DOES NOT MEAN IN A HEALTHY CONTEXT. DOES IT MEAN THAT WE ALL BECOME THE BOARD? WE ALL ASSIMILATE IN ONE? I MEAN, DOES IT MEAN THAT WE STAMP OUT VOICES OF DISSENT? NO, I THINK GROUPTHINK IS THE OPPOSITE OF THAT. THANK YOU. YEAH. SO GROUPTHINK WOULD BE THE OPPOSITE, RIGHT? AND IN FACT, ONE TERM THAT WE WON'T TALK ABOUT FROM THIS SAME RESEARCH IS THE IMPORTANCE OF BROKERAGE, AND THAT IS HOW BOARDS CONNECT WITH PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF THE BOARD IN THE COMMUNITY. SO CLOSURE HOW WELL THEY WORK TOGETHER, AND THAT IS DIRECTLY GOING TO BE AN IMPACT ON BROKERAGE. IF THEY CAN CONVEY TO PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY THAT THEY ARE A WELL OILED MACHINE AND THEY WORK TOGETHER DESPITE THEIR DIFFERENCES OF OPINION AND PERSPECTIVE, THEN THE COMMUNITY GETS ON BOARD AND THEY'RE BEHIND THEM. RIGHT? ONE THING I LOVE AND I'LL MENTION THIS AND WE'LL GO FORWARD WHEN I TALK ABOUT BROKERAGE, IT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT COMBATS DESTRUCTIVE CONFORMITY. IN OTHER WORDS, IF THE BOARD EVER BECAME AN ECHO CHAMBER WHERE IT WAS, YOU KNOW, BEEN ACCUSED OF RUBBER STAMPING OR IT'S ALL GROUPTHINK OR THIS ONE THING ALL THE TIME, BROKERAGE IS THE REMEDY. WHEN YOU CONNECT WITH PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY WHO ARE VERY DIFFERENT IN YOUR ACTIVITIES AND YOUR INTERESTS AND YOUR PERSPECTIVES AND KNOWLEDGE, IT LED FOR MORE PRODUCTIVE AND SOUND TEAM. SO IT'S KIND OF A NATURAL SYSTEM OF CHECKS AND BALANCES. SO AGAIN, KEEP THAT IN MIND. BUT YEAH, IT'S NOT GROUPTHINK. ANOTHER WORD MIGHT BE STEWARD. IF YOU THINK ABOUT, AGAIN, ANOTHER SPORTS ANALOGY, BECAUSE THAT'S THE EASIEST. NO TWO PEOPLE PLAY THE EXACT SAME POSITION. [00:40:03] IN MOST CASES, YOU NEED DIVERSITY OF POSITIONS AND INTEREST AND SIZE. AND I MEAN, IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT WE UNDERSTAND WELL. SO AGAIN, THAT'S WHY WE TALK ABOUT WHO YOU ARE. THE BETTER YOU UNDERSTAND WHO YOU ARE AND YOUR TEAMMATES KNOW WHO YOU ARE, THE BETTER ABLE YOU ARE TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND UNDERSTAND WHY SOMEONE FEELS OR THINK OR SPEAKS A CERTAIN WAY. I DON'T THINK ANYONE WALKED ON THE TEAM AND SAID, WHAT'S THAT GUY'S ROLE? IF YOU CAN'T TELL, I MEAN, SOMETHING'S NOT RIGHT. SO LET'S LOOK AT THIS INVENTORY AND I'M GOING TO PASS THIS OUT TO YOU. AND I THINK YOU UNDERSTAND MAYBE KIND OF WHERE YOU MIGHT BE LEANING. BUT THIS HANDOUT WILL MAKE IT CLEARER AND I'LL PUT ON THE SCREEN TOO, SO YOU CAN SEE IT. TAKE A MOMENT TO LOOK AT WHAT YOU JUST DID IN TERMS OF CATEGORIZING OR TYPIFYING YOURSELF. ASK YOURSELF, DO I AGREE WITH THIS? IS THIS REALLY ME? THIS IS WHO I SAID I WAS. IS IT REALLY ME? AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN? TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE DESCRIPTORS AND ASK YOURSELF, YEAH, THAT SOUNDS LIKE ME. AND JUST ABSORB THAT FOR A MOMENT. AND AGAIN, PER THE INSTRUCTIONS THAT LOWEST NUMBER REPRESENTS YOUR DOMINANT STYLE, YOU MAY MOVE FLUIDLY BETWEEN ANY OF THOSE STYLES, BUT YOU PROBABLY HAVE A PROPENSITY TO GO TO THAT STYLE DICTATED BY YOUR LOWEST NUMBER. IS ANYONE SURPRISED? DOES ANYONE SAY, WELL, I'M ONE WAY AT A BOARD MEETING, BUT WHEN I'M AT HOME, I'M PROBABLY SOMETHING DIFFERENT. YEAH, I SEE HEADS NODDING. NEXT BIG QUESTION ARE YOU BOLD ENOUGH TO GO AROUND AND SHARE WHAT YOUR DOMINANT STYLE IS? YEAH, I SEE HEADS NODDING. ALL RIGHT. LET'S START OVER HERE WITH VANESSA. EVERYBODY TAKE A GUESS. I AM AN ENTHUSIAST AND I HAVE HAD THE BENEFIT OF DOING THIS ONCE BEFORE, AND I WAS HOPING I MIGHT CHANGE, BUT I DID NOT. I'M STILL AN ENTHUSIAST. I LIKE THAT. SO YOU'VE DONE IT BEFORE AND IT CAME OUT THE SAME. OKAY. HOW LONG AGO WAS IT? IT WAS WHEN I WAS FIRST ON THE BOARD. I THINK YOU WERE PRESIDENT BECAUSE YOU WERE LEADING IT. DO YOU REMEMBER THIS? WE WERE IN THE PAC. YOU WEREN'T [INAUDIBLE]. NO, BECAUSE YOU WERE. BECAUSE I REMEMBER MRS. KELLER FUSSED US ABOUT DOING IT AND DIDN'T WANT TO SHARE AND SAID IT WAS OPPOSITE DAY AND REFUSED TO SHARE WHAT SHE WAS. YOU DON'T REMEMBER THIS? AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO REMEMBERS. [INAUDIBLE] REMEMBER THE SEATING AND EVERYTHING AT THE PAC? IT WAS. THAT WAS BEFORE. AND I LOVED IT. RIGHT? DR. WRIGHT WAS THERE BECAUSE I ALREADY KNOW WHAT HE IS. AND I REMEMBER FEELING VERY VALIDATED THAT HE WAS THE RIGHT GUY FOR THE JOB. HAD TO HAVE BEEN THERE. IF I WAS PRESIDENT, YOU HAD TO HAVE BEEN. IT WAS AT THE PAC. HE'S A MAINSTAY. HE'S A MAINSTAY. YEAH. NO, I MEAN, I LOVE THIS. I LOVE THIS SO MUCH. SO IS ANYONE ON THE TEAM SURPRISED THAT WE HAVE AN ENTHUSIAST HERE? NO, NOT AT ALL. GOOD. [LAUGHTER] I WAS ALSO FIRST TIME DOING THIS, BUT I WAS ALSO A MAINSTAY AS WELL. AND YOU'RE A MAINSTAY NOW? YEAH. OKAY, I GUESS SO. ANYONE SURPRISED OR YEAH, I CAN SEE THAT. OKAY, WELL, WE'RE GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER, SO WE. SO IT'S GOOD TO HEAR WHAT EVERYBODY IS. MINE ACTUALLY HAS CHANGED AND I'VE DONE THIS SEVERAL TIMES AND IT HAS CHANGED BASED ON WHERE WE'RE AT. BECAUSE WHEN WE DID THAT AND I WAS PRESIDENT, I WAS A TASKMASTER AND THEN I WAS AN ANALYST AFTER I WASN'T THE PRESIDENT, I WAS ANALYST AND NOW I'M AN ENTHUSIAST. SO IT HAS CHANGED BASED ON THE DYNAMICS. AND THIS IS JUST BOARD RELATED, NOT IN MY OTHER AREAS OF LIFE, BUT IT HAS CHANGED. SURE. GOOD. YEAH. THIS IS MY SECOND TIME TO DO THIS. IT HAS NOT CHANGED. I AM A VERY STRONG ANALYST AND I'LL JUST TELL YOU, MY THEN TWO AND THREE ARE VERY CLOSE TO EACH OTHER. AND THEN I'M THE OPPOSITE OF AN ENTHUSIAST BY WAY I'M WAY OVER HERE [INAUDIBLE]. [00:45:05] ALTHOUGH YOU KNOW WHAT'S INTERESTING, I'M READING SOME OF THE DESCRIPTIONS OF AN ENTHUSIAST AND I DON'T I MEAN, GIVING YOU MORE THAN YOU ASKED FOR, BUT IT'S HELPFUL. I'M DEFINITELY OPTIMISTIC. I MEAN, THAT'S I THINK THAT'S A STRONG CHARACTERISTIC OF MINE AND IT FALLS IN THAT CATEGORY. BUT I WOULD SAY OVERALL, I'M LEAST IN THAT COLUMN, BUT THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS I CAN PICK OUT AND GO, I'VE GOT A SENSE OF HUMOR. I'M AN OPTIMIST. YOU'RE A VISIONARY. YEAH. SOME OF THOSE THINGS, ABSOLUTELY. BUT THEN SOME OF THEM I AM JUST NOT. RIGHT. AND SO ANYWAY, THAT'S MY $0.02 ON IT. ALL RIGHT. THIS IS MY SECOND TIME DOING IT, OR I DID IT IN BOARD OFFICER TRAINING. AND I WAS AN ENTHUSIAST THEN, AND I'M AN ENTHUSIAST STILL, SO. YEAH. INTERESTING. GOOD. WHEN VANESSA ALREADY LEAKED MINE. SO I GOT IT. I'M STILL A MAINSTAY. [LAUGHTER] OKAY, SO THIS IS NOT WHAT I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO BE, BUT I AM A MAINSTAY. BUT I WOULD HAVE BET MONEY THAT I WAS GOING TO BE A TASKMASTER. WERE THEY CLOSE? THEY WEREN'T EVEN CLOSE. BUT WHEN YOU GO DOWN THE LIST, IF YOU READ ALL YOUR ONES LIKE THAT MAKES SENSE TO ME. ALL THE ONES LIKE. YEAH, THAT'S. THAT'S RIGHT. LIKE, THAT'S WHO I PROBABLY REALLY AM. BUT I GUESS. HEY, SO, BYRON, WE ALL LOVE YOU ON THIS BOARD. YOU'RE NOT A TASKMASTER, BUDDY. OKAY? THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I WAS GOING TO SAY. I KNEW YOU WERE NOT GOING TO BE A TASKMASTER. I DIDN'T KNOW WHERE YOU WERE GOING TO FALL, BUT MY TEAM KNOWS ME BETTER THAN I KNOW MYSELF. [LAUGHTER] FANTASTIC. OKAY, SO I HAD TWO REAL CLOSE ONES, BUT THE ONE THAT TOPPED IT WAS TASKMASTER. SO I DON'T THINK THAT THAT IS ANY SURPRISE TO ANYBODY. BUT I WAS SO CLOSE ALSO TO MAINSTAY. SO I'M VERY CLOSE TO BOTH, WHICH I CAN SAY THAT I'M ON BOTH SIDES. YEAH. CAN I SAY SOMETHING ELSE, THOUGH? IN ALL FAIRNESS TO ME, LIKE I FEEL LIKE AT WORK, YOU CAN ASK AT WORK, THE TASKMASTER IS PROBABLY WHERE I WOULD FALL. JUST BOARD STUFF. BOARD STUFF. JUST BOARD STUFF. MAINSTAY YEAH, THAT'S WHERE I KIND OF. IN YEAR TWO. AND I GUESS IT'S KIND OF WHERE I KIND OF GOT LEANED OFF BECAUSE I WORK FOR A LAW FIRM, SO EVERYTHING IS VERY TASKED. RIGHT? SO YEAH, FOR SURE. THAT'S GOOD. SO AND I THINK TO BYRON'S POINT. I THINK TO BYRON'S POINT, DEPENDING ON WHO'S ON THE TEAM COULD IMPACT WHAT YOU NEED TO DO AND WHO YOU NEED TO BE. I MEAN, THERE ARE TIMES WHERE IF SOMEONE GRABS THE REINS AND THEY'VE GOT IT GOOD, YOU DON'T FEEL COMPELLED TO HAVE TO GRAB THEM UNLESS SOMEONE LETS GO OF THEM, RIGHT? I THINK IT'S APPROPRIATE. ANYONE ELSE KIND OF FEEL THAT SAME WAY? YOU KNOW, AT WORK I KIND OF ALREADY REFERRED TO IT, BUT I'M ONE WAY AND I COULD EASILY BE THAT WAS A CLOSE ONE FOR YOU. SOMEONE SHARED WHAT, ANOTHER CLOSE ONE? FOR ME. MAINSTAY AND TASKMASTER. OKAY. WERE PRETTY CLOSE. SO THERE ARE THREE OF YOU WHO ARE EITHER CLOSE IN THOSE TWO OR THINK YOU'RE CLOSE IN THOSE TWO AND WOULD BE DEPENDING ON THE SITUATION. MINE WAS TASKMASTER AND ENTHUSIAST THAT WERE THE CLOSEST. BUT YEAH, READING THE ENTHUSIAST, THERE WAS A LOT OF THINGS THAT I WASN'T ON THERE. YOU KNOW, THE NOT DETAILED PERSON. I AM VERY DETAILED. SO THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT DON'T MATCH UP. BUT YEAH, OVERALL, YES, SURE. YEAH, I WAS A TASKMASTER, SECOND ANALYST WAS A CLOSE SECOND AND THEN ENTHUSIAST WAS MY HIGHEST. OKAY, GOOD DEAL MAINSTAY WAS MY NEXT CLOSEST. BUT IT WAS STILL A IT WAS A PRETTY GOOD SPREAD FROM ENTHUSIAST. ENTHUSIAST TO MAINSTAY. GOOD DEAL. I THINK THE NEXT PROGRESSION, THE NEXT LOGICAL QUESTION IS WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR OUR WORK IF WE KNOW WE HAVE A BROAD RANGE OF COMPLEX TASKS, EVERYTHING FROM SOCIAL MATTERS TO FINANCIAL MATTERS TO JUST NAVIGATING EMERGENCIES, WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR OUR PERSONALITIES? HOW DO WE WORK? SO LET'S TALK ABOUT IN TERMS OF THE TEAM. TAKE A MOMENT TO THINK IF YOU ALREADY HAVE AN IDEA, BECAUSE I KNOW A LOT OF YOU HAVE BEEN TOGETHER FOR A WHILE. LET'S ASK YOU THIS QUESTION. WHAT ARE 1 OR 2 STRENGTHS YOU BRING TO YOUR BOARD SUPERINTENDENT TEAM? AND IT MAY BE RELATED TO THAT SURVEY WE JUST TOOK, IF THAT IS WHAT IMMEDIATELY COMES TO MIND OR IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING OUTSIDE OF THAT, JUST WANT TO KNOW BASED ON YOU WHO YOU ARE. AND AGAIN, TO THAT BOARD, TO THAT GOVERNANCE TEAM. IF YOU BAKE A MEAN APPLE PIE AND YOUR KIDS LOVE IT, THAT'S GREAT. I WANT TO KNOW THAT AFTER THE MEETING. BUT I'M TALKING ABOUT THE BOARD. WHAT ARE YOU BRINGING TO THE BOARD FOR THAT GOVERNANCE TEAM? [00:50:37] AND YOU CAN SHARE WHENEVER YOU HAVE THEM. DID YOU SAY GO AHEAD AND SHARE? YEAH. OKAY. SO FOR ME, TWO ARE ONE, I'M SOLUTION ORIENTED AND I FEEL LIKE RATHER THAN MAYBE SOMETIMES GOING DIFFERENT DIRECTION AND SOMETIMES MAYBE THAT'S BAD, YOU JUST GET LASER FOCUSED, RIGHT? MAYBE LIKE SOLUTION ORIENTED. AND I'M ALSO VERY DATA DEPENDENT. WHAT IS THE DATA TELLING ME THAT WOULD LEAD TO THOSE SOLUTIONS? GOOD. AND IT'S TOUGH. I MEAN, YOU MAKE THE BEST DECISIONS YOU CAN SOMETIMES ABOUT THINGS THAT HAVEN'T EVEN TRANSPIRED YET IN THE FUTURE. AND IT'S NICE TO PROVIDE THE RATIONALE THAT THE DATA TRENDED THIS WAY OR THIS IS A DECISION THAT WE COULD MAKE BASED ON THE DATA. IT'S HARD TO MAKE IT ON ANYTHING ELSE, RIGHT? I WOULD SAY THAT I'M VERY ATTENTIVE AND DETAIL ORIENTED. I READ. MICROPHONE. SORRY, SORRY. I'M VERY ATTENTIVE. I READ EVERYTHING, SO I PAY ATTENTION TO EVERYTHING. I READ EVERYTHING. I WOULD SAY JUST BEING AS ATTENTIVE AS I AM HELPS CAPTURE A LOT OF THINGS. SURE. AND WE TALKED ABOUT THAT. ONE OF THE HALLMARKS OF THOSE HIGH PERFORMING TEAMS ARE MEMBERS WHO ARE ATTENTIVE. THEY LISTEN TO IDEAS AND THEY CAN EXPAND UPON THEM. GOOD. I MEAN, A LOT OF DETAILS IN BOARD WORK, RIGHT? THE SUPERINTENDENT TAKES THE BRUNT OF THAT AND JUST SHARES WITH YOU WHAT IS RELEVANT AND APPROPRIATE FOR YOUR ROLE. BUT THERE ARE SO MANY DETAILS TO THE DISTRICT AND YOU'LL BE IN TUNE WITH A WHOLE LOT MORE THAN YOU EVEN NEED SOMETIMES. BUT YEAH. RIGHT. AND I WOULD SAY THAT COMMUNICATION TOO, LIKE, I'M A HUGE COMMUNICATOR, SO I LIKE TO COMMUNICATE. OKAY. THANK YOU. TEAM ORIENTED, WHETHER IT BE FROM PLAYING ORGANIZED SPORTS FOR A VERY LONG TIME. I'M IN A BAND FOR 20 YEARS, SO I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE TO BE IN HARMONY AND THINK OF THE TEAM FIRST AND THEN RESPECTFUL OF OTHER PEOPLE'S POINT OF VIEWS. IF WE DISAGREE, IT'S ALWAYS REMAINED CIVIL AND ALWAYS RESPECTFUL. YEAH, I LOVE THAT. REMAIN CIVIL AND RESPECTFUL. IT CAN'T BE PERSONAL IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OUTCOMES FOR STUDENTS AND WE'RE DOING THE BEST WE CAN TO MAKE DECISIONS BASED ON DATA, WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THAT WE MIGHT HAVE DIFFERENT VIEWS ABOUT HOW TO GET THERE AND WE SHOULD HAVE DIFFERENT VIEWS AND WE SHOULD DISCUSS THOSE. BUT THE GOAL IS TO REMAIN CIVIL. I'M WITH YOU ON BAND. I WAS TALKING TO MY WIFE FAIRLY RECENTLY AND WE HAVE DIFFERENCES ON MUSIC AND HOW IT SHOULD BE. SHE THINKS SHE CAN APPRECIATE THE EFFORT. I'M LIKE, NO, IT'S NOT THE WAY I WAS TAUGHT. I DIDN'T GO COMPETE IN ALL-STATE BAND OR SOMETHING ELSE AND PLAY WITH THE HOUSTON SYMPHONIC BAND AND GET RATED BY THE AUDIENCE ON EFFORT YOU HAD TO BE IN TUNE. COULDN'T BE ONE SENT OFF. YOU HAD TO BE IN BEAT THE PERFECT DYNAMIC, RIGHT? I MEAN, IT TOOK AN ACT. YOU'RE ONE INSTRUMENT WITH POTENTIALLY 99 OTHERS. AND SO IT DOES REQUIRE THIS HARMONY AND YOU MIGHT NOT GET THE MELODY, YOU MIGHT HAVE A BORING BASIC QUARTER NOTE PART AND THE TRUMPETS AND CLARINETS AND FLUTES GET ALL THE GREAT STUFF, BUT YOU KNOW THAT YOUR CONTRIBUTION IS IMPORTANT. DON'T PUT HIM IN MARCHING BAND. WELL, THOSE ROCK BANDS GET PRETTY SPECIFIC TOO. TOURING WITH LIKE FIVE ROCK MUSICIANS IS VERY DIFFICULT AT TIMES, SO YOU LEARN HOW TO BE IN HARMONY THOUGH. BUT YEAH. I READ THE BIO. YEAH, YEAH. SAME THING. I MEAN, PEOPLE PAY MONEY TO HEAR GOOD ROCK BANDS, RIGHT? ALL RIGHT, I'LL YOU GOING. I'LL GO. THIS CAN BE A HARD JOB, AND I LIKE TO DISARM WITH HUMOR. THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS I SORT OF DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT MYSELF UNTIL WE DID THIS, I THINK, BEFORE. BUT THAT'S SORT OF INNATELY HOW I LIKE TO DIFFUSE TENSE SITUATIONS IS DISARMING WITH HUMOR. AND THEN I HAVE A VERY OPTIMISTIC VISION FOR THE FUTURE, AND I'M A HUGE CHEERLEADER FOR THAT VISION. AND SO WHEN I READ THESE. JUST FEW THINGS. I CERTAINLY FEEL THAT ABOUT MYSELF, LIKE I HAVE, I'M VERY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE FUTURE FOR THIS DISTRICT. OBVIOUSLY, HIRING DR. WRIGHT MADE THAT VISION POSSIBLE, I FEEL LIKE. BUT I AM A CONSTANT CHEERLEADER FOR THIS DISTRICT AND I THINK THAT HELPS. [00:55:03] SO THE I GUESS WHAT KIND OF LED YOU TO BE THAT WAY TOO DIFFUSE WITH HUMOR. SOMETHING YOU LEARN. IS THAT A CHARACTERISTIC OF BEING AN ENTHUSIAST OR JUST. MAYBE. I DON'T KNOW. I. MY DAD WAS ALWAYS THAT WAY. I THINK MAYBE AND I DON'T LIKE TENSE SITUATIONS. I DON'T I MEAN, I LIKE PEOPLE AND I LIKE OUR RELATIONSHIP. AND I JUST FEEL LIKE IT'S JUST A NATURAL TENDENCY THAT I HAVE WHEN THINGS ARE TENSE TO SORT OF HAVE SOMETHING FUNNY THAT SO PEOPLE ARE I'M SELF-DEPRECATING AS WELL. I THINK THAT ALSO IS HELPFUL FOR PEOPLE TO NOT TAKE THEMSELVES TOO SERIOUSLY. I DON'T TAKE MYSELF THAT SERIOUSLY. SO, I DO THAT AT WORK AS WELL. IN MY DAY JOB, AND THAT'S IMPORTANT FOR THE TEAM TO KNOW. SO I WILL SHARE JUST QUICK A FUN EXPERIENCE. IT WAS AN INTERESTING EXPERIENCE. BOARD MEMBER WHO PROBABLY WOULD SAY THE SAME THING YOU SAID. I LIKE TO DIFFUSE WITH HUMOR, USE SOME HUMOR AT A TIME THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE WOULD HAVE CONSIDERED INAPPROPRIATE BECAUSE THE OTHER TRUSTEE WAS ALREADY IN TEARS AND THEY CHOSE TO KIND OF GO AT IT WITH SOME HUMOR. NO ONE HEARD HIM. I HEARD HIM IN THE MEETING, AND I REMEMBER THINKING AT THAT MOMENT, I'M GLAD THEY DIDN'T HEAR HIM BECAUSE I THINK IT WOULD HAVE WORKED. THEY KNOW WHO HE IS. THEY KNOW HIM REALLY WELL, AND THEY WOULDN'T HAVE TAKEN IT PERSONALLY. BUT AGAIN, ONLY BECAUSE THEY KNEW WHO HE WAS. RIGHT. AND SO I THINK UNDERSTANDING WHO WE ARE AS A TEAM LETS US KNOW, DON'T TAKE THAT PERSONALLY. IN FACT, THAT'S THEIR WAY OF PRACTICING EMPATHY. THEY RECOGNIZE IT'S TENSE AND THEY ARE HELPING AND DOING THE BEST THEY CAN TO HELP DIFFUSE AND KIND OF BRING IT DOWN. WHAT ELSE? 1 OR 2 STRENGTHS WHO HAS NOT SHARED BUT WANTS TO? AND SO I HAD ABOUT 5 OR 6 THINGS WRITTEN DOWN. SO HUMBLENESS IS PROBABLY ONE OF THEM. NO, I'M JUST KIDDING. [LAUGHTER] I LIKE TO COACH AND I LIKE TO COACH PEOPLE. SO I KNOW THAT I HAVE TO BE OBJECTIVE AND HEARING AND UNDERSTANDING WHERE SOMEBODY IS COMING FROM. SO TRYING TO BRING THAT BALANCE. I DO APPRECIATE DATA BECAUSE I'M DEALING WITH DATA ALL DAY LONG, BUT THEN I ALSO KNOW THAT THERE'S A PEOPLE ELEMENT TO THINGS. AND I TOO, I THROW IN SOME ONE LINERS IN THERE, YOU KNOW, JUST TO KIND OF KEEP THINGS FRESH AND MOVING. SO I WOULD SAY THOSE TWO THINGS, YOU KNOW, JUST AGAIN, THE BALANCE AND THEN SOME SENSE OF HUMOR AS WELL. GOOD. OKAY. SO I COME AT THIS FROM A LONG BACKGROUND IN RETAIL, BUT I'M VERY CUSTOMER SERVICE FOCUSED EITHER INTERNALLY OR WITH LIKE, YOU KNOW, OUR, YOU KNOW, OUR CAMPUSES AND OUR TEACHERS AND STUFF. SO I FEEL LIKE I'M VERY EMPATHETIC TO THAT BECAUSE I ALWAYS WANT TO SEE THE BEST. AND SO WHEN I HEAR SOMETHING THE FIRST TIME, I'M LIKE, THAT'S WRONG. BUT THEN IT ALWAYS ISN'T THAT WAY. BUT I ALWAYS EMPATHIZE WHERE THEY ARE COMING FROM. SO I FEEL LIKE I'M VERY EMPATHETIC AND I HAVE A BIG FOCUS ON CUSTOMER SERVICE. AND THEN I THINK I CAN BE PRETTY PASSIONATE ABOUT JUST THIS JOB. ALTOGETHER, LIKE I TAKE IT VERY SERIOUSLY. YEAH. SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S RIGHT OR WRONG, BUT I JUST FEEL THAT THOSE ARE THINGS THAT FOR ME, IT'S LIKE EMPATHY, CUSTOMER SERVICE INTERNALLY AND EXTERNALLY, AND THEN VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT IT. YEAH, GOOD DEAL. I THINK PROBABLY ONE OF MY GREATEST STRENGTHS IS THE ABILITY TO LISTEN AND THE ABILITY TO VALUE ALL PEOPLE AND DIFFERENT IDEAS AND TRYING TO BRING THOSE TOGETHER. AND I'M LIKE, WILL I REALLY LIKE TO CREATE SOLUTIONS TO ISSUES THAT WE HAVE AND SOLVE PROBLEMS? AND I'M REALLY GOAL ORIENTED. I LIKE TO WIN. I'M VERY COMPETITIVE AND I WANT TO BE THE BEST AT WHATEVER WE DO. SO I THINK THOSE ARE A LOT OF MY TRAITS. OKAY. I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS IS THAT I'M ABLE TO NOT TAKE THINGS PERSONALLY AND, YOU KNOW, WHICH COULD ALSO BE A BLIND SPOT, TOO, RIGHT? WHEN YOU HAVE A THICKER SKIN, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES PEOPLE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT THICKER SKIN. BUT BEING ABLE TO BE STRATEGIC AND STAYING OBJECTIVE AND SAYING, HEY, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T LIKE ESPERANZA, THAT THEY VOTED THIS WAY. IT'S BECAUSE THAT'S HOW THEY FELT. SO BEING ABLE TO GET THERE AND EVOLVE FROM WHEN I FIRST GOT ON THE BOARD WHERE PEOPLE TOOK THINGS VERY PERSONALLY. AND IT'S NOT ABOUT THAT. IT'S OKAY THAT WE HAVE A DIFFERENT IDEA ON HOW TO GET TO THAT END. SO I THINK BEING OBJECTIVE AND NOT TAKING THINGS PERSONAL, BUT ALSO LOOKING FOR THAT OPPORTUNITY, ARE WE SEEING THINGS AS AN OPPORTUNITY AND NOT A CHALLENGE? AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I TRY TO FOCUS ON WHEN WE DID HAVE A LOT OF CHALLENGES AND WHAT IS THE OPPORTUNITY THAT CAN COME TO OUR DISTRICT BECAUSE OF THE [01:00:01] CHALLENGES THAT WE WERE FACING. AND DR. WRIGHT WAS ONE OF THOSE HUGE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE HAD IN LIGHT OF ALL THE CHALLENGES WE WERE IN. SO IT WAS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE OUR DISTRICT BETTER. AND WE ARE. IF IT EVER BECOMES HELPFUL MAYBE YOU TOOK NOTES. A LITTLE NOTE TO KIND OF REMIND YOURSELF OF OF SOMEONE'S THINKING PATTERN, BUT IT NEVER HURTS TO ASK. I DON'T EXPECT YOU TO REMEMBER EVERYTHING YOUR COLLEAGUE SAID. AND YOU KNOW THEM WELL. YOU'VE HAD DINNER WITH THEM, BUT I'M GUESSING YOU'RE LEARNING SOMETHING NEW STILL ABOUT THEM EVERY SO OFTEN. IT NEVER HURTS TO ASK, WHY DO YOU WANT THAT? OR WHY DO YOU FEEL THAT WAY? IT MIGHT TELL YOU, WELL, YOU KNOW, I HAVE A CUSTOMER SERVICE KIND OF MENTALITY. IT MATTERS TO ME HOW PEOPLE FEEL. IF I HEAR A COMPLAINT OR AN ISSUE, I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S ADDRESSED PROPERLY. IS IT WIDESPREAD? THE THOUGHT OF OUR, YOU KNOW. STUDENTS OR PARENTS FEELING LIKE THEY'RE BEING NEGLECTED. IT JUST DOESN'T SIT WELL WITH ME. RIGHT? ASK THAT WHY YOU'LL GET AN INSIGHT INTO THEIR PERSONALITY AND WHAT MOVES AND MOTIVATES THEM. QUICK CHECK IN. DO WE NEED A BREAK? I CHECK IN AT THE HOUR. TYPICALLY, YOU WANT TO KEEP GOING. HOW ARE WE FEELING? BOARD PRESIDENT? OKAY, KEEP GOING. ALL RIGHT. THE NEXT QUESTION IS TEAM BUILDING A LITTLE BIT TOUGHER POTENTIALLY BECAUSE IT REQUIRES YOU TO BE A LITTLE VULNERABLE. SO I WILL LEAVE IT TO YOU IF YOU FEEL LIKE YOU WANT TO SHARE. BUT I DO WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT NOT JUST THE TEAM INVENTORY, BUT WHO YOU ARE, MAYBE HISTORICALLY, HOW YOU'VE BEEN ON OTHER TEAMS, HOW YOU'VE BEEN ON THIS TEAM, SOMETHING YOU LEARNED ABOUT YOURSELF RECENTLY. WHAT ARE 1 OR 2 BLIND SPOTS THAT YOU CAN WORK ON FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR TEAM, RIGHT? FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR TEAM? SHAQ NEEDED TO WORK ON FREE THROWS. IT WAS JUST THE REALITY. WE ALL NEED TO WORK ON SOMETHING. THINK ABOUT THAT FOR A SECOND. AND AFTER A MINUTE OR TWO, IF YOU FLICK YOUR FINGER UP OR RAISE YOUR HAND, I'LL CALL ON YOU IF YOU WANT TO SHARE. BUT THAT IS ENTIRELY UP TO YOU. IT'S IMPORTANT THAT YOU KNOW AND THAT YOU COMMIT PERSONALLY TO WORKING ON THOSE. ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. SO FOR ME, RAUL ACTUALLY TOUCHED ON IT, AND I'M GLAD THAT HE DID. BUT FOR ME, IT'S ACTUALLY REMEMBERING THE PEOPLE COMPONENT OF THINGS. OKAY. BEING OVERLY DEPENDENT ON DATA AND PROCESS, WHICH IS THE SECOND ONE, IS ALSO PAYING ATTENTION TO THE FACT THAT THE PROCESS MATTERS AS MUCH AS THE RESULTS SOMETIMES. SO SOMETIMES THE HOW WE GET THERE AND INCORPORATING EVERYONE MATTERS, EVEN THOUGH WE MAY HAVE ARRIVED AT THE SAME RESULT IN A DIFFERENT PATH. SO TRUE. WHICH IS WHY IN THE BEGINNING I SAID COMPLETING IS IMPORTANT. BUT IF WE GET TO THE END OF THIS ACTIVITY AND YOU'VE CONTRIBUTED RELATIVELY EQUAL, THAT'S IMPORTANT. OTHERWISE SOMEONE'S DOING TOO MUCH WORK, SOMEONE'S DOING NOT ENOUGH. AND SURE. ORIN I CAN THINK OF AN EXAMPLE THIS MIGHT BE FROM A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO. BUT WE AS A BOARD HAD APPROVED A CHANGE IN THE WAY THAT PARENTS CAN PAY FOR SOMETHING OR GET REFUNDED. AND IT ACTUALLY CAUSED A PRETTY BIG SITUATION FOR SOME OF OUR FAMILIES THAT THAT MAYBE DON'T USE DEBIT CARDS AND THINGS OF THAT SORT. IT MADE ME REALLY THINK THAT IT WAS IT WAS A GOOD THING AT THE TIME, BUT MAYBE THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES. AND SO TAKING IT A STEP FURTHER TO, OKAY, WE MAKE DECISIONS AT A DIFFERENT LEVEL, RIGHT? WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE VISION. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE DIRECTION THAT WE'RE GOING. AS YOU KNOW, AS A DISTRICT. BUT THEN EMPOWERING, YOU KNOW, DR. WRIGHT AND THE STAFF TO EXECUTE THE BLOCKING AND TACKLING, IF YOU WILL. BUT YEAH, JUST REALLY MAKING SURE THAT BEFORE WHEN SOMETHING COMES TO US, I MEAN, I THINK WE DO A GOOD JOB OF BEING PREPARED, BUT WHEN IT SEEMS THAT IT'S SMALL, IS THERE REALLY SOMETHING THAT'S UNINTENDED THAT COULD FALL OUT OF THIS THAT'S LATER GOING TO COME UP AND IT'S AN ISSUE FOR A CUSTOMER SERVICE PERSPECTIVE? SURE. YEAH. LET'S TAKE ONE MORE IF SOMEONE WANTS TO SHARE. HERE WE GO. SO I THINK FOR ME, BEING A BIT OF A PEOPLE PLEASER IS SOMETHING I HAVE TO AND HAVE WORKED ON. WE HAVE TO MAKE REALLY HARD DECISIONS AS A BOARD THAT AREN'T ALWAYS POPULAR, AND THAT'S HARD FOR ME. [01:05:05] AND I'VE HAD TO KIND OF GROW THAT MUSCLE A BIT OF BEING UNPOPULAR. AND IN THE FACE OF CRITICISM WHEN WE MAKE DECISIONS THAT AREN'T GOING TO BE WELL LIKED. AND THAT IS REALLY TOUGH. SO THINKING BACK ABOUT HOW THIS TEAM WORKS, TALKED ABOUT YOUR INDIVIDUAL STRENGTHS, WHO YOU ARE, INDIVIDUAL BLIND SIDES. LET'S TALK JUST VERY BRIEFLY, WHAT ARE SOME THINGS YOU CAN DO DIFFERENTLY JUST CONCEPTUALLY NOW THAT YOU UNDERSTAND YOUR TEAM'S DIFFERENCES? AND AGAIN, IT'S PROBABLY MORE KIND OF PHILOSOPHICAL IN NATURE, BUT WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO DIFFERENTLY THINKING ABOUT YOUR AWARENESS? YOU KNOW, ORIN IT'S A REMINDER THAT WE ALL HAVE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES. WE HAVE THE SAME GOAL. YOU KNOW, LOOK, WE CHANGE SEATS, RIGHT? SOME OF YOU ARE ALWAYS FACING THAT SCREEN AND SOME OF US ARE FACING THE SMALLER SCREEN. YOU KNOW, I SAW YOUR BIG DISCLAIMER. IT'S NICE AND BOLD, RIGHT, THAT THIS ISN'T FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES. AND, YOU KNOW, NOT TO, YOU KNOW, LIKE THERE'S JUST THERE'S ALWAYS A DETAIL THAT SOMEBODY ELSE CATCHES THAT I MAY NOT HAVE CAUGHT OR VICE VERSA. AND HOW DO WE COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER'S STRENGTHS. AND THEN HOW DO I ALSO UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, LIKE WHEN BYRON ASKED A QUESTION, YOU KNOW, THAT I KNOW WHERE HE'S COMING FROM OR, OR JOHNNY WERE TO ASK A QUESTION, YOU KNOW, I KIND OF HAVE AN IDEA OF THE ANGLE THAT THEY'RE COMING FROM. I SEE IT FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVE. AND THEN, OF COURSE, WHEN IT'S TIME TO VOTE OR MAKE A DECISION, YOU KNOW BE ABLE TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT WHAT EVERYBODY CONTRIBUTED. SO THE PERSPECTIVES IS IMPORTANT. AND IF YOU RECOGNIZE THAT EVERYONE HAS A DIFFERENT VANTAGE POINTS, WE CONSIDER EVERYONE'S PERSPECTIVE EQUALLY IMPORTANT, RIGHT? YOU MAY BE ON A TEAM WHERE SOMEONE JUST REALLY GETS ON YOUR NERVES, BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WHAT THEY'RE SAYING SHOULD BE INVALID. IT'S WORTHY OF HEARING OUT BECAUSE THEY'RE GOING TO SEE SOMETHING THAT YOU DON'T NORMALLY SEE. SURE. SO CAN YOU ALL HEAR ME? OKAY, SO IT ONLY TOOK 22 YEARS OF MARRIAGE TO COME TO THIS, BUT I'VE USED THIS A LOT IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS BECAUSE I FINALLY FIGURED IT OUT WITH MY PERSONAL LIFE WITH MY WIFE. BUT THIS HOLDS TRUE FOR ME, FOR MY RELATIONSHIP. AND THEN I THINK WITH THIS BOARD, TOO, LIKE IF YOU LOOK AT WHAT WE DO AS A BOARD OR YOUR RELATIONSHIP, LIKE IF YOU HAVE A STARTING POINT HERE AND YOU HAVE AN END POINT AT THE BOTTOM, RIGHT? SO WE'RE ALL WE MIGHT IT'S LIKE A BIG HEART. SO WE MIGHT TO GET TO THAT POINT, WE'RE GOING TO WE MIGHT GET WAY OUT HERE, WAY FAR AWAY. BUT THEN WE ALWAYS SEEM TO COME BACK TO THE MIDDLE. BUT FROM HERE TO HERE, I THINK CAN BE PROBLEMATIC JUST FROM DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW. IT JUST TAKE IT TAKES US AROUND A LONG WAY AROUND TO GET TO PLACES. BUT AS LONG AS YOU START HERE AND YOU GET TO THE SAME PLACE, THEN I DON'T THINK WE CAN ALL GET THERE DIFFERENT WAYS. BUT I THINK THAT'S THE WAY I KIND OF DESCRIBE HOW LIKE THIS BOARD, I MEAN, BECAUSE THIS BOARD, WE HAVE A LOT OF STRENGTHS, EVERYONE'S GOT A LOT OF GOOD, YOU KNOW, IF I MISS SOMETHING, COURTNEY PICKS IT UP OR ESPERANZA GETS IT OR WHATEVER. LIKE WE ALL WORK TOGETHER BECAUSE WE ALL HAVE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE'RE REALLY, REALLY GOOD AT TOO. SO I DON'T KNOW. THAT'S THE WAY I KIND OF LOOK AT THIS BOARD. AND, AND IT ONLY TOOK ME 20 YEARS OF MARRIAGE TO KIND OF FIGURE OUT [LAUGHTER] AS LONG AS YOU GET TO THE SAME PLACE, IT KIND OF TAKES A WHILE TO GET THERE, BUT IT'S ALSO GOING TO BE OKAY. AND THAT'S IMPORTANT. IT'S GOING TO BE OKAY. THAT CAN BE TERRIFYING TO SOME PEOPLE. MAN, WE'RE WAY OFF TRACK. WELL, YOU KNOW, THE OLD SAYING IS LIKE MAKING SAUSAGE. YOU KNOW, IT'S ROUGH TO WATCH IN THE PROCESS, BUT WE TEND TO LIKE THE PRODUCT. THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT. WE DON'T HAVE TO FLIP OUT WHEN WE'RE OUT HERE DOING WHAT WE DO. THE GOAL IS TO MAKE SURE WE CAN COME BACK TOGETHER. I THINK FOR ME, IT'S SOMETHING ESPERANZA EVEN SAID EARLIER IS DON'T TAKE DIFFERENCE OF OPINION PERSONALLY. SURE, SOMEONE COULD BE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE ON EITHER SOLVING THAT PROBLEM OR EVEN WHAT THE ANSWER IS THAT THAT DOESN'T TAKE AWAY FROM THE FACT THEY MIGHT STILL BE YOUR FRIEND. AND THERE'S CERTAINLY A TRUSTEE ON THIS BOARD WITH YOU. AND I THINK JUST REMEMBERING THAT THEY'VE GOT A DIFFERENT LENS, A DIFFERENT BACKGROUND, A DIFFERENT HISTORY THAT LED THEM TO MAKE THAT DECISION. AND AT LEAST WITH THE FOLKS ON THIS BOARD, I TRUST THAT THEY GOT THERE, YOU KNOW, BY BEING THOUGHTFUL AND SERIOUS ABOUT THE PROBLEM AND LOOKING FOR A SOLUTION. WE MAY JUST BE DIFFERENT AND THAT'S OKAY. AS A NEW TEAM MEMBER. I YOU KNOW, I LOVE ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, FROM THE MORE EXPERIENCED BOARD MEMBERS BECAUSE PAST IS PROLOG IN MANY CASES. AND, YOU KNOW, I COULD LEARN FROM THEIR EXPERIENCE, YOU KNOW, THEIR YEARS OF EXPERIENCE ON THE BOARD, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH THE SCHOOLS IN HAYS CISD. SO I WOULD LIKE TO ASK MORE QUESTIONS AND JUST TO LEARN FROM THEIR EXPERIENCES AND WHAT THEY'VE GONE THROUGH. AND THAT WAY I CAN KEEP IMPROVING, WHICH IS MY GOAL. SO DEFINITELY THAT. GOOD. YEAH. AND THEN RECOGNIZING THE KIND OF QUESTIONS THAT PARTICULAR INTEREST MIGHT BE REFLECTED IN WHO THAT NEW MEMBER IS, RIGHT? CERTAIN THINGS SPEAK TO THEM. [01:10:01] SURE. ALL RIGHT. I'LL ADD SOMETHING ORIN. SURE. I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS IS LOOKING AT ALL THESE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PERSONALITIES, IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO KIND OF REFLECT ON THAT, RIGHT? BECAUSE IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE WE'VE DONE IT. SO IT'S LIKE, OH YEAH, THAT'S WHAT VANESSA WAS AND THAT'S WHAT WHERE VANESSA IS COMING FROM, EVEN THOUGH I'VE KNOWN HER FOR SUCH A LONG TIME, BUT ALSO UNDERSTANDING, YOU KNOW THAT SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO FRONT LOAD, RIGHT? YOU KNOW, I THINK OF THIS OFTEN AS WHEN I WAS PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD, I THOUGHT ABOUT IT OFTEN BECAUSE I LOVE BEING EFFICIENT. I LOVE IT. I LOVE AND, YOU KNOW, VANESSA KNOWS THAT AND WILL KNOWS THAT BECAUSE THEY SERVED WITH ME THE LONGEST. I LOVE IT. BUT SOMETIMES I HAD TO LET GO OF THAT EFFICIENT MANNER AND FRONT LOAD FOR MY MAINSTAY PEOPLE, FOR THOSE PEOPLE THAT NEEDED THAT EXTRA SUPPORT AND THOUGHTFULNESS. AND LET'S TALK ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS. EVEN THOUGH THAT'S NOT ME. I KNEW THAT'S WHAT WAS NEEDED AND THAT'S WHAT WAS SO DIFFERENT ABOUT ME BEING PRESIDENT. AND VANESSA, BECAUSE SHE DID WAS VERY THOUGHTFUL OF THAT, OF, HEY, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY GETS HEARD AND ALL OF THESE THINGS. AND MY MAIN PRIORITY WAS BEING EFFICIENT, YOU KNOW, AND RUNNING A TIGHT MEETING. BUT ALSO I KNEW THAT I HAD TO GIVE RIGHT, GIVE SOME TIME FOR THAT, THOSE MAINSTAY PEOPLE TO REALLY FEEL HEARD BECAUSE LIKE WILL SAID, WE'RE GOING TO GET TO THIS END RESULT, LIKE WE'RE ALL GOING TO VOTE THIS WAY AT THE END BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT'S WHAT'S BEST OR WHATEVER. BUT MAKING SURE YOU HAVE THAT BUY IN FROM EVERYBODY IS GOING TO BE SO IMPORTANT, EVEN IF IT TAKES THAT EXTRA FIVE MINUTES AT A MEETING, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT WILL BE WELL WORTH IT AT THE END. YEAH. AND I'M SO GLAD YOU MENTIONED IF IT TAKES EXTRA TIME AND DO IT. AGAIN, THAT'S NOT JUST GOOD WISDOM, IT'S CORROBORATED BY RESEARCH. SO REALLY QUICK REFERENCE. ANITA WOOLLEY TALKED ABOUT COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE AND WHAT THEY NOTICED WAS WHEN ON A TEAM AGAIN, MEMBERS SPOKE IN ROUGHLY EQUAL PROPORTION. PEOPLE WEREN'T CUT OFF OR DISMISSED. THE COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE OF THE GROUP ROSE BUT THE MINUTE 1 OR 2 PEOPLE DOMINATE THE CONVERSATION AND THERE WASN'T TIME LEFT TO LISTEN, TO HEAR ALL THE PERSPECTIVES, THE COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE DROPPED. THOSE TEAMS DID NOT PERFORM AS HIGHLY AS OTHER TEAMS IN BREADTH AND DEPTH OF TASKS. SO YEAH, IT MIGHT MEAN TAKING THE EXTRA TIME TO LET PEOPLE ASK QUESTIONS AND TO BRING ALONG DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES. ORIN ONE TAKE AWAY. SO YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT HOW YOU NEED DIFFERENT PEOPLE TO MAN THE DIFFERENT POSITIONS ON THE TEAM. ONE OF THE THINGS I LOVE ABOUT THIS GROUP IS, I MEAN, SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE, WE'VE HAD FOUR DIFFERENT PRESIDENTS. AND WE ROTATE AROUND AND WE EMPOWER THE LEADERSHIP. AND SO IT'S HARD BEING A PRESIDENT, THOSE OF YOU THAT HAVE DONE IT, THERE'S A LOT OF EXTRA TIME AND EFFORT THAT GOES INTO IT. AND DIFFERENT PEOPLE HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE IN THAT ROLE. AND SO THEN THERE'S SOME EMPATHY, THERE IS SOME COLLECTIVE KNOWLEDGE THAT GOES INTO THAT. AND SO THERE ALSO COMES GRACE WITH THAT. AND SO I THINK THAT COLLECTIVELY STRENGTHENS YOUR TEAM. AND SO DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS HAVE ALREADY SERVED IN ROLES AS OFFICER. AND SO, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GOT PEOPLE THAT HAVE GOTTEN TO BE THE QUARTERBACK AND THE RECEIVERS, BUT THEN THEY STEP BACK AND THEY GET TO BE A LINEMAN AND THEN THEY MIGHT BE A QUARTERBACK AGAIN. AND SO COLLECTIVELY WE'VE ALL COME TOGETHER AND I THINK THAT'S WHY THIS BOARD IS REALLY STRONG. GOOD. I WANT TO JUST LET YOU GET A PICTURE OF THIS QUESTION OR JUST GET IT IN YOUR BRAIN FOR THE SAKE OF TIME. I'M GOING TO MOVE ON TO ANOTHER DISCUSSION. BUT I WANT YOU TO JUST TO THINK ABOUT THIS AS MAYBE CALL IT HOMEWORK. THINK ABOUT THIS NEXT TIME. RIGHT. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO USE EACH MEMBER'S STRENGTHS TO BUILD A STRONGER TEAM? HOW WILL YOU CAPITALIZE ON YOUR INDIVIDUAL TALENT THAT CAN BE A HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT OR YOUR NEXT LITTLE POW WOW MEETING? SO ONE OF TWO RESPONSES FOR THIS AND THEN I WANT TO GET INTO THE SCENARIOS AND GIVE YOU A BRIEF SURVEY OF SOME GOVERNANCE STUDIES TO HELP US PREPARE TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE SCENARIOS. ONE TO TWO COMMENTS. WHAT ARE 1 OR 2 KEY THINGS YOU'VE LEARNED ABOUT PERSONALITY PREFERENCES AND HOW YOU APPLY THIS KNOWLEDGE TO YOUR ROLE ON YOUR BOARD? NOT TOO DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, BUT WHAT ARE 1 OR 2 THINGS THAT YOU'VE LEARNED OR RELEARNED? YES, SIR. I THINK ONE OF THEM GOES RIGHT INTO OUR SOCIAL CONTRACT ABOUT ASSUMING POSITIVE AND NOBLE INTENTIONS. AGAIN, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY HAS THEIR DIFFERENT VANTAGE POINT, THEIR DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE. AND I GOT TO RESPECT THAT WHEN VANESSA SAYS SOMETHING, THAT SHE'S COMING AT IT WITH THE BEST INTENTION OF, YOU KNOW, THE STUDENTS OR THE STAFF, YOU KNOW, THE DISTRICT AS A WHOLE, YOU KNOW, THE SAME THING FOR WILL. I MEAN, THAT'S JUST A GOOD REMINDER OF WHY THAT'S SUCH A KEY TENANT OF OUR SOCIAL CONTRACT. AND I'M GLAD YOU TIED IT BACK TO THAT SOCIAL CONTRACT WHEN YOU'RE GUIDING DOCUMENTS. [01:15:03] AGAIN, IT WORKS IN PRACTICALITY AND IT'S ALSO AGAIN EVIDENCE BASED. I MEAN, I WILL JUST SAY JUST I MEAN, IT VALIDATED THAT WE ARE ALL SO VERY DIFFERENT BUT ALSO ALIKE IN MANY WAYS. BUT, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH THE INDIVIDUALS ON THIS TEAM, I KNOW THAT WE ARE ALL THINKING DIFFERENT THINGS, BUT WE ALL GET TO THE SAME CONCLUSION. AND THAT'S WHAT I APPRECIATE. AND SAME THING TO WHAT BYRON SAID. IF I DON'T CATCH IT, I KNOW ESPERANZA IS GOING TO CATCH IT OR WILL OR SOMEBODY ELSE. AND THAT'S WHAT I APPRECIATE IS KNOWING THOSE PERSONALITIES, BUT ALSO VALIDATING THOSE PERSONALITIES BECAUSE THEY BRING SO MUCH GREATNESS TO THIS TEAM. YEAH. AND I LOVE THAT HEART ANALOGY. IT'S STILL IN MY BRAIN. I MEAN, EVEN THAT IT'S A HEART, RIGHT? SO GOOD. YOU ALL HAVE THAT MARKETED SOMEWHERE. YOU NEED TO. MAKE SURE. SO IN THIS NEXT PART, I'M GOING TO FOREWARN YOU, I'M GOING TO GO THROUGH THE GOVERNANCE STUDIES PRETTY QUICKLY. THERE'S NOTHING JUST RIVETING ABOUT IT, EVEN FOR YOU GOVERNANCE NERDS. I KNOW YOU'LL APPRECIATE IT, BUT WHAT I WANT TO DO IS VERY QUICKLY LAY A FOUNDATION SO WE CAN HAVE SOME DISCUSSIONS. AGAIN, I WANT TO TIE IT ALL IN SO IT'S RELEVANT. AND THE CONNECTION IS WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT WHO YOU ARE, WHAT YOU NATURALLY SEE, WHAT YOUR EYES AND YOUR BRAIN AND YOUR HEART GOES TO IMMEDIATELY OR NATURALLY THINK ABOUT WHAT THAT MEANS TO ALIGN THAT WITH YOUR ROLE. REMEMBER, CLOSURE IS ABOUT WHO YOU ARE, YOUR DIFFERENT STRENGTHS AND PERSONALITIES, BUT ALSO ALIGNING THAT WITH THE ROLE, ITS ACTUAL REQUIREMENTS. SO THE WAY WE KNOW ABOUT BOARD IMPACT IS A BIT OF A NEGATIVE APPROACH. IT WAS WELL KNOWN THAT BOARDS COULD CREATE HAVOC. PEOPLE THOUGHT THAT TOO FAR UP FROM THE ACTION FROM IN THE HIERARCHY TO REALLY HAVE AN IMPACT ON STUDENT PERFORMANCE. THIS GUY, TOM ALSBURY, HE'S BEEN TO TEXAS A COUPLE OF TIMES. WE'VE WORKED WITH HIM, COLLABORATED WITH HIM. HE NOTED IN HIS RESEARCH THAT BOARDS HAVE ENOUGH INFLUENCE TO NEGATIVELY IMPACT STUDENT PERFORMANCE. AND IT GOES BASICALLY, AS YOU SEE HERE, WHEN BOARD MEMBER TURNOVER IS DUE TO JUST POLITICALLY MOTIVATED CAMPAIGNS THEY RUN JUST TO GET RID OF A BOARD MEMBER OR AN EMPLOYEE AS OPPOSED TO FURTHERING THE DISTRICT'S VISION OR MISSION. IT COULD OFTEN LEAD TO THE SUPERINTENDENT TURNOVER. IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT SUPERINTENDENT TURNOVER, IT'S OFTEN THE CASE THAT THEY BRING IN A WHOLE NEW APPROACH. IF SYSTEMS AREN'T WELL ESTABLISHED AND THERE'S NOTHING TO REALLY DIG THEIR TEETH INTO, IT MAKES SENSE TO CREATE AND ESTABLISH THOSE. OR SOMETHING WAS IN DISREPAIR AND THEIR FRESH EYES SEE IT AND NOTICE IT. THEY'RE GOING TO MAKE SOME CHANGES THAT CAN LEAD TO POLICY CHANGES, PERSONNEL CHANGES. THE END RESULT IS STUDENT DECLINE, STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT, DECLINE. NOW THIS MEANT ONE THING ON PAPER, BUT I REMEMBER A DISTRICT THAT WE TALKED ABOUT VERY BRIEFLY IN THIS SCENARIO THAT DEMONSTRATED THIS ALMOST PERFECTLY. AND SO IT WAS LIKE THE RESEARCH COMING TO LIFE. IT WAS DISAPPOINTING, BUT AT THE SAME TIME KIND OF ALL INSPIRING JUST TO SEE HOW ACCURATELY THIS COULD BE. HE NOTICED THAT THIS COULD OCCUR IN AS FEW AS THREE YEARS, BETWEEN 2 AND 3 YEARS ON AVERAGE, DEPENDING ON HOW LONG THAT HAD BEEN GOING ON PRIOR TO THE BOARD MEMBER TURNOVER, ETCETERA. SO THANKFULLY, ONE OF HIS STUDENTS SAID, SEEMS KIND OF DISCOURAGING IF BOARD MEMBERS DO INDEED HAVE ENOUGH INFLUENCE TO NEGATIVELY IMPACT STUDENT PERFORMANCE, WHY CAN'T THEY ALSO HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT? HE SAID, GREAT QUESTION. GO RESEARCH IT. THIS IS MARY DELAGARDELE. SHE PASSED AWAY SOME YEARS AGO, BUT HER COWORKER, HARRY HEILIGENTHAL, AGAIN, ANOTHER GUY WHO'S BEEN TO TEXAS AND COLLABORATED WITH US, HE KEPT THE WORK GOING. SHE JUST SIMPLY WANTED TO KNOW WHAT BOARD AND SUPERINTENDENT TEAMS AND LEADERS WERE DOING IN DISTRICTS THAT WERE SUCCEEDING. THEY WERE MEETING THEIR STATE ACCOUNTABILITY GOALS. THEY WERE MEETING THEIR LOCAL GOALS. AND SHE ASKED THE QUESTION, WHAT ARE THEY DOING? HOW DO THEY DIFFER FROM THOSE DISTRICTS WHO AREN'T ACHIEVING? IN A NUTSHELL, SHE FOUND THAT THE EXPECTATIONS REALLY MATTERED. IT DIDN'T MATTER IF YOU WERE ENTHUSIAST OR TASKMASTER OR WHATEVER THE CASE WAS, THE WAY THAT LEADERS SPOKE AND FELT ABOUT THEIR KIDS, THEIR SYSTEMS AND THEIR OWN ABILITY AND THEIR TEAM TEND TO HAVE GREATER VALUE WHEN IT CAME TO PREDICTING STUDENT SUCCESS OR DISTRICT SUCCESS. THEY ALSO FOUND THAT WHEN BOARD MEMBERS UNDERSTOOD WHAT THEY CALL THESE SEVEN CONDITIONS, WHEN THEY UNDERSTOOD HOW THOSE CONDITIONS LOOKED IN THEIR SCHOOLS, IN THEIR COMMUNITIES, THEY WERE LEADING MOVING TEAMS. I'VE GIVING YOU THOSE SEVEN CONDITIONS. WE WON'T GO OVER THEM NOW, BUT IF YOU DO A QUICK SURVEY, WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO NOTICE IMMEDIATELY IS A LITTLE HINT. THEY TEND TO BE THE HIGHER LEVEL VISIONARY THINGS. YOU WON'T FIND ANY INDICATION ABOUT BOARDS KNOWING THE MINUTIAE OF A SCHOOL DISTRICT AND THAT LED TO STUDENT PERFORMANCE OR GREAT GAINS. YOU WON'T FIND ANYTHING ABOUT THAT COMPONENT. IT WAS HOW WELL DO WE UNDERSTAND THE SYSTEMS, THOSE HIGH LEVEL THINGS THAT AGAIN, ONLY BOARDS AND SUPERINTENDENTS CONCERN THEMSELVES WITH BECAUSE THE TEACHER HAS TO WORRY ABOUT [01:20:07] THE CLASSROOM. THEIR SCOPE IS BROAD TO SOME DEGREE, BUT NOT QUITE LIKE YOURS. THEY NEED TO LOOK AT THOSE KIDS RIGHT THERE AND BE PRESENT. SO THEY FOUND THAT THOSE SEVEN CONDITIONS, AGAIN, WHICH ARE COMMON IN A LOT OF SCHOOL REFORM TURNAROUND EFFORTS, THE BOARD MEMBERS UNDERSTOOD THAT, AND THEY DIDN'T DABBLE WITH A LOT OF THE DAY TO DAY THINGS UNNECESSARILY. RIGHT. THOSE SEVEN CONDITIONS CAN BE CATEGORIZED UNDER FIVE CORE PRINCIPLES OR AREAS OF GOVERNANCE. AND WE'RE GOING TO SPEND THE MOST TIME TALKING ABOUT RESPONSIBLE SCHOOL GOVERNANCE. BUT I WANT YOU TO SEE JUST BRIEFLY AGAIN THE NATURE OF THESE BASIC ROLES OF GOVERNANCE. ARE YOU GETTING THE PICTURE, THE HIGH LEVEL, THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT? YOUR TEACHER MIGHT ENGAGE WITH THE COMMUNITY AT A SPECIAL EVENT TWO NIGHTS A WEEK, RIGHT? THAT'S NOT THEIR JOB DURING THE SCHOOL HOURS TO RUN OUT AND GO ENGAGE. THEY ARE IN THE CLASSROOM, SOMEONE HAS TO DO THAT ROLE. THAT'S A BOARD MEMBER. ACCOUNTABILITY. WHO IS THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE DISTRICT, OBVIOUSLY. RIGHT. AND SO, AGAIN, WHEN YOU INVEST IN UNDERSTANDING THAT ROLE AND YOU ARE PUTTING YOUR ENERGY IN THAT ROLE, YOU'RE WELL WITHIN YOUR WHEELHOUSE AND YOU'RE LEADING A DISTRICT LIKELY THAT IS MOVING. NOW, I APOLOGIZE. IT'S GOING TO SOUND ELEMENTARY, BUT THE LAW SAYS IF YOU WANT TEAM BUILDING CREDIT, YOU HAVE GOT TO DISCUSS THIS KIND OF STUFF. SO LET ME GIVE IT TO YOU IN A VERY QUICK AND STRAIGHTFORWARD WAY. IF YOU'RE A VETERAN, YOU'VE SEEN IT A HUNDRED TIMES. IF YOU'RE NEW, YOU PROBABLY ALREADY KNOW IT. BUT GUESS WHAT? YOU'RE GOING TO GET A QUICK REVIEW. SO THE WAY WE TEACH NEW TASB EMPLOYEES WHEN THEY COME AND THEY HAVE AN ORIENTATION, THE WORK OF THE BOARD, WE MAKE IT SIMPLE, WE OVERSIMPLIFY IT. THE BOARD TYPICALLY DECIDES THE WHAT? WHAT IS IT THAT WE WANT? THEY'RE TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE NEEDS OF THE DISTRICT. THE COMMUNITY CONCERNS SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS, THEIR OWN EXPERIENCES, THE DATA FROM THE DISTRICT, A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS. THEY DECIDE WHAT THEY WANT. THEY COLLABORATE WITH THEIR SUPERINTENDENT. THEY ADOPT A GOAL. AS THE LAW SAYS, YOU ADOPT GOALS. NO ONE ELSE IN THE DISTRICT DOES THAT. THAT IS YOUR ROLE. YOU ADOPT POLICY, YOU HIRE, EVALUATE A SUPERINTENDENT, ETCETERA. YOU ADOPT THE BUDGET AND TAX RATE RECOMMENDED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT TO ACCOMPLISH WHAT YOU NEED AND YOU ARE ENGAGING WITH THE COMMUNITY. RIGHT? OBVIOUSLY, THE DAY TO DAY MONITORING THE ADJUSTMENTS, THE MID-COURSE CORRECTIONS BELONG TO THE SUPERINTENDENT AND HIS OR HER TEAM. THAT'S THAT MANAGEMENT PART. OVERSIGHT VERSUS MANAGEMENT. SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE IS A DELICATE DANCE WHERE THERE IS OVERSIGHT AND IT HAS TO DO WITH EVALUATING THE GOALS OF POLICIES. ARE THEY EFFECTIVE? IT'S NOT WORTHWHILE JUST TO SAY WE HAVE GOALS. WE ADOPTED GOALS. SUPERINTENDENT HAD INPUT. WERE THEY THE RIGHT GOALS? WERE THE NUMBERS HIGH ENOUGH? DID THEY ACCOMPLISH WHAT WE NEED? HOW EFFECTIVE WERE THEY? THAT'S THE EVALUATION COMPONENT. AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THAT THERE ARE PLANS AS WELL TO BE EVALUATED IN THE SUPERINTENDENT. ALL THIS LEADS TO AND CAN BE IF YOU IF THERE WERE A BOW, IT KIND OF WRAP IT UP AND YOU WANTED TO BEGIN YOUR JOURNEY AS A BOARD MEMBER. SAY IF I GO INTO A SITUATION, WANT TO UNDERSTAND MY ROLE, WHAT ARE SOME BASIC GUIDING PRINCIPLES? I'M GOING TO PROPOSE THIS AN EDUCATION CODE BOARDS ARE TO PROVIDE OVERSIGHT. THE FIRST KEY WORD, AND THIS IS A BIG ONE, STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP. IF YOU NEVER READ THE ENTIRE EDUCATION CODE. AND IT'S SO CHOCK FULL OF SO MANY DETAILS, IT'S HELPFUL, TRUST ME. IF THERE'S ONE THING YOU CAN DO AS A FILTER, JUST TO KIND OF STOP AND SAY, AM I GETTING INTO THE RIGHT TERRITORY? IS AM I PRACTICING STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP? WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS IF I'M GETTING TOO FAR DOWN? IS THAT THE ROLE OF A BOARD, RIGHT? OR AM I GETTING INTO THE WORK OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OR SOME OTHER DISTRICT EMPLOYEE? BUT KEEP THAT IN MIND. THE LAST THING I'LL SAY, BECAUSE I FIND IT QUITE INTERESTING, IS AN ATTORNEY ASKED ME, ORIN, BASED ON WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT THE BOARD RESEARCH AND WHAT YOU'VE READ IN THE EDUCATION CODE, HOW MUCH OF THE EDUCATION CODE ALIGNS WITH GOVERNANCE RESEARCH? AND IT'S PRETTY MUCH ALL OF IT. I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THE SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS FOR TRAINING TOPICS THAT AREN'T EVEN MENTIONED IN BOARD RESEARCH, BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES AND WHERE THE EDUCATION CODE DRAWS THE LINE AND AFFIRMS WHAT BOARDS DO VERSUS WHAT SUPERINTENDENTS DO, IT LINES UP SO WELL WITH RESEARCH. SO IF YOU READ THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE EDUCATION CODE AND YOU COMMIT TO THOSE AS A BOARD MEMBER OR SUPERINTENDENT, YOU'RE ACTUALLY PRACTICING SOME EVIDENCE BASED GOVERNANCE APPROACHES, RIGHT? SO JUST TO KIND OF BRING YOU UP TO SPEED, WE LOOKED AT WHO WE ARE INDIVIDUALLY BECAUSE IT MATTERS AS A TEAM. WE RECOGNIZE THAT ON THAT TEAM YOU HAVE TO HAVE AN AWARENESS OF WHO YOU ARE. YOU'RE GOING TO SEE AND HEAR AND FEEL THINGS DIFFERENTLY. YOU HAVE TO MATCH THAT UP AND TEMPER THAT WITH WHAT THE CODE SAYS YOU'RE REQUIRED OR ROLE IS. RIGHT. I CAN BECOME A BOARD MEMBER AND SAY, OH, I LOVE KIDS AND I'M GOING TO ADVOCATE AND BE A KID ADVOCATE. THAT'S PART OF IT. BUT THERE'S SO MUCH MORE. AND SO THIS NEXT PART IS US APPLYING IT. [01:25:03] I WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT WHO YOU ARE. IN THAT CRAZY CRASH COURSE VERSION OF ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, IT'LL COME MORE ALIVE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT IT IN THESE SCENARIOS. I WANT YOU TO BEGIN TO THINK ABOUT WHAT SPEAKS TO YOU, WHAT CATCHES YOUR ATTENTION? WHAT NATURAL INCLINATIONS DO YOU HAVE WHEN IT COMES TO DISTRICT WORK? WHAT KIND OF QUESTIONS OR THINGS ARE YOU CURIOUS ABOUT? WHAT IS YOUR APPETITE FOR KNOWLEDGE? HOW ARE YOU GOING ABOUT GETTING IT? AND THE ONE DISCLAIMER I HAVE TO GIVE WHEN I APPROACH A TEAM BUILDING SESSION THIS WAY IS TO TELL THE TEAMS IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU. THE QUESTION PEOPLE ASK, HEY, WERE THESE SCENARIOS, YOU KNOW, CURATED WITH US IN MIND BASED ON SOME ISSUE YOU READ IN THE NEWS? NO, IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU. I WANT TO GIVE THAT DISCLAIMER UP FRONT. I'VE ONLY BEEN AT TASB EIGHT YEARS, BUT I'VE COLLECTED SCENARIOS THAT LINED UP WITH SOME PRETTY NEAT RESEARCH AND THEY TELL AN AMAZING STORY. SO THAT'S WHY I WANT TO SHARE THESE AND WHY I CHOSE THOSE. SO IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU. IT'S ABOUT 5.5 MILLION STUDENTS. NEARLY COLLECTIVELY, WE'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR WELL-BEING. SO AS I TRAVERSE THE STATE WITH ESPERANZA AND YOU ALL GO TO CONFERENCE AND YOU SPEAK, IT'S ABOUT THOSE KIDS. WE HAVE TO PRACTICE GOOD GOVERNANCE ON THE WHOLE SO THAT OUR KIDS BENEFIT. THE EXPECTATIONS THAT YOU WILL DISCUSS AND ANALYZE RESPECTFULLY. THESE ARE REAL SCENARIOS. MOST OF THEM, I'LL TELL YOU, IF THEY ARE NOT BASED ON REALITY AND IN SOME CASES A REAL DISTRICT, OF COURSE, IDENTITY MASKS. SO THINK ABOUT THAT RESPECTFULLY. IT COULD BE ANYONE, RIGHT? IT COULD BE US TOMORROW IF IT WEREN'T FOR THE GOOD GRACES. AND THEN FINALLY, IT'S NOT AN EVALUATION OF SCHOOL OFFICERS OR PERSONNEL. WE'RE NOT HERE TO EVALUATE THEM. WE'RE JUST HERE TO SHINE A SPOTLIGHT ON GOOD GOVERNANCE AND TO HELP YOU DO A GOVERNANCE FILTER CHECKUP. AS A BOARD MEMBER, YOU'RE GOING TO ENCOUNTER SO MANY THINGS IN THE BOARDROOM, IN THE COMMUNITY. IT'S JUST PRACTICE EVERY YEAR TO SAY, WHEN DOES MY GOVERNANCE SENSES START TINGLING? HOW DO I TRANSLATE MY CONCERN OR ISSUE OR MY REQUEST FOR SOMETHING INTO A GOVERNANCE RELATED MATTER SO THAT I'M NOT DOING THE WORK OF THE SUPERINTENDENT? WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, LET'S GET INTO THE FIRST SCENARIO. ARE YOU READY? NOW, THIS CAME FROM A PHONE CALL IN MY SECOND YEAR. SUPERINTENDENT CALLS ME AND SAYS, HEY, I JUST STARTED THE JOB. AND I WAS TOLD BY THE BOARD PRESIDENT THAT, HEY, HISTORICALLY WE SIT IN AND WE INTERVIEW THE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR. WHAT SHOULD I DO? SO READ FOR A SECOND AND I HAVE A FEW KEY QUESTIONS. ONE, WHAT IS YOUR GUT FEELING IF YOU HAVE YOUR GOVERNANCE HAT ON, WHAT IS YOUR GUT FEELING ABOUT THIS SCENARIO, THIS ISSUE? WHERE ARE THE GOVERNANCE CHALLENGES? WHERE ARE THE DOWNRIGHT NO, NO, DON'T DO THAT. AND TO KIND OF MAKE IT MORE SCIENTIFIC, WHAT POLICIES MIGHT ADDRESS THIS? I BELIEVE THIS WOULD FALL UNDER THE BOARD PRESIDENT'S PURVIEW TO LET THAT BOARD MEMBER KNOW THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF A BOARD MEMBER AND TO REFER HIM TO THAT LOCAL POLICY. ONE OF THE B'S. I DON'T RECALL EXACTLY WHICH ONE, BUT THE PRESIDENT WOULD SEND THAT BOARD MEMBER AN EMAIL LETTING THEM KNOW ABOUT THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF BOARD MEMBERS, AND THAT DOESN'T FALL UNDER THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES. SO. GOOD. SO THE BIG TAKEAWAY IS THAT IT DOESN'T FALL UNDER THE ROLE OF A BOARD MEMBER, AND THAT BOARD MEMBER MIGHT REFER TO THE POLICIES, THE OPERATING PROCEDURES AND THE OTHER LOCAL AND LEGAL POLICIES AS WELL. SURE. AND I'M GLAD THAT YOU GOT SPECIFIC. YOU REFERRED TO THE B SERIES POLICIES. GOOD. OKAY. WHAT ELSE? WELL, I THINK YOU WOULD REMIND THE BOARD THAT YOU HAVE ONE EMPLOYEE. OKAY. NOT. AND SO FOR THE EVALUATION PROCESS, YOU KNOW, YOU GOT TO TAKE A STEP BACK AND CARE ABOUT YOUR ONE EMPLOYEE THAT YOU OVERSEE, NOT GETTING INTO THE WEEDS HERE. SO YOU HAVE ONE EMPLOYEE. RIGHT. GOOD. [INAUDIBLE] THE BOARD PRESIDENT THAT'S TELLING THE NEW SUPERINTENDENT THAT WE USUALLY SIT DOWN ON THESE INTERVIEWS? BUT FOOTBALL IS IMPORTANT. I MEAN, THIS TOWN, IT'S HUGE TO THEM. AND THIS IS WHAT THE SUPERINTENDENT TOLD ME. HE SAID, IT'S HUGE DOWN HERE. AND I KNEW THAT WHEN I GOT HIRED. BUT YOU'RE RIGHT, THE B SERIES POLICIES TALK ABOUT AGAIN, THE ROLE OF THE BOARD. [01:30:02] THEY HAVE ONE EMPLOYEE AND ALSO THE D SERIES POLICIES. AND AGAIN, I DON'T EXPECT YOU TO MEMORIZE ALL THIS, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT IF YOU'RE GOING TO JUST CONTINUE TO HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE FOR WHY WE DO THIS. IT'S NOT JUST CONTROLS AND CHECKS. IT'S NOT JUST TO REDUCE SOMEONE'S INTEREST OR PASSION OR POWER. IT TRULY IS A MATTER OF FUNCTION. IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THE BOARD TO REMIND THEMSELVES OF THAT CONTINUOUSLY, BUT ALSO FOR THE SAKE OF THE COMMUNITY. RIGHT. THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ON THE BOARD TODAY AREN'T GOING TO BE THE ONES WHO ARE ON THERE 20 OR 30 OR 40 YEARS FROM NOW. IT'S A CONTINUOUSLY EVOLVING LEARNING GAME, AND THE BETTER OUR COMMUNITY UNDERSTANDS THE ROLE OF THE BOARD, THE BETTER OUR TEAM IS GOING TO BE. SO I'LL REFER TO A FEW JUST AGAIN TO FURTHER THE CONVERSATION AND TO MAKE SURE WE ARE TALKING ABOUT ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES. IF YOU LOOK AT YOUR DC LEGAL. DC LEGAL, IT'LL TALK ABOUT KIND OF WHAT WAS ALREADY AFFIRMED. THE BOARD EMPLOYS AND EVALUATES THE SUPERINTENDENT, RIGHT? YOU HAVE ONE EMPLOYEE. MOST PEOPLE REALIZE THAT AND THE SUPERINTENDENT HAS A SOLE AUTHORITY TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE BOARD REGARDING SELECTION OF PERSONNEL, ETCETERA. SO AGAIN, IT'S IMPORTANT. BUT YOU, SIR. ORIN I'M JUST GOING TO SAY, I THINK IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT IN THIS SITUATION FOR THE SUPERINTENDENT, ESPECIALLY BEING NEW TO KIND OF DRAW A LINE IN THE SAND A LITTLE BIT AND STAND UP FOR HIM OR HERSELF AS WELL, AND NOT JUST MAYBE DEFER TO THE BOARD, MAYBE THE COLLECTIVELY, LIKE BYRON SAID, JUST PAINTING THIS SCENARIO. ALL SEVEN OF THEM HAVE JUMPED ON BOARD WITH THIS IDEA OF INTERVIEWING THE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR, THE SUPERINTENDENT BEING NEW. IT'S SOMETHING THAT ERIC'S ACTUALLY GOOD AT IS, YOU KNOW, BEING DIPLOMATIC BUT FIRM AND SAYING, NO, THIS IS MY ROLE. I'M NEW. I NEED AN OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD MY TEAM AND IF THERE'S AN ISSUE WITH IT, WE'LL DEAL WITH IT AT EVALUATION. I'M JUST SAYING, IF THIS STARTS IMMEDIATELY BEING PUSHED OVER, SO TO SPEAK, IT'S JUST GOING TO SNOWBALL, RIGHT? SO IT'S NOT ONLY UP TO OTHER BOARD MEMBERS MAYBE TO CORRECT A ROGUE BOARD MEMBER, BUT I MEAN, SUPERINTENDENTS HAVE SEVEN BOSSES AND IT'S HARD TO NAVIGATE THAT SOMETIMES, BUT THEY ALSO HAVE TO STAND UP FOR THEMSELVES AND THEIR TEAM. AND THAT'S EXACTLY THE STATEMENT I MADE TOO, MORE OR LESS. I SAID, WHAT PRECEDENT DO YOU WANT TO SET? IF IT'S THIS TODAY, WHAT WILL THE YEAR LOOK LIKE? AND HE SAYS, OKAY, I THINK I KNOW HOW I WANT TO ADDRESS IT. SO EVEN IF THE. I WASN'T GOING TO SAY ANYTHING, BUT SINCE YOU CALLED ME, YOU KNOW. SURE I WILL. I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO SPEAK UP. GOTCHA. FIRST OF ALL, IT WAS THE FINE ARTS DIRECTOR. NO, I'M JUST KIDDING. [LAUGHTER] DR. WRIGHT. NO, I'M JUST KIDDING. I'M TOTALLY KIDDING. HE'S ON TO ME. YOU KNOW, I MEAN, DR. WRIGHT, YOU KNOW, YOU WERE HIRED BY THE BOARD. YOU KNOW, YOU'RE EVALUATED BY THE BOARD. YOU GET TO CHOOSE YOUR TEAM AND YOU'RE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE TEAM THAT YOU CHOOSE. THAT'S THE ROLE IT IS, RIGHT? THAT'S HOW I WOULD HANDLE IT. YEAH. IT'S FUNNY, I WAS TALKING TO BYRON JUST OFFLINE IN SMALLER DISTRICTS, THEY'LL TRY TO PUSH THAT AGENDA. WHAT YOU HAVE TO TELL BOARDS AND THOSE PARTICULAR DISTRICTS IS THAT IF YOU DO THAT FOR THE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR, THEN BASICALLY YOU'RE DEMONSTRATING THAT YOU CARE MORE ABOUT THAT THAN ANYTHING ELSE. IF YOU'RE NOT PLANNING ON DOING IT FOR EVERY SINGLE POSITION THERE. SO THEN YOU APPROACH WITH THE POLICY AND YOU SAY, HEY, I'M YOUR EMPLOYEE, I'M GOING TO MAKE THE RECOMMENDATION TO YOU. LET'S LET THAT WORK. AND AND THEN THEY'LL TYPICALLY DEFER, BUT THEY'LL STILL TELL YOU ABOUT THE TEN PEOPLE THAT THEY WOULD LIKE FOR YOU TO RECRUIT ACROSS THE STATE OF TEXAS. [LAUGHTER] AND SO I'M GLAD YOU MENTIONED THAT POINT BECAUSE EVEN WITHOUT THE POLICY, WHAT MESSAGE DOES IT CONVEY, WHETHER IT'S ATHLETIC DIRECTOR OR A TEACHER OR ANY OTHER POSITION, WHAT DOES IT CONVEY? AND THE BIG QUESTION WE HAVE TO KEEP COMING BACK TO IF YOUR ROLE IS TO PLAY THE STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP ANGLE, IS THIS THERE? I MEAN, AGAIN, WHAT ARE YOU HAVING TO IGNORE IF YOU'RE FOCUSED ON THE HIRE OF ONE INDIVIDUAL AND YOU'RE NOT TRUSTING THE JUDGMENT OF YOUR SUPERINTENDENT. YOU HIRE. RIGHT. WHAT ARE YOU HAVING TO GIVE UP WHEN YOU GET TO THAT LEVEL OF DISTRICT OPERATIONS? AGAIN, AS A MATTER OF FUNCTION, SOMEONE IS THERE WHO IS HIGHLY CAPABLE OF PLAYING THAT THAT POSITION. WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SACRIFICE WHEN YOU GO TO THAT LEVEL AS OPPOSED TO REMAINING THAT VISIONARY BODY? SINCE YOU REFERRED TO THE B SERIES POLICIES, BJA AND BAA TALK A LOT ABOUT THE BOARD'S ROLE AND AGAIN, YOU'LL FIND IT CONTINUALLY AFFIRMS THE VISIONARY LEADERSHIP ROLE, THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, THE HIGH LEVEL, REAFFIRMING THAT YOUR ONE EMPLOYEE IS THE SUPERINTENDENT. THIS IS THE ONE I ENCOUNTERED. A LOT HAPPENED ON IN MY EARLY TIME. THIS IS A PRETTY LARGE DISTRICT. YOU CAN TELL BY THE DETAILS IN HERE. SUPERINTENDENT WAS NEW TO THE JOB. I WAS LEADING THEIR TRANSITION WORKSHOP AND AT THAT MEETING WE TALKED ABOUT EXPECTATIONS. WHAT DO YOU NEED FROM YOUR TEAM? AND HE WAS QUIET AND HE SPOKE UP AND SAID, YOU KNOW WHAT? [01:35:02] THERE'S A PRACTICE THAT WE ALL HAVE HERE. YOU ALL FREELY REACH OUT TO MY LEADERSHIP TEAM, MY CABINET. I'D LIKE TO ASK, AND I PLAN TO CONTINUE THAT. AS IT RELATES TO OUR POLICY, I'D LIKE TO ASK THAT YOU JUST GIVE CERTAIN MEMBERS OF MY TEAM A BREAK WHILE I COME ON BOARD. I GET THEM ORIENTED AND I GET US ALL UP TO SPEED ABOUT WHAT OUR FIRST 90-100 FIRST YEAR LOOKS LIKE. 90 DAYS. 100 DAYS LOOK LIKE. WHAT COMES TO MIND WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE GOVERNANCE IMPLICATIONS? WHAT? WHY WOULD IT BE? WHY WOULD IT BE CERTAIN MEMBERS OF HIS LEADERSHIP TEAM AND NOT ALL MEMBERS? SO IT MAY NOT BE THE LEADERSHIP TEAM SPECIFICALLY, BUT CERTAIN PEOPLE WHO WORK WITH HIM. THE BOARD MIGHT HAVE ACCESS TO DIRECTLY AN INTERNAL AUDITOR OR SOMETHING OF THAT NATURE. SO POTENTIALLY HE HAD A FEW KEY ONES THAT HE WANTED TO REALLY HAVE, IN HIS WORDS, ON TASK. YEAH. SURE WHO HAS ALL THAT INFORMATION. STAFF. HOW ELSE ARE YOU GOING TO GET IF YOU CAN'T ASK A STAFF MEMBER? DOES THAT IMPLY THAT THERE SHOULD BE NO BOUNDARIES OR GUIDELINES FOR THE GOOD OF THE DISTRICT? YES. I WAS JUST FOR ME, IF THIS WAS OUR SCENARIO, THAT'S AN EASY ONE TO INITIALLY SAY, FINE, THAT'S A GREAT IDEA. UNTIL SUCH TIME THAT THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT THE SUPERINTENDENT IS THE ROADBLOCK OR THE BARRIER TO ACTUALLY GETTING THAT INFORMATION, OR YOU FEEL LIKE NOT EVERYTHING'S BEING GIVEN TO YOU MAY BE EXACTLY WHAT YOU THINK IT IS OR SHOULD BE. AT THAT POINT, THAT'S WHEN THE BOARD CAN, I THINK, MAYBE PUSH BACK A LITTLE BIT. BUT IF YOU'VE JUST HIRED A NEW SUPERINTENDENT, AT LEAST ME PERSONALLY, I DON'T HAVE AN ISSUE WITH SAYING, SURE, THAT'S GREAT, IT'S YOUR TEAM. TAKE IT AND RUN WITH IT UNTIL SUCH TIME THAT IT'S A PROBLEM. IT'S A PROBLEM. SURE. GOOD. AND I WILL SAY, BECAUSE I'VE RUN INTO IT AT SEVERAL DISTRICTS, IT'S NOT A RIGHT. IT'S NOT A RIGHT. YOU KNOW, IN A LOT OF DISTRICTS, THEY HAVE GIVEN THIS ACCESS TO THEIR LEADERSHIP AND THEN THEY'VE HAD TO SAY, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE BECAUSE OF THE OVERWHELMING AMOUNT OF REQUEST AND TAKING AWAY FROM THOSE EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM, TAKING AWAY FROM THEIR JOB WHEN THEY'RE HAVING TO FIELD SEVEN BOARD MEMBERS QUESTIONS. RIGHT. AND THEY'RE NOT AND THEY'RE ALL ASKING DIFFERENT THINGS. SO THERE'S A LAUNDRY LIST OF QUESTIONS THAT ARE COMING OUT. SO THAT'S JUST SOMETHING TO REMEMBER, YOU KNOW? I KNOW, I JUST WORKED WITH A BOARD THAT WAS ABSOLUTELY THERE WILL BE YOU GO THROUGH THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THAT'S IT. AND SO IT'S NOT A RIGHT. SO A VERY IMPORTANT IDEA THAT A TEAM THAT IS DEDICATED TO SUCCESS NEEDS TO REMEMBER, AND THAT IS WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PEOPLE WHO WE ARE EXPECTING TO ACCOMPLISH THIS WORK IF WE ARE MAKING DEMANDS ON CERTAIN PERSONNEL? AND WE'RE ALSO EXPECTING THEM TO BE THE ONES TO DO THE HEAVY LIFTING, TO ACCOMPLISH THE VISION, THE MISSION, THE GOALS. IS THERE A BIT OF A CONFLICT? SO IT'S NOT A RIGHT. WE HAVE THAT ACCESS, BUT LET'S MAKE SURE THAT WE BALANCE OUT OUR NEED FOR INFORMATION TO DO THE JOB WITH THE FACT THAT THEY HAVE TO DO THE JOB RIGHT. SO JUST UNDERSTANDING THE POTENTIAL BURDEN THAT IT COULD CREATE AND BEING MINDFUL OF IT, BUT ALSO NOT RELINQUISHING YOUR NEED FOR INFORMATION. HEALTHY BALANCE AWARENESS, RIGHT. WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU SAY? YOU KNOW, I WOULD JUST SAY THAT FOR US, I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW WE HAVE EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP THAT THEY HAVE SO MANY THINGS THAT THEY DO THROUGHOUT THE DAY. BUT WE ALSO HAVE A GROUP THAT ALWAYS HAS A LOT OF QUESTIONS. WE ARE VERY INVOLVED. WE ASK THINGS, WE HEAR THINGS, AND I THINK THAT WE DO A GOOD JOB OF SOMETIMES JUST GOING STRAIGHT TO DR. WRIGHT AND SENDING EMAILS OR, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE COULD HAVE EASILY JUST PICKED UP A PHONE AND CALLED ONE OF THE CHIEFS AND SAID, I NEED THIS. AND THEN IT GETS FUNNELED THROUGH HIM. AND I THINK THAT THAT IS I THINK THAT A MAJORITY, IF NOT ALL OF US, DO A REALLY GOOD JOB OF THAT, OF MAKING SURE THAT WE DON'T OVERLOAD THAT EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM. SO, I MEAN, I THINK THAT BECAUSE WE HAVE DR. WRIGHT AND BECAUSE HE IS SUCH A GREAT LEADER THAT YOU COULD LOOK AT THIS AND GO, YES, ABSOLUTELY, WE COULD TRUST THAT YOU COULD HANDLE THIS RIGHT NOW UNTIL THERE'S A PROBLEM, LIKE WILL SAID, AND IT'S NOT. [01:40:01] BUT WE HAVE SUCH A GREAT SUPERINTENDENT AND WE TRUST HIS LEADERSHIP. SURE. ORIN ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU KNOW AT WORK, I'M A PROBLEM SOLVER, RIGHT? A LOT OF PEOPLE COME TO ME FOR DIFFERENT THINGS. AND SO BEING ON THE BOARD, I HAVE TO TAKE A STEP BACK AND SAY, OKAY, YOU KNOW, AT WORK, I'M THE MANAGER. I'M THE ONE THAT YOU KNOW HOW THINGS GET DONE. SO GOING BACK TO THOSE THAT THE SQUARE DIAGRAM, IT WASN'T A VENN DIAGRAM, BUT I MEAN, YOU KNOW, IS THIS A GOVERNANCE QUESTION? AM I ASKING THIS BECAUSE I'M GOING TO BE VOTING ON SOMETHING BECAUSE THERE'S AN AGENDA ITEM? OR IS THIS JUST SOMETHING THAT I'M YOU KNOW, I'M TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE TRACKING ALONG, YOU KNOW, MEETING OUR GOALS OR IS THIS ME TRYING TO MANAGE. AND, YOU KNOW, THERE IS THAT THAT SMALL SECTION OF OVERLAPS. I FOR ME, I GUESS I WOULD HAVE TO STEP BACK AND JUST, YOU KNOW, CHALLENGE MYSELF TO SAY, AM I YOU KNOW, WHY DO I NEED THIS? AND IF I DO NEED IT, THEN HOW SOON DO I NEED IT? OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT TRYING TO TAKE AWAY FROM FROM WHAT THE STAFF ARE SAYING, AS MANY OF YOU ALL HAVE ALREADY SAID. SO. SURE. THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. THE MOTIVATION BEHIND THE INFORMATION, WHAT IS IT ABOUT OUR ROLE THAT REQUIRES THIS INFORMATION AND HOW DO I NEED THIS IN ORDER TO MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION IF WE'RE GOING TO BE DELIBERATING, HOW DOES THIS HELP ME PRACTICE OVERSIGHT? AGAIN, THE OVERARCHING THEME THAT WE BEGAN WITH IS STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP, RIGHT? IF MY ROLE AND MY GOAL IS TO PROVIDE STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP, HOW DOES WHAT WE DO AS A BOARD AFFIRM THAT? AND THIS IS MOSTLY FOR THOSE AREAS THAT PEOPLE CALL GRAY. SOME PEOPLE DON'T SEE GRAY AREAS, BLACK AND WHITE, RIGHT? BUT FOR THOSE AREAS THAT SOME OF US MIGHT CALL GRAY, THAT'S MY RIGHT. I HAVE ACCESS TO IT. BUT IF I'M ALSO CHARGED WITH VISIONARY LEADERSHIP, WHAT AM I WILLING TO SAY? I'LL WAIT ON THAT OR RIGHT. NOW, LET'S GET TECHNICAL. WHAT POLICIES MIGHT SOMEONE GO TO ON THE BOARD TO GET BETTER INSIGHT ABOUT THE TECHNICAL COMPONENT OF REQUESTING INFORMATION? IT'S WORTH A CONVERSATION BRIEFLY IN A TEAM BUILDING WORKSHOP ABOUT ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES. ORIN LET ME YOU KNOW, WHAT RAUL SAID TRIGGERED SOMETHING IN MY HEAD BECAUSE I KNOW WHEN I WHEN I FIRST GOT ON THE BOARD, YOU KNOW, YOU FINISH YOU COME OFF THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL, YOU ARE ANSWERING ALL THESE QUESTIONS, TRYING TO HELP PEOPLE. AND WHEN YOU GET ON THE BOARD, YOU HAVE TO TAKE A STEP BACK BECAUSE YOU CAN NO LONGER BE. AND EVERYBODY, 99% OF THE PEOPLE THAT GET INTO BEING ON THE BOARD DO IT BECAUSE THEY WANT TO HELP THE DISTRICT GET BETTER. THEY HAVE GOOD INTENTIONS. THEY WANT THINGS TO GET BETTER. HOWEVER, WHEN YOU BECOME A TRUSTEE, YOU NEED TO MAKE THAT DISTINCTION OF HELPING PEOPLE NAVIGATE THE SYSTEM AND EMPOWERING THEM, BECAUSE THAT IS OUR ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY. ACCORDING TO THE FRAMEWORK, IT TALKS ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT WE ENGAGE OUR COMMUNITY AND EMPOWER THEM, NOT SOLVING THE PROBLEMS FOR THEM, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT THEY GO UP THE CHAIN OF COMMAND AND FOLLOWING A PROCESS. YES. AND NOT TAKING EVERY SINGLE THING THAT WE SEE ON SOCIAL MEDIA. THIS HAPPENS TO A LOT OF DISTRICTS. RIGHT. SO, YOU KNOW, TAKING THINGS FROM SOCIAL MEDIA AND SAYING, HEY, YOU NEED TO SOLVE THIS, HEY, THIS NEEDS TO HAPPEN. YOU KNOW, HOW ARE YOU GOING TO ADDRESS THIS? BECAUSE AGAIN, TO WHAT RAUL SAID, WHAT IS IT SOMETHING THAT'S GOING TO IMPACT OUR VOTE AND AN ACTION ITEM ON AN AGENDA WHICH WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR, AND WHAT ARE INDIVIDUAL ISSUES THAT NEED TO BE NAVIGATED THROUGH THE SYSTEM? BECAUSE JUST LIKE US, WE WOULDN'T WANT SOMEBODY TO GO STRAIGHT TO OUR BOSS AND SAY, HEY, DO YOU KNOW THAT THIS ELEMENTARY THIS TEACHER IS NOT DOING THIS? YOU KNOW, WE WOULDN'T WANT PEOPLE TO GO STRAIGHT TO OUR BOSS, AND I GIVE US THE OPPORTUNITY TO FIX THAT. AND I KNOW AS A TEACHER, WHEN I WAS A TEACHER, I WANTED PARENTS. IF ANYBODY HAD A COMPLAINT OR A CONCERN TO COME TO ME, LET'S TALK ABOUT IT, BECAUSE SOMETIMES IT INVOLVED MISCOMMUNICATION. AND WE SEE THAT ON SOCIAL MEDIA A LOT. IT'S A LOT OF MISCOMMUNICATION BUT NO ONE EVER PUBLISHES THE OH WELL I SAID THE SITUATION WRONG OR I THAT'S NOT REALLY WHAT HAPPENED. NOBODY GOES BACK TO DO THAT. SO WE REALLY HAVE TO MAKE THAT DISTINCTION OF WHAT IS SOMETHING WITHIN OUR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES AND WHAT IS OUT OF CURIOSITY, OUT OF, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TRYING TO SOLVE EVERYBODY'S PROBLEM, GOING RUNNING AROUND, TRYING TO SOLVE EVERYBODY'S PROBLEM. IT'S GOOD TO HELP NAVIGATE AND SHOW THEM HOW TO FOLLOW THAT CHAIN COMMAND OR WHO TO TALK TO, BUT NOT SOLVE IT FOR THEM. SO AND IT'S HARD BECAUSE WE ALL HAVE GIVING HEARTS. TRUSTEES ALL OVER THE STATE OF TEXAS HAVE GIVING HEARTS AND LOVE WHAT THEY DO AND WANT TO HELP THEIR NEIGHBOR. BUT WE HAVE TO TAKE A STEP BACK AND REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT OUR ROLE IS. SURE. AND YOU MENTIONED IS IT IN THE SCOPE OF THE WORK THAT WE DO? [01:45:04] IS IT TO ANSWER A QUESTION FROM A COMMUNITY MEMBER WHO MIGHT NEED TO GO TO THE CHAIN OF COMMAND THAT BEGINS TO POINT TO THE TECHNICAL SIDE OF IT? WHEN YOU HAVE TIME, REVIEW OR LEARN FOR THE FIRST TIME POLICIES BBE AND THIS I'LL MENTION BECAUSE IT WAS A FUSION OF BOTH. THERE'S THE NEED OBVIOUSLY FOR BOARD MEMBERS TO HAVE INFORMATION. YOU GET THAT IN YOUR OFFICIAL CAPACITY. YOU HAVE ACCESS TO VERY SENSITIVE INFORMATION, RIGHT? BUT EVEN THE STATUTE RECOGNIZES THAT ANY ASK ON THE STAFF POTENTIALLY LEADS TO TIME OFF TASK FOR THE WORK AT HAND. AS SUCH, THERE ARE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS THAT YOUR DISTRICT HAS TO DO. WHEN BOARD MEMBERS ASK FOR INFORMATION THAT CROSSES A CERTAIN THRESHOLD, IT HAS TO BE REPORTED TO THE COMMUNITY. AGAIN, THE TENOR OF THAT WAS TO MAKE SURE THAT BOARD MEMBERS UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT OF THEIR REQUEST. THEY NEED IT. BUT AGAIN, THERE'S AN IMPACT DEPENDING ON HOW THE DATA ARE REQUESTED. SO THAT IN AND OF ITSELF, IF YOU KIND OF THINK ABOUT THE DOTS THAT HAVE TO BE CONNECTED, WELL, IF IT HAS TO BE REPORTED, THE SUPERINTENDENT HAS TO KNOW ABOUT IT OR THE PROPER PEOPLE HAVE TO KNOW ABOUT IT. OUR BOARD POLICY SHOULD PROBABLY TALK ABOUT SOME MEANS TO KEEP THE SUPERINTENDENT IN THE LOOP. AND AGAIN, IT JUST CONNECTING DOTS. THAT MAY BE OBVIOUS, BUT IT POINTS TO THE IMPORTANCE OF MAKING SURE THAT THERE IS ORDER AND THAT WHILE YOU DO NEED INFORMATION AND YOU DO NEED THINGS FOR YOUR JOB, THAT WILL PLACE DEMANDS ON THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, IT SHOULD BE DONE THOUGHTFULLY AND CAREFULLY. AND THAT'S PROBABLY THE BIGGEST TAKEAWAY. YES, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT CONSIDER THE IMPACT. AND IF YOU NEED THE DEEPER DETAILS, LOOK AT THE TECHNICAL COMPONENTS ABOUT WHAT THOSE APPROACHES ARE AGAIN, BECAUSE WHAT'S THE BIG GOAL? STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP, RIGHT. AND ANY TIME YOU ARE APPROACHING A QUESTION OR A TOPIC, ASK YOURSELF WHAT GOAL DOES IT RELATE TO? BECAUSE I'M THE ONLY ENTITY THAT REALLY IS CHARGED WITH KEEPING THE DISTRICT ON TRACK FOR THOSE GOALS. WHAT DOES IT DO FOR SAFETY? WHAT DOES IT DO FOR THAT BIG PICTURE LONG RANGE PLAN THAT THE EIGHT OF US TALKED ABOUT AND PUT INTO MOTION. AND THEN WHAT DOES IT DO FOR THE PEOPLE WHO WERE COUNTING ON TO MOVE US TO THAT, THE SUPERINTENDENT, HIS OR HER TEAM, AND OF COURSE, THE TEACHERS AND CAMPUS LEVEL LEADERS, ETCETERA. SO KEEP IN MIND, THESE ARE RELATIONAL. THESE ARE JUST WITH THE BOARD. WE'LL TALK IN A SECOND ABOUT SOME OF THOSE ORGANIZATIONAL CHALLENGES. THE LAST ONE IS A VERY POPULAR ONE, AND I WANTED TO BRING IT FORWARD, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE OF SOME THINGS THAT HAVE COME OUT OF THE LEDGE SESSION THIS YEAR. AND I WANTED THE LEGAL FAQ TO SHARE WITH YOU, BUT I WAS TOLD BY AN ATTORNEY IT WON'T BE READY UNTIL TOMORROW. THIS HAS TO DO WITH THE EVER POPULAR TOPIC OF EVERYTHING FROM GROOMING TO STUDENT PRESENTATIONS TO UNIFORMS, DRESS CODE, ETCETERA. YOU SEE IT IN SO MANY WAYS. ANY FORMER CENTRAL OFFICE EMPLOYEES OR FORMER CENTRAL OFFICE EMPLOYEES OR TEACHERS, EDUCATORS? YOU WERE OKAY. YOU EVER DEAL WITH DRESS CODE ISSUES? YEAH, I'VE DEALT WITH THEM IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS, FAITH BASED PROGRAMS AS A CENTRAL OFFICE EMPLOYEE, I REMEMBER THOSE QUITE WELL. SO WE WOULDN'T HAVE A NICE ROUNDED OUT DISCUSSION ABOUT SCENARIOS WITHOUT ADDRESSING THIS ONE. SO BOARD MEMBER GOES TO THE BOARD PRESIDENT OR ANY BOARD MEMBER CAN BRING THIS UP AND WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE DRESS CODE. IT COULD BE SAGGY PANTS. IT DOESN'T MATTER ANYTHING. WE'VE SEEN IT ALL. WE'VE HEARD IT ALL. SPAGHETTI STRAPS. WE'VE SEEN IT ALL. I HAVE AT LEAST JUST ABOUT. WHAT COMES TO MIND. WHAT IN YOUR GOVERNMENT? I MEAN, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG. IS THIS TOO BROAD TO PUT ON THE AGENDA? I MEAN, IT'S NOT SPECIFIC ENOUGH TO REALLY HAVE A, YOU KNOW, A SUBSTANTIVE DEBATE. JUST LET'S JUST BRING UP THE DRESS CODE. AND THAT CAN GO ANYWHERE. SO AM I RIGHT ABOUT THAT? I MEAN, THERE'S A THING ON ITS OWN, SO IT'S WORTH TALKING ABOUT, BUT. SO MY QUESTION WOULD BE SIMILAR. BEGIN THE CONVERSATION. WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE DRESS CODE THAT YOU HAVE CONCERNS OR WANT TO TALK ABOUT? MAYBE NOT A CONCERN. WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE DRESS CODE? GOOD. SO AGAIN, MOTIVE MATTERS. REMEMBER IN THE EARLIER WHEN WE SAID IF SOMEONE SHARES SOME IDEA OR SOME THOUGHT, THE QUESTION WE CAN ASK WITHOUT KNOWING THEIR INVENTORY, WHY? WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO YOU? BECAUSE, AGAIN, THEY'RE GOING TO SEE THINGS DIFFERENTLY. AND IT'S WORTH LISTENING TO. RIGHT. TO UNDERSTAND. AND MAKING SURE. SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN I READ THAT, I THINK ONE OF THE KEY WORDS THAT POPS UP FOR ME IS DISCUSSION, RIGHT? BECAUSE DRESS CODE IS ADMINISTRATIVE BY NATURE. WE DON'T TAKE ACTION ON DRESS CODE. SO IT CAN BE AN AGENDA ITEM FOR DISCUSSION, LIKE FOR INFORMATION. YOU CAN HAVE IT ON THE AGENDA FOR INFORMATION FOR IT TO BE PRESENTED TO THE BOARD, ESPECIALLY IF THERE'S ANY UPDATES OR CHANGES, BECAUSE THE BOARD SHOULD BE INFORMED OF IT AND NOT BE BLINDSIDED BY ANY DRASTIC CHANGES. [01:50:06] AND YOU KNOW, AS TRUSTEES, WE CAN ASK, YOU KNOW, THE WHY, WHO WAS ON THE COMMITTEE. I'M SURE THAT'S ALL GIVEN TO US, BUT WE DON'T VOTE ON THE DRESS CODE. SO DISCUSSION IS ACCURATE, LIKE WE CAN DISCUSS AND BE INFORMED, BUT NOT REALLY DISCUSSION. WELL, WE DON'T LIKE IT. YOU NEED TO CHANGE IT. THAT IS NOT WHAT OUR ROLE IS. SO DISCUSSION WAS DEFINITELY A KEY WORD THERE. IF I HAD CHOSEN A DIFFERENT WORD, WHAT WOULD MAKE IT? HOW WOULD YOU FEEL ABOUT IT? I THINK IF YOU PUT FOR INFORMATION. FOR INFORMATION, YES. AN INFORMATIONAL ITEM, THEN THAT'S TOTALLY APPROPRIATE. BUT FOR DISCUSSION, IT'S A LITTLE LOADED. I'LL FINE TUNE MY SCENARIOS FOR THE NEXT PRESENTATION. [LAUGHTER] SO IT'S AN ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUE. THIS, AGAIN, RELATIONSHIP WISE, IS SOMETHING THAT AGAIN, THE SUPERINTENDENT HAS PUT IN PLACE THE PROPER THINGS TO ADDRESS. IF YOU READ THROUGH VARIOUS PARTS OF THE CODE, YOU'LL SEE THAT THE PRINCIPALS HAVE A CERTAIN ROLE. THEY HAVE A CERTAIN ROLE. TEACHERS HAVE A CERTAIN ROLE. I REMEMBER IN A FAIRLY LARGE DISTRICT AND IT JUST IT HIT HOME. A PRINCIPAL I'M SORRY, AT THE TIME THEY WERE A PRINCIPAL. NOW THEY'RE ON THE LEADERSHIP TEAM AND THE SUPERINTENDENT LEADERSHIP TEAM. AND HE WAS SAYING THAT I RECALL A CONVERSATION, THIS EXCHANGE BETWEEN A TEACHER AND A STUDENT. THEY SPENT ABOUT 10 TO 15 MINUTES ARGUING ABOUT THE KID'S PANTS. AND AS A PRINCIPAL, I WATCHED THAT AND I THOUGHT, THERE'S GOT TO BE A BETTER WAY. WHILE THAT MAY HAVE REALLY IRKED THAT TEACHER AND IT WAS OUT OF CODE, I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT KID SHOULD HAVE BEEN SHOULD HAVE BEGAN HIS DAY THAT WAY, DISTRACTED, RILED UP ON SOMETHING THAT ONE OF US SHOULD HAVE BEEN WILLING TO LET GO. AND HE SAYS, I BEGAN TO THINK THEN ABOUT POLICY FOR DRESS AND HOW I HANDLE THAT ON MY CAMPUS. AND IT WAS NEAT HOW HE WAS TALKING ABOUT THAT EXPERIENCE. NOW, AS AN EXECUTIVE LEADER IN A DISTRICT AND TALKING ABOUT NOW THAT I'M EVEN IN THIS POSITION, WHAT AM I THINKING ABOUT? WHAT'S IMPORTANT? I RECOGNIZE THAT PRINCIPALS WILL CONTINUE TO ADDRESS, YOU KNOW, DRESS CODE VIOLATIONS, THIS ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUE. BUT NOW I'M THINKING LARGER. WHAT DOES THE DRESS CODE MEAN FOR SAFETY? WHAT DOES A DRESS CODE MEAN FOR ANYTHING? RIGHT. WHEN YOU GET TO THOSE BIG LEVEL ISSUES, THE BOARD HAS SOME SKIN IN THE GAME IN TERMS OF DOES IT DISTRACT FROM THE GOAL? IS THIS INHIBITING LEARNING? IT DOESN'T DEAL WITH THIS TOPIC DIRECTLY, BUT YOU WILL SEE A DIFFERENT CODE RELATED TO A DIFFERENT POLICY RELATED TO UNIFORMS BECAUSE THAT THEN AGAIN, IT TRIGGERS A DIFFERENT LEVEL OF CONVERSATION. BUT I WOULD AGREE, IN THIS CASE, IT SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING AND MAYBE I HAVE TO WORD IT DIFFERENTLY. THAT WOULD BE CLEARLY ADMINISTRATIVE AND THAT THE BOARD MIGHT BE AWARE OF AND HOW IT IMPACTS STUDENTS, ESPECIALLY IF AT SOME POINT IT CREATES A FINANCIAL BURDEN FOR THE STUDENTS. BUT AS FAR AS TECHNICAL PURPOSES GO, YOU CAN READ THROUGH OTHER POLICIES, LOOK AT POLICIES. I WANT TO SAY IT'S FC&A JUST FOR YOUR OWN REVIEW TO TALK ABOUT THOSE KIND OF THINGS. IF IT EVER COMES UP, YOU CAN BE PRIVY TO IT. BUT THE PURPOSE WAS TO LOOK AT SOME CHALLENGES THAT DISTRICTS FACE THAT BOARDS FACE AND BEING ABLE TO ONE FILTER IT THROUGH THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE. WHAT DO WE AFFIRM? WHAT'S OUR BIG PICTURE OBJECTIVE HERE TO BE THE VISIONARY STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP BODY? WHAT DOES IT MEAN WE HAVE TO BE MINDFUL OF IN TERMS OF WHERE WE INVEST ENERGY AND QUESTIONS, ETCETERA. AND THEN OF COURSE, THERE'S THE OTHER LAYER. WELL, TECHNICALLY, WHAT CAN I OR CAN'T I SHOULD I NOT DO? AND THAT'S WHERE THE CODE COMES IN BETWEEN THOSE TWO. I MEAN, IT'S NEVER GOING TO BE PERFECT SCIENCE. THERE MIGHT BE SOME GRAY AREA, BUT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE TASKED TO DO AND THEN WHAT THE LAW AND THE POLICIES CLEARLY SAY SHOULD BELONG TO THE SUPERINTENDENT AND WHAT BELONGS TO THE BOARD, YOU GET TO PIECE TOGETHER A PRETTY FAIRLY WORKABLE APPROACH. AND IF WHEN IN DOUBT, ASK YOUR SUPERINTENDENT, ASK A VETERAN BOARD MEMBER, CALL TASB LEGAL. IT'S COMPLETELY FREE. THEY'LL GIVE YOU GOOD INSIGHT IN TERMS OF WHERE THOSE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES LIE. BUT THE FIRST ONE IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE YOUR DISTRICT. TALK ABOUT HOW THEY WORK. AND THEN OF COURSE, THE OTHER LAYER IS THE BOARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. WHAT DO WE SAY WE WOULD DO? HOW DO WE SAY WE WOULD DO IT? HOW WOULD WE REQUEST INFORMATION SO THAT OUR DISTRICT CAN PRACTICE THE DATA REQUEST, REPORTING POLICIES OR NUMBERS? AND THEN OF COURSE, OTHER DOCUMENTS WHICH WE'RE GETTING TO LATER. SOCIAL CONTRACT. THERE'S NO SHORTAGE OF DOCUMENTS THAT HELP A TEAM BE SUCCESSFUL. AND SO AS YOU EXERCISE YOUR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU COMMITTED TO AS A TEAM AND AS APPROPRIATE, ADJUST THOSE GUIDING DOCUMENTS TO [01:55:01] MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE FULL BUY IN AND UNDERSTANDING FOR THAT. ANY THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS ABOUT JUST THOSE RELATIONAL SCENARIOS, THE THREE BEFORE WE GO INTO THE ORGANIZATIONAL ONES? DRY ENOUGH? YEAH. READ THE EDUCATION CODE. IT'S SO MUCH FUN. Y'ALL READ IT ONCE A YEAR. SO THESE NEXT ONES. THEY DEAL WITH NOT JUST THE RELATIONSHIP DYNAMIC, BUT THE BIG PICTURE. WHAT HAPPENS IF THESE COMPONENTS ESCALATE FROM RELATIONAL ISSUES? AND YOU SAW WHAT TOM ALSBURY TALKED ABOUT, THE PROGRESSIVE CHAIN. IN FACT, THIS NEXT SCENARIO DEALS WITH EXACTLY THAT ONE. SO I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU SOME HIGH LEVEL CLIMATE CLUES, SOME HIGH LEVEL DETAILS ABOUT THIS SCENARIO. AND WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO IS PRETEND WE'RE PLAYING LIKE A REALITY SHOW BOARD SWAP. YOU'RE GOING TO PRETEND LIKE YOU JUST INHERITED THIS DISTRICT. THEY PICKED YOU ALL UP. YOU'RE DOING A GREAT JOB AND THEY PUT YOU OVER HERE TO WORK ON SOME THINGS. SO LET ME GIVE YOU THE BACKGROUND, THE TRADITIONAL AND CLASSIC STEREOTYPICAL SPLIT COMMUNITY. AND I'M TALKING ONE OF THE WORST I'VE EVER ENCOUNTERED IN MY TIME WORKING WITH THE BOARDS. BOARD MEMBERS, I WAS TOLD LATER BY THE SUPERINTENDENT ONLY RAN TO GET OTHER BOARD MEMBERS OFF. IT WAS LIKE A LITTLE TUG OF WAR BACK AND FORTH AT THE TIME. I HAD SPOKEN WITH THEM AND DID THEIR TRANSITION WORKSHOP. THEY HAD A NEW SUPERINTENDENT, OBVIOUSLY, AND THEY WERE I THINK THIS WAS THE IT WAS EITHER THE FIFTH, FOURTH 1 IN 5 YEARS OR FIFTH AND SIXTH. EITHER WAY, ONE EVERY YEAR PRIOR TO MY ARRIVAL. SO ANNUAL TURNOVER, PRETTY MUCH NATURALLY, THEY LED TO HIGH STAFF TURNOVER. TEACHERS JUST COULDN'T GET OUT OF THE DISTRICT QUICK ENOUGH. AS FAR AS THE BOARD HIGHLY CONTENTIOUS. THEY TYPICALLY WENT 4 3 ON HOW THEY FELT ABOUT THE SUPERINTENDENT AND OTHER ISSUES. AND ANY TIME THE ELECTIONS CAME AROUND AND THEY GOT FOR ONE POWER MORE THE OTHER WAY, THEY COULD VOTE A SUPERINTENDENT OUT AND GET WHAT THEY WANTED, ETCETERA. VERY LOW COMMITMENT TO ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES. WHEN I SPENT TIME WITH THEM, THERE WAS NO TALK ABOUT WHERE THOSE BOUNDARIES ARE. IT WAS SIMPLY ABOUT WHAT WE WANTED AND WHAT SOMEONE ELSE HAD DONE. THEY WERE KNOWN BY TEA REALLY WELL KNOWN AS THEY WERE BEING MONITORED AND WATCHED. THEY WERE ALSO A LOCAL NEWS FAVORITE AND IT'S A REALITY WE DON'T LIKE TO ACCEPT. SOMETIMES MEDIA LIKES A JUICY STORY, SO THEY WERE REALLY A LOCAL NEWS FAVORITE. IF THERE WAS SOMETHING SLOW THAT WE CHECK OVER ON THEM AND SEE WHAT THEY GOT GOING ON. RIGHT. IT WAS NOT A HEALTHY SITUATION IN THAT REGARD. CHRONIC LOW PERFORMANCE YEAR AFTER YEAR, NOT JUST ACADEMICS, BUT IN OPERATIONS. IF YOU HAD ASKED THEM HOW A PARTICULAR GRADE LEVEL WAS DOING ON THEIR BENCHMARKS, THEY COULDN'T REALLY PUT THEIR HANDS ON ASSESSMENTS. IT WAS REALLY A DIRE SITUATION. 97% OF THE KIDS QUALIFY FOR FREE OR REDUCED LUNCH, AND SO THEY CAME WITH ITS OWN SET OF DISTRACTIONS. AGAIN, ANOTHER UNFORTUNATE REALITY THAT A LOT OF TIMES STUDENTS IN THAT SITUATION BRING A LOT OF OTHER DISTRACTIONS AND CHALLENGES. A LITTLE OVER A THOUSAND STUDENTS AT THAT TIME. BUT DECLINING ENROLLMENT OVER THE NEXT 4 OR 5 YEARS, THEY WOULD LOSE A QUARTER OF THEIR STUDENTS. A QUARTER. THAT'S HUGE. PEOPLE LEAVING WHO HAD THE MEANS TO LEAVE. AND SO NOW WITH ALL THIS GOING ON, DEPENDING ON YOUR PERSONALITY TYPE, CERTAIN THINGS MIGHT SPEAK TO YOU. SOME MIGHT BE LIKE, AH, THAT'S NOT THAT IMPORTANT. WHERE ARE THE DATA? WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE? WHY ARE THEY DISENCHANTED? DEPENDING ON HOW YOU KIND OF YOUR NATURAL STYLE, YOU MAY KEY IN ON CERTAIN THINGS. BUT IF WE TRANSLATE YOUR INTERESTS, YOUR INDIVIDUALITY, INTO THAT GOVERNANCE PERSPECTIVE OR THAT GOVERNANCE FILTER, I'LL ASK YOU THIS QUESTION. YOU KIND OF GIVE ME YOUR THOUGHTS. WHAT GOVERNANCE STANDARDS DO YOU THINK ARE LARGELY BEING IGNORED HERE IN THIS SCENARIO? I KNOW IT'S BROAD, LIMITED DATA, BUT SOMETIMES YOU START BIG AND YOU JUST DIG DOWN WHEN YOU'RE A BOARD MEMBER, WHAT GOVERNANCE STANDARDS ARE BEING IGNORED BASED ON WHAT YOU KNOW ALREADY, BASED ON WHAT YOU'VE HEARD? ORIN I WOULD SAY, I MEAN, THEY'RE NOT FOCUSED ON STUDENT OUTCOMES. OKAY. I MEAN, YOU SAID IF IT'S CONTENTIOUS, IT WAS ALL POLITICIZED, YOU KNOW. YEAH. NO ONE RAN TO FURTHER THE MISSION. THEY RAN TO GET RID OF SOMEONE. NO TALK ABOUT STUDENT OUTCOMES. IN FACT, THEY COULDN'T EVEN PUT THEIR HANDS ON A DECENT ASSESSMENT. SURE. WHAT ELSE? RECALL THE LIGHTHOUSE RESEARCH. HIGH EXPECTATIONS. DO YOU THINK THEY'RE HERE? PROBABLY NOT. I HAPPEN TO KNOW ONE OF THE REASONS THEY LET THE SUPERINTENDENT GO, BUT WE DON'T KNOW ALL THE REASONS FOR THE OTHER ONES. BUT WHAT WOULD YOU GUESS? AND THIS IS PURELY HYPOTHETICAL, WHAT WOULD YOU GUESS MIGHT BE SOME REASONS? CATEGORICALLY. THEY PROBABLY JUST DIDN'T LIKE WHAT HE DID. [02:00:02] WAS IT WITHIN HIS RIGHT OR HER RIGHT TO DO? PROBABLY. I'M SURE THE CODE WAS IN THEIR FAVOR. THEY JUST DIDN'T LIKE IT AND THE COMMUNITY DIDN'T LIKE IT. RIGHT? IT'S A HUGE STEPPING OVER THE BOUNDARIES, OBVIOUSLY. SO WHAT GOVERNANCE LEVEL QUESTIONS WOULD YOU ASK? IT'S TOUGH. A LOT OF STUFF GOING ON. WHAT GOVERNANCE LEVEL QUESTIONS WOULD YOU ASK? ASK OURSELVES OR ASK? THE SUPERINTENDENT YOURSELVES EACH OTHER? SURE. I MEAN. OR WHAT WOULD YOU WANT TO KNOW FROM THE GOVERNANCE PERSPECTIVE? WHAT MATTERS TO US AS FAR AS STUDENT OUTCOMES. LIKE TO ME, THAT'S WHERE THAT'S WHERE YOU HAVE TO START IS WHAT WHAT REALLY MATTERS TO BEGIN. YOU ASKED WHAT OUR PRODUCTIVE FIRST STEP FOR THE TEAM IS, TO SET SOME HIGH LEVEL GOALS, SOME EXPECTATIONS AND MAYBE JUST LEVEL SET THE WHOLE THING ALL OVER AGAIN. YEAH. AND JUST LIKE I ASKED YOU, LIKE WHO ARE YOU, WHAT IS YOUR WORKING STYLE? BECAUSE IT MATTERS, RIGHT? WHAT YOU WANT, WHAT MATTERS TO YOU, IT'S GOING TO IMPACT THAT. SO WHAT MATTERS TO US AS A BOARD? WHY DO YOU WANT THIS THING? WHAT ARE YOU GETTING AT? I'M GUESSING YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE JUST DISRUPTION. BUT WHY THIS THING? I THINK GOING A STEP FURTHER. I'M SORRY, JOHNNY. GO AHEAD. GO AHEAD. I WAS JUST GOING TO SAY WHAT SYSTEMS ARE IN PLACE AND OBVIOUSLY WHICH ONES ARE INEFFECTIVE AND NOT WORKING AND WHAT ARE THE FEW THINGS THAT ARE AND WHAT'S THE CULTURE LIKE ON THE GROUND IN THE SCHOOLS? I LIKE THAT YOU ASKED WHAT'S WORKING BECAUSE WE BEGAN TO SHIFT THE CONVERSATION TO WHAT'S GOOD AND POSITIVE. RECALL THAT THE WAY LEADERS SPOKE ABOUT THEIR SYSTEMS MADE IT A BIG, BIG DIFFERENCE. THAT WAS THE IMPETUS FOR EVERYTHING ELSE. AND THEN YOU ASK ABOUT WHAT'S WORKING. THAT'S THAT MIDDLE PORTION, REMEMBERING THAT WHAT AND HOW EVALUATING. SO KEYING IN ON OUR SYSTEMS, WHAT'S WORKING, WHAT'S NOT, AS OPPOSED TO THE DAY TO DAY MINUTIA OF GETTING MAD AT SUPERINTENDENT FOR SOMETHING THAT HE OR SHE DID THAT THEY DIDN'T LIKE. GOOD. WHAT ELSE? I THINK GOING A STEP FURTHER, YOU REALLY CANNOT GO ANYWHERE IF YOU DON'T TRUST EACH OTHER. AND IF THERE IS A 4 3 SPLIT WITH ALL THAT TURNOVER, THEN THERE'S NOT TRUST. SO BEFORE I THINK YOU SET GOALS, RIGHT, THESE HIGH LEVEL GOALS, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO TRUST EACH OTHER IN SETTING THOSE GOALS, RIGHT? SO I THINK FIRST YOU HAVE TO LEVEL SET WITH TRUST AND BUILD THAT FOUNDATION OF TRUST. AND I THINK ONE OF THE WAYS THAT WE'VE DONE IT IS THROUGH OUR SOCIAL CONTRACT BECAUSE WE WERE SOMEWHAT THAT DISTRICT AND SO WE NEEDED TO LEVEL, SET AND START TRUSTING THAT WE DID HAVE NOBLE INTENT, THAT WE DID HAVE POSITIVE INTENTIONS. AND ONCE YOU HAVE THAT FOUNDATION OF TRUST, THEN YOU CAN BUILD UP. YEAH. AND SO I THINK SOME OF US HAVE EXPERIENCED THAT. SO IN THE ARTICLE I TALKED ABOUT THE SOCIOLOGY OF BOARDS. IT TALKS ABOUT SPECIFICALLY THE ABILITY OF THOSE KIND OF DOCUMENTS TO CREATE TRUST AS PART OF THAT CLOSURE, EVERYONE HAVING A PARTICIPATORY ROLE. SO THEY HAVE THE BUY IN. ONE OF THE FIRST STEPS. SO WHILE IT'S HARD TO MEASURE TRUST, SOMETIMES THE RESEARCH SHOWS THAT THOSE DOCUMENTS DO PLAY A ROLE IN BUILDING TRUST AND THEN INTELLECTUALLY HAVING A CHANCE TO COLLABORATIVELY SET GOALS. YOU ARE NOW A PIECE OF THAT. IF YOU ARE JUST HAVING THE INFIGHTING, YOU'RE INVOLVED IN A DIFFERENT WAY. BUT IF YOU KNOW THAT YOU'VE HAD INPUT ON THESE GOALS, YOU ENGAGE AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT WAY. ANYTHING ELSE? SO WHERE IS THIS DISTRICT HEADED? BE SPECIFIC. NOT JUST, OH, THEY'RE GOING TO GO DOWN, BUT THINK ABOUT THE CHAIN THAT ALSBURY TALKED ABOUT. WHERE ARE THEY HEADED IF NOTHING CHANGES? IF THEY DON'T TAKE THE SAGE ADVICE YOU JUST GAVE THEM, WHAT COULD HAPPEN. STATE WILL TAKE OVER AND POTENTIALLY KIDS WILL CONTINUE TO BE UNDERSERVED. THIS WAS A FEBRUARY DISCUSSION. I DID HEAR BACK FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT. THEY DID BUY OUT OF HIS CONTRACT AND THEY DID GET A NOTE FROM TEA AND THEY WERE BARELY ABLE TO KIND OF HANG ON TO THE DISTRICT, BUT IT DIDN'T END THERE. AND I WANT TO SHOW YOU WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THE GOVERNANCE PRINCIPLES THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT WERE APPLIED AND ROLES WERE ADHERED TO AND PEOPLE RESPECTED THE VARIOUS ROLES. AND IT TRULY IS A HALLMARK STORY. THEY WENT THROUGH SOME INTENSE TRAINING. IT WAS MANDATED, BUT THEY WENT THROUGH INTENSE TRAINING, TALKED ABOUT ALL THE THINGS YOU MENTIONED. HOW DO WE BUILD TRUST? WHAT IS IT THAT WE WANT? WHAT GUIDING DOCUMENTS DO WE USE? THEY SET SOME GOALS. THE BOARD STABILIZED, AND THIS IS PRETTY NEAT. IF YOU THINK ABOUT THE AVERAGE TENURE OF A SUPERINTENDENT, YOU CAN KIND OF TIE IT BACK TO HOW THE DISTRICT IS SUCCEEDING. BEEN THERE SIX YEARS NOW AND A WHOLE SHIFT LIKE YOU MENTIONED. [02:05:02] WHERE'S THE FOCUS ON STUDENT OUTCOMES? A WHOLE SHIFT IN WHAT THEY TALKED ABOUT. STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT BECAME THE TALK OF THE TOWN. IT WAS JUST INCREDIBLE. AND THE MORE SUCCESS THEY HAD, THE MORE IT JUST SNOWBALLED AND LED TO MORE ACHIEVEMENT. AND THEY WENT FROM AN F TO A B ON THE RATING. SO SAY WHAT YOU WILL ABOUT THE RATING SYSTEM. IT'S A HELPFUL MEASURE IN MANY REGARDS, AND FOR THEM IT WAS JUST OUTSTANDING TO BE ABLE TO GET TO THAT LEVEL. AND WHAT I FOUND ALSO AMAZING WAS THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. IT JUST DIDN'T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT. IN THE BEGINNING I MENTIONED HOW SOMETIMES THE BOARDS HAVE TO LABOR OR TEAMS HAVE TO LABOR TO BUILD THAT TRUST, THAT'S THAT CLOSURE COMPONENT. AS YOU BECOME A BETTER TEAM, THOSE WATCHING YOU HAVE MORE FAITH THAN THEY GET INVOLVED TOO. THE EDUCATION FOUNDATION EXPLODED. THEY'RE TALKING TO LOCAL GOVERNING BODIES AROUND THERE. IT'S INCREDIBLE WHAT THEY'VE DONE. AND THE REASON THEY CAME BACK INTO MY RADAR, I KID YOU NOT. THE REASON THEY CAME BACK INTO MY RADAR. I WAS WATCHING THE NEWS AND I SAW THE SUPERINTENDENT, THE ONE WHO CAME IN AFTER THAT WORKSHOP TALKING ABOUT THEIR SUCCESS. AND I SAID, MAN, IT'S BEEN ABOUT SIX YEARS. LET ME CHECK IN ON THEM, RESEARCHED THEM, GAVE THEM A CALL, HAD A CONVERSATION WITH THEM, AND IT WAS A WHOLE DIFFERENT SCENARIO. THE STUDENTS WHO WERE JUST BEING OVERSHADOWED SHOW UP AT CONFERENCES THEY PRESENT. THEY HAVE AN AMAZING GROUP OF STUDENTS. BUT YOU DIDN'T HEAR MUCH ABOUT THAT. YOU ONLY HEARD ABOUT THE GOVERNANCE FAILURES AND HOW THE TOWN WAS RESPONDING TO THAT. SO WHAT A REMARKABLE OUTCOME. ARE YOU SEEING THOSE KEY GOVERNANCE PRINCIPLES, THOUGH AND PART OF THAT TRANSFORMATION? ANY THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS? ALL RIGHT. LAST ONE, AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT YOUR DOCUMENTS AND YOUR GUIDING WORDS. THIS ONE IS WELL, YOU CAN SEE IT'S GOOD, BETTER, BEST. AND THIS REMINDER THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE, AS ONE BOARD MEMBER PUT IT, WHEN THEY SAW THE SCENARIO, IT'S A GOOD REMINDER THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE SICK TO GET BETTER. I LIKE THE WAY THAT SHE PUT IT. SO QUITE A DIFFERENT SCENARIO. A VERY UNITED BOARD, A SOLID RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT, LOW SUPERINTENDENT TURNOVER, BETTER THAN AVERAGE GOING ON FIVE YEARS. SUPERINTENDENT HAD BEEN THERE. THEIR CHALLENGE IS GROWTH. THEY'RE JUST GROWING REALLY QUICKLY. THAT CREATES CHALLENGES FOR ALL KINDS OF DISTRICTS. THE BOARD DYNAMIC, THEY'RE FOCUSED. BUT YOU WOULD ASK THEM AND THEY'LL TELL YOU, WE'RE TIRED, WE'RE STRETCHED. I MEAN, WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO MICROMANAGE OR GET DOWN TO THE WEEDS BECAUSE WE'RE JUST GROWING TOO FAST. WE'VE GOT TO THINK ABOUT THE NEXT BUILDING. I MEAN, THEY WERE ALMOST FORCED TO THINK HIGH LEVEL AND LONG TERM, VERY STRONG COMMITMENT TO ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IS A STRONG GRASP OF SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT EFFORTS. AND WHAT THE BOARD NEEDS TO KNOW IN ORDER TO LEAD A MOVING SYSTEM. IN FACT, I'M GOING TO ASK THEM HOW THOSE SEVEN CONDITIONS LOOK IN THEIR DISTRICT. THEY RATTLED OFF. I HAD TO CUT THEM OFF. THEY JUST KNEW REALLY WELL HOW THOSE CONDITIONS LOOKED IN THEIR DISTRICT. AND I BET YOU COULD DO THE SAME THING. REALLY ORGANIZED AROUND COMMITTEES, VERY STRONG COMMITMENT TO DATA MONITORING. I KNOW YOU LIKE DATA, SEVERAL DATA PEOPLE VERY BIG ON DATA, VERY BIG ON LOOKING AT ON TEACHER PERFORMANCE DATA. IN TERMS OF CLIMATE. I SAID THAT WRONG. I WANT TO TAKE THAT BACK CLIMATE. ONE OF THE THINGS IMPORTANT TO THEM, THE CULTURE OF THE DISTRICT. SO THEY RESPONDED TO FEEDBACK FROM THE TEACHERS VIA THE SURVEY THAT WAS GIVEN TO THE BOARD AND THEY AND THEY WERE KEEN ON THAT, RIGHT? SO THEY'RE GETTING THE DATA, THEY'RE RESPONDING TO IT AND THEN GIVING GOOD FEEDBACK. EVERYTHING THAT THEY WANTED TO DO INVOLVED DATA. AND WHEN THEY COULD, THEY WOULD PARE IT DOWN TO THEIR ZIP CODE, NOT JUST THE STATE OR NOT JUST THE NATIONAL AVERAGE. PARED IT DOWN TO REALLY RELEVANT DATA. THEY HAD THIS IDEA OF THE WHOLE CHILD. SO I KNOW BYRON MENTIONED THEY HAVE THIS CUSTOMER SERVICE APPROACH. I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, LIKE WILL MENTION I LIKE THE DATA, BUT I DON'T WANT TO FORGET THAT THERE'S THE PEOPLE COMPONENT TO IT. AS FAR AS ECONOMICS, 41% ECONOMIC DISADVANTAGE, BUT IT'S TRENDING UPWARD. FAIRLY LARGE DISTRICT, OVER 40,000 STUDENTS. SO THE QUESTION IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT. NOT SO MUCH WHAT'S GOING WRONG, BUT WHAT GOVERNING STANDARDS DO YOU THINK THEY'RE BEING INTENTIONAL ABOUT? THEY HAVE A GREAT WORKING RELATIONSHIP. THEY UNDERSTAND THE CONDITIONS IN THEIR SYSTEM. THEY'VE KEYED IN ON A PROCESS TO GET CULTURE SURVEYS BACK. THEY'RE ACCURATE. THEY RESPOND TO THEM. THEY ENGAGE APPROPRIATELY WITH THE LEADERSHIP TEAM AND THOSE DISTRICT PERSONNEL WHO GIVE DATA TO THEM, ANNUAL DATA DIVES WHERE THEY FEEL COMFORTABLE TALKING TO THE BOARD, THAT KIND OF THING. WHAT ARE THEY FOSTERING? WHICH GOVERNANCE PRINCIPLES ARE THEY FOSTERING? I MEAN, THE CONTINUITY OF THE BOARD IS PROBABLY PRETTY STABLE, NOT A LOT OF TURNOVER ON THE BOARD. [02:10:04] SO IT KIND OF CREATES, YOU KNOW, SOME CADENCE WITH JUST DOING THINGS, YOU KNOW, BUILDING ON THE YEAR BEFORE YEAR BEFORE, WITHOUT HAVING TO LIKE START ALL OVER WITH A HALF A NEW BOARD OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. YEAH. OR THEY OBVIOUSLY THEY HAVE THE RIGHT SYSTEMS IN PLACE. YOU KNOW, THE BOARD IS SETTING THE STRATEGIC GOALS. YEAH. YOU KNOW, THE ADMINISTRATION IS BEING EMPOWERED TO GO OUT THERE AND EXECUTE. SO IT JUST SOUNDS LIKE THE SYSTEMS ARE IN PLACE AND THEY'RE PROBABLY DOING SOME I KNOW IT SAID SURVEYS, BUT THEY'RE ALSO PROBABLY EVALUATING THEMSELVES AS WELL TO SEE. ABSOLUTELY, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE WE DOING, WHAT ARE WE DOING WELL AND HOW DO WE KEEP DOING THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING? I LIKE THAT YOU MENTIONED THE EMPLOYEES ARE BEING EMPOWERED TO DO THEIR JOB. THEY DON'T FEAR. ANY KIND OF, I GUESS. SERIOUS IMPEDIMENT TO THEIR WORK BASED ON WHAT THE GOVERNING BODY IS DOING, THEY FEEL REALLY SUPPORTED. AND THEN AGAIN, AWARENESS OF SYSTEMS, KNOWING THAT WE HAVE THE WHEELHOUSE OF THINKING ABOUT THOSE HIGH LEVEL SYSTEMS. RIGHT. AND THE BETTER WE UNDERSTAND THOSE AND BETTER WE FACILITATE AND CREATE THOSE WITH OUR SUPERINTENDENT, THE BETTER WE WILL BE. ANYTHING ELSE? I THINK HAVING A SHARED VISION IS IMPORTANT. ABSOLUTELY. YEAH. I THINK THEY HAVE THAT SHARED VISION AND THEY'RE MOVING FORWARD FOR THAT. AND THEY DO THAT. YEAH. AND THEY FILTER EVERYTHING THROUGH THAT, RIGHT? IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE WHOLE CHILD, WHAT ARE WE DOING IN RESPONSE TO THIS DATA POINT OR THAT DATA POINT? WHAT DOES IT MEAN? SO I DIDN'T GIVE YOU PERFORMANCE DATA. WHAT WOULD YOU GUESS THEIR PERFORMANCE IS? AND JUST TO KIND OF NARROW IT DOWN, WHAT DO YOU THINK THEY'RE RATED? WE'LL JUST USE THAT AS A MEASURE. THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO MEASURE, BUT WHAT DO YOU THINK THEY'RE RATED? BASED ON WHAT YOU'VE HEARD IN DATA. A OR B? B SHARP GROUP. YEAH. SO THEY'RE A B RIGHT THEY ARE WORKING HARD THEY'RE A B. BUT HERE'S WHAT I FIND QUITE FASCINATING WHEN I LOOKED AT THE DATA. AND I SAW HOW THE PERFORMANCE WAS GOING AND ALMOST OVERNIGHT, LET ME BACK UP. SO THE GROWTH WAS TRENDING UP, THE ACADEMIC GROWTH TRENDING UP. YOU SAW A QUICK DIP WHEN ONE YEAR THEY GAINED JUST AN UNGODLY AMOUNT OF STUDENTS. I MEAN, IT WAS JUST CRAZY, A QUICK DIP. BUT THEN IT DIDN'T PLATEAU DOWN THERE. IT SHOT RIGHT BACK UP. AND I REALLY BELIEVE THAT THAT QUICK RECOVERY WAS DUE TO THEIR COMMITMENT TO THE PROCESSES, RIGHT? I DON'T KNOW FOR SURE, BUT I THINK IF A SYSTEM WERE NOT WELL ORGANIZED AND THERE WASN'T A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF ROLES AND CLEAR COMMITMENT TO THEM AND THAT SHARED VISION, I DON'T KNOW IF THEIR RESPONSE WOULD HAVE BEEN AS QUICKLY AS IT AS IT WOULD HAVE BEEN OR THEIR SYSTEMS WOULD HAVE HANDLED IT THE WAY THEY DID. SO THEY HAVE SLIGHTLY LOWER THAN AVERAGE RELATIVE PERFORMANCE, WHICH MEANS THEY HAVE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO SERVE A GROWING POPULATION OF KIDS WHO DIDN'T LOOK LIKE THE ONES THEY HAD. BUT I DO FEEL LIKE FOR THEIR PRACTICES AND COMMITMENT, THEY'RE NAVIGATING IT WELL. AND THAT'S SOMETIMES ALL YOU CAN ASK FOR. WE CAN'T CONTROL THE ENVIRONMENT AROUND US. WHAT WE CAN CONTROL IS HOW WE COMPORT OURSELVES AND HOW WE APPROACH OUR GOVERNANCE ROLE. SO YOU'RE RIGHT, THEY'RE A B AND I JUST FOUND IT PRETTY NEAT HOW YOU SAW THAT CLEAR SPIKE AND YOU COINCIDED WITH THE YEAR THAT THEY HAD THIS AMOUNT OF GROWTH IN THERE. AND THE PERCENTAGE OF THEIR STUDENTS ON FREE OR REDUCED LUNCH KIND OF JUST PLUMMETED. AND IT WAS INCREDIBLE AND THEN POPPED BACK UP THE NEXT YEAR. ANYTHING ELSE THAT IS OUTSTANDING? ALL RIGHT, LET'S DO THIS. THEN WE'RE GOING TO FORGE FORWARD. WE'RE GOING TO JUMP RIGHT INTO YOUR SOCIAL CONTRACT. I KNOW YOU PROBABLY ARE A LITTLE BURNED OUT AND TIRED, SO LET'S TAKE A BREAK, TAKE A BREAK, AND THEN WE'LL COME BACK AND GET INTO YOUR SOCIAL CONTRACT. ALL RIGHT, ORIN. SO LAST YEAR. YOU WERE BOARD PRESIDENT, YOU WERE A DRIVER. AND MAYBE ESPERANZA I FORGOT WHO ELSE KIND OF HELPED US GET THROUGH THIS. THIS WAS CREATED WITH A LOT OF THOUGHT. AND LET'S GO THROUGH IT AND JUST REVIEW. SO ORIN BEFORE YOU DO THAT, THOUGH, I JUST WANT TO SAY FOR THE BOARD, THE REASON FOR PUTTING THIS ON HERE, AND I THINK I'D PUT IT IN THAT EMAIL, BUT I JUST WANT TO SORT OF REAFFIRM IT IS AND VANESSA DID A GREAT JOB LAST YEAR TAKING US THROUGH THIS BECAUSE IT NEEDED A REWRITE. IT MAY NOT NEED A REWRITE THIS YEAR, BUT I FEEL LIKE EACH BOARD IS ITS OWN LITTLE ENTITY AND NEEDS TO OWN THOSE DOCUMENTS. AND SO THAT'S WHY AFTER ORIN AND I TALKED, IT WAS LIKE, OKAY, LET'S BRING THOSE THINGS UP AND SEE WHAT'S NEEDED AND HOW DOES IT ALIGN WITH THIS TEAM. YEAH. AND SO YOU LED NOW YOU'RE THE BOARD PRESIDENT, THE BEST APPROACH. YOU WANT TO HAVE PEOPLE TAKE A QUICK READ OVER IT AND JUST TALK ABOUT WHAT THEY FEEL IS STRONG ABOUT IT? AND THEN MAYBE SOMETHING THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO BRING BEFORE THE BOARD FOR CONSIDERATION MAYBE AN AMENDMENT JUST A SUGGESTION. [02:15:07] SO ORIN JUST TO LET YOU KNOW, I DID SEND THEM AN EMAIL AHEAD OF TIME TO PREP THAT WE WERE GOING TO GO THROUGH THIS SO THEY MAY HAVE SOME THOUGHTS READY TO GO. OKAY, WELL, LET'S GO THEN. LET'S GO. OR NOT. CAN YOU ALL OWN THIS? CAN YOU OWN IT? DO YOU OWN IT? YOU'RE THE. I'M GOING TO JUST BE DIRECT. YOU'RE THE NEWEST BOARD MEMBER. THEY WERE ALL HERE LAST YEAR, AND WE WENT OVER THIS. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT? WHAT IS OUTSTANDING? WHAT CAN YOU OWN? WHAT ARE YOUR COMMENTS OR THOUGHTS THAT YOU MAY BE LOOKING AT? THE FIVE VERY SIMPLE AND EASY TO UNDERSTAND STATEMENTS ON HERE CONCERNING THE SOCIAL CONTRACT. I HAVE NO QUARRELS. I'M YOU KNOW, I'M NOT GOING TO CHANGE SOMETHING OR PUSH FOR ANY CHANGE THAT DOESN'T NEED TO BE FOR THE SAKE OF. I THINK IT'S VERY STRONG. IT'S VERY SIMPLE. I THINK IT EXPRESSES THE WILL OF THE BOARD AND HOW WE, YOU KNOW, FORM THIS AGREEMENT BETWEEN OURSELVES IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THE MISSION. SO I'M REALLY I KNOW THIS ISN'T THE CONTRACT BUT WHERE THEY ADD CITIZENSHIP WITHIN THE VISION STATEMENT I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT I LIKE THE IDEA OF PUSHING FOR CITIZENSHIP IN THE VISION STATEMENT. THAT WAS THE ONLY THING THAT I BUT I REALLY LIKE IT. I CAN TOTALLY GET BEHIND IT. YOU CAN LIVE BY IT. YES. HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE. BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE BY IT. YES, SIR. ORIN I LIKE OUR SOCIAL CONTRACT. I MEAN, IT'S IT'S BEEN HERE SINCE I'VE BEEN A PART OF THE BOARD. I KNOW IT PREDATES ME. UM, BUT YOU KNOW THAT THAT FIRST ONE, THAT SERVICE AS DISTRICT AMBASSADORS AND I KNOW THAT I'VE MENTIONED THIS BEFORE, LIKE I'LL TALK ABOUT KIND OF LIKE MY SECTION OF THE DISTRICT YOU KNOW, I WANT TO BE THERE TO SUPPORT THE SCHOOLS THAT, ARE NOT NECESSARILY VOTING ALIGNED, YOU KNOW, TO MY PART OF THE DISTRICT. SO I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT FOR ME, IT'S JUST A GOOD RESET THAT, YOU KNOW, I'M HERE TO REPRESENT THE ENTIRE DISTRICT. SO, I MEAN, I APPRECIATE THAT ONE. AND I KNOW WE'VE KIND OF MENTIONED THAT OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF MEETINGS. I THINK WHEN WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT COMMITTEES AND STUFF LIKE THAT IS THAT WE ALL KIND OF WE ALL HAVE OUR LITTLE SAY SO IN WHAT WE'RE DOING. SO I APPRECIATE THAT. I THINK THAT'S A GOOD POINT THAT RAUL BRINGS UP. I THINK SOMETIMES WE FORGET THAT WE'RE TRUSTEES AND NOT REPRESENTATIVES. SO THERE'S A HUGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A TRUSTEE AND A REPRESENTATIVE. SO I'M GLAD THAT YOU BRING THAT UP BECAUSE WE ARE DISTRICT AMBASSADORS. EVEN THOUGH I'M A SINGLE MEMBER DISTRICT PERSON, I DON'T JUST REPRESENT MY AREA. I'M A TRUSTEE OF THE DISTRICT. AND THAT'S A HUGE DISTINCTION. AND YOU KNOW, OUR SOCIAL CONTRACT HAS CHANGED OVER THE YEARS. WE HAVE TWEAKED IT. WE HAVE ADDED AND MODIFIED IT. AND I THINK ONE THING TO REMEMBER IS THAT THIS SOCIAL CONTRACT IS BETWEEN US, THE SITTING TRUSTEES. IT DOESN'T APPLY TO ANYBODY RUNNING A CAMPAIGN TO BE A TRUSTEE. DOESN'T APPLY TO THEM? IT APPLIES TO THIS TEAM HERE OF HOW WE ARE GOING TO WORK TOGETHER AND TREAT EACH OTHER AND WHAT THE EXPECTATIONS ARE OF EACH OTHER AND OF OURSELVES. RIGHT. SO THAT'S A REALLY AN IMPORTANT PIECE. AND I KNOW FOR JOHNNY WHO WASN'T HERE, IT THE OTHER PIECE TO THIS NOT GOING THROUGH THIS WHOLE PROCESS OF THE SOCIAL CONTRACT, DR. WRIGHT DID AN EXCELLENT JOB BRINGING SOCIAL CONTRACT TO US, TO THIS DISTRICT. IT IS A SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING COMPONENT OF CAPTURING KIDS HEARTS THAT DR. WRIGHT BROUGHT. BUT ONE OF THE THINGS. DR. WRIGHT, CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE RESPONSIBILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY PIECE? BECAUSE JOHNNY DID NOT GET TO GO THROUGH THAT WHOLE PROCESS. THERE'S ACTUALLY A WHOLE PROCESS AND YOU ANSWER ALL THESE QUESTIONS THEN YOU COME UP WITH THIS. SO IT'S A LONGER PROCESS WHEN WE INITIALLY DID IT. SO CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT? YEAH, I THINK IT'S A GREAT GUIDE FOR BOARD MEMBERS BECAUSE IT SERVES AS A SEGUE FOR CONVERSATION. AND SO IF YOU FEEL LIKE A FELLOW BOARD MEMBER OR TRUSTEE HAS HAS VIOLATED THIS, THEN IT'S A SEGUE TO CONVERSATION THAT THE TWO OF YOU HAVE. AND YOU CAN JUST SAY, HEY, BYRON, I FEEL LIKE YOU WEREN'T PROFESSIONAL IN THIS PARTICULAR THING AND YOU DO IT BY YOURSELF OFFLINE, NOT IN FRONT OF EVERYONE ELSE. AND THEN HE CAN SAY, MAN, I WAS JUST TRYING TO BE FUNNY OR I WAS JUST DOING WHATEVER, YOU KNOW? AND THEN YOU HAVE A GOOD CONVERSATION. THEN HE'S ABLE TO REFLECT. I'M ABLE TO REFLECT AND THEN WE MOVE ON BECAUSE WE DO HAVE POSITIVE AND NOBLE INTENTIONS. SO THAT'S WHAT IT'S SET TO DO, IS REALLY BE THAT VEHICLE THAT ALLOWS FOR TRUSTEES TO POLICE THEMSELVES AND BE RESPECTFUL OF THE [02:20:02] NORMS THAT WE'VE CREATED SO THAT WE CAN BE HIGHLY FUNCTIONAL. CAN I ADD A CAVEAT? THE CAVEAT IS THAT DR. WRIGHT SHOULD NOT GET INVOLVED IN ANY DRAMA OR ANY MISCOMMUNICATION OR ANYTHING. THAT SOCIAL CONTRACT IS FOR US TO BE ABLE TO WORK THROUGH AND TALK TO EACH OTHER. AND DEFINITELY AND WE HAVEN'T HAD THE NEED TO GET DR. WRIGHT INVOLVED. BUT IN OTHER DISTRICTS, THEY DO TRY TO GET THEIR SUPERINTENDENT. HEY, WELL, DID YOU KNOW SHE DID THIS WRONG? YOU SHOULD TAKE MY SIDE. OH, YOU SHOULD TELL THIS PERSON THAT THEY CAN'T DO THIS AND YOU KNOW, AND SO ON. AND THAT PUTS THE SUPERINTENDENT IN A VERY AWKWARD POSITION BECAUSE WE ARE HIS BOSS AND IT CAN GO SIDEWAYS REAL QUICK. AND NOT ONLY THAT, I MEAN, IT'S NOT APPROPRIATE. DR. WRIGHT, DO YOU WANT TO ADD TO THAT? YEAH, I WORK FOR YOU ALL AND NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. AND SO IF THERE IS EVER A CONFLICT, USUALLY, YOU KNOW, IT CAN BE SOLVED VERY EASILY BETWEEN TRUSTEES. BUT THEN IF THE BOARD PRESIDENT HAS TO GET INVOLVED AND THAT'S WHEN THAT WOULD HAPPEN. BUT I'VE BEEN DOING THIS A LONG TIME AND IT NEVER IN MY COLLECTIVE YEARS SINCE I'VE BEEN DOING IT, IT HASN'T GOTTEN TO THAT POINT. AND THAT'S A COLLECTIVE YOU ALL NOT WORKS FOR ME INDIVIDUALLY. HE HAS TO LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF THE BODY CORPORATE. I DON'T KNOW WHY, BUT WHEN I'M NOW I'M LOOKING AT THIS. AND ON NUMBER FOUR, LIKE WE HAVE, WE HAVE THREE COLLABORATE AS A TEAM AND RESPECT THE BODY CORPORATE AND THEN PROMOTE DISCUSSION AND RESPECT EACH OTHER'S PERSPECTIVES. HOW DOES ANYBODY FEEL ABOUT CHANGING FOUR TO PROMOTE DISCUSSION, AND VALUE EACH OTHER'S PERSPECTIVES? IS IT THE SAME? I JUST HATE RESPECT, LIKE BEING BACK TO BACK. IS THERE ANOTHER? AND THAT'S JUST LIKE THE WRITER IN ME HATING TO SEE LIKE THE WORD THE SAME WORD WITHIN TEN WORDS OF EACH OTHER. BUT, I ALSO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE VALUE EACH OTHER'S PERSPECTIVES AND NOT JUST RESPECT THEM. BECAUSE RESPECT TO ME IS LIKE, I CAN RESPECT THAT. I DON'T LIKE IT. BUT IF WE VALUE WHAT YOU SAY AND YOUR PERSPECTIVE, THEN THERE'S A DIFFERENT MINDSET TO UNDERSTANDING THAT EVERYONE'S PERSPECTIVE HAS VALUE TO THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS. I'M INCLINED TO AGREE. I LIKE THE WORD VALUE THERE. JUST WHAT RAUL MENTIONED. HE SAYS, FOR EXAMPLE, I SEE THIS COPYRIGHT THING, RIGHT? I SEE DIFFERENT THINGS, DIFFERENT ANGLES. WE ALL SEE DIFFERENT. SO IT PROVIDES A VALUE. SURE. SEEING LOTS OF NODS. I THINK IT CAN BE. THANK YOU, VANESSA. IT CAN BE USED THERE. I THINK ONE DISCUSSION THAT WE DID HAVE BEFORE AND I'M GLAD WE CHANGED IT FOR NUMBER FOUR WAS IT SAID SOMETHING LIKE, WE WILL RESPECT EACH OTHER. AND I SAID WE CAN'T MAKE ANYBODY RESPECT EACH OTHER. I CAN SEE VALUE AS A POSITIVE AND AS AN ADDITIVE, RIGHT? LIKE I MIGHT NOT AGREE WITH IT, BUT. IT ADDS TO THE CONVERSATION AND EVERYBODY HAS A DIFFERENT LENS THAT THEY BRING THINGS TO. SO, I MEAN, I'M FINE WITH IT, TOO. I'LL MAKE SURE I WAS LISTENING. I'M GOING TO BACKTRACK. WHEN YOU MENTIONED CITIZENSHIP. YOU'RE REFERRING TO THE VISION? YES. OKAY. OKAY. MAKING SURE I DIDN'T LEAVE THAT OUT. IF I'M TALKING ABOUT. OH, YOU GOT TO LISTEN AND EXPAND IDEAS, I GOT TO MAKE SURE I DO THAT FOR YOU AS WELL. SO OR THE ONLY THING I WANT TO ADD AND YOU AND I TALKED ABOUT THIS A LITTLE BIT IS FOR ME AND I'M SPEAKING JUST FOR ME. WHEN WE READ THIS AT EVERY MEETING, I KNOW I PERSONALLY HAVE GOTTEN IN THE HABIT OF JUST HEARING IT. AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK HAS SERVED AS A GOOD REMINDER FOR ME BY REVISITING THIS AND EVEN MAYBE MAKING A SUBTLE CHANGE THAT MAYBE REINFORCES FOR ME THAT THIS IS AN ACTUAL IT'S AN ACTIONABLE LIST OF THINGS, NOT JUST SOMETHING THAT WE READ AT EVERY MEETING. AND WE ALL ARE PROUD OF OURSELVES BECAUSE WE PUT A NICE LIST TOGETHER AND THEN WE GO OFF AND DO OTHER THINGS. BUT WE REMEMBER THAT THIS GUIDES OUR BEHAVIOR. AGAIN, I'M SPEAKING FOR ME, HAVING HEARD IT READ SO MANY TIMES, YOU KNOW, THAT YOU JUST KIND OF MAYBE IN ONE EAR AND OUT THE OTHER. BUT IT'S BEEN GOOD TO DO THIS. I LIKE THAT. YEAH. YEAH. I WANT TO ADD TO THAT, WILL, A GOOD POINT, BECAUSE I'M SITTING HERE THINKING ABOUT THIS, THAT OUR STUDENTS, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE THEIR, YOU KNOW, THE CODE OF CONDUCT AND THE HANDBOOK, YOU KNOW, THE DRESS CODES, ALL THOSE THINGS THAT ARE THERE. [02:25:03] THE RULES. CELL PHONES, NO CELL PHONES, ALL THOSE YOU KNOW, ALL THOSE THINGS. RIGHT. I MEAN, THAT THEY HAVE TO ABIDE BY. AND IF WE'RE AMBASSADORS OF THE DISTRICT, IF WE'RE THE LEADERSHIP OF WHAT THE DISTRICT LOOKS LIKE, THEN WE NEED TO HOLD OURSELVES ACCOUNTABLE, YOU KNOW, TO SOMETHING THAT WE'RE SAYING THAT WE'RE ABIDING BY. AND IT'S A SIMPLE LIST. I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF DEPTH TO IT THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S SIMPLE IN LANGUAGE, BUT IT REALLY DOES MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS AN INSTRUMENT THAT, YOU KNOW, WILL HAS AN ISSUE WITH ME THEN WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT OFFLINE. IF, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO BRING IN A THIRD PERSON OR WHAT HAVE YOU. BUT I MEAN, IT DEFINITELY GIVES US THAT TOOL, THAT INSTRUMENT THAT YOU MENTIONED DR. WRIGHT. SO I MEAN, YEAH, THERE IS A COMPONENT OF ACCEPTING THIS AND SAYING, I'M GOING TO ADHERE TO THIS AND I'M GOING TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE TO THIS. AND YOU ALL HAVE A RIGHT TO HOLD ME ACCOUNTABLE TO THIS RIGHT. AND I HOPE THAT YOU ALL HAVE THAT SAME EXPECTATION THAT, YOU KNOW, I HAVE A RIGHT TO HOLD YOU ACCOUNTABLE TO IT AS WELL. SO WE HAVEN'T HAD THOSE ISSUES. BUT THAT'S HOW IMPORTANT IT IS. I KIND OF AGREE WITH VANESSA. LIKE, I WOULD BE OKAY WITH CHANGING THAT SECOND, RESPECT TO VALUE, BUT SOMETHING I THINK I KNOW WE READ THIS AT EVERY MEETING AND I KNOW IT'S JUST FOR US, BUT I DON'T KNOW. DO WE HAVE TO NUMBER IT? CAN WE TAKE THE NUMBERS OFF? BECAUSE I DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO THINK LIKE IT'S ONE OF THE FIRST THING WE SHOULD DO IS THIS. AND THEN THE FIFTH THING WE SHOULD DO IS BE PROFESSIONAL. SO JUST LIKE BULLETS, TAKE THE NUMBERS OFF AND JUST LEAVE IT AS THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE'RE GOING TO DO AS A BOARD. NOT NECESSARILY I'M GOING TO DO NUMBER ONE IS SERVE. AND THEN NUMBER FIFTH IS BE PROFESSIONAL. NOT THAT WE WOULD SEE IT THAT WAY, BUT PEOPLE COULD READ THAT AS A RANKING OF HOW WE WOULD VALUE THESE ITEMS. SO I LOVE IT, BYRON. THAT'S A GREAT POINT. AND ACTUALLY ON THE ONES THAT WE BUILD ACROSS THE DISTRICT, IN OTHER AREAS, WE DON'T NUMBER THEM. WE WE USE BULLETS BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT TO THINK. WE DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO BELIEVE THAT ONE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE OTHER BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL IMPORTANT. THAT'S A GOOD POINT. MAYBE A LITTLE HEART SHAPED BULLET. [LAUGHTER] OKAY. I THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA. OKAY, GOOD. YEAH, IT IS A GUIDING DOCUMENT. AND SO, AGAIN, EVERYONE HAS TO HAVE THAT BUY IN BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR IT AND HOLD EACH OTHER ACCOUNTABLE FOR, LIKE RAUL MENTIONED. FURTHER COMMENTS ON THAT ONE, OR IS THAT HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT ONE? BOARD PRESIDENT. FEELING GOOD? AND THE ONLY THING THAT I WOULD LIKE TO ADD IS, IS IF YOU AGREE TO IT, LIKE AT EVERY OTHER LEVEL, WE DO THIS, YOU, YOU SIGN ON, SIGN IT, YOU SIGN IT. SO I WOULD LIKE TO ACTUALLY HAVE ONE THAT WE PUT UP THAT YOU GUYS SIGN AROUND THE EDGES SO THAT THAT YOU AGREE TO IT. I THINK THAT SETS A GOOD EXAMPLE FOR ALL THE LEVELS BELOW AND THEN WE CAN HAVE IT SIGNED AND HAVE IT ELECTRONICALLY AS WELL POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE, YOU KNOW. OKAY. IN THAT CASE, I'D LIKE TO REMOVE NUMBER, I'M JUST JOKING. [LAUGHTER] NOT NUMBER, BULLET POINT. LET'S TALK ABOUT MISSION STATEMENT. I'M GOING TO TRUST WILL TO KIND OF KEY ME IN ON THE PROCESS BY WHICH Y'ALL INITIALLY CREATE AND THEN ADOPT A MISSION STATEMENT. I KNOW IT INVOLVES A FEW MORE FOLKS THAN JUST WHO ARE HERE. WILL, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO IN TERMS OF LEADING OUT AND AND DID Y'ALL ALREADY BRING IDEAS BEFORE LIKE YOU DID FOR THE SOCIAL CONTRACT? AHEAD OF TIME. YEAH, I MEAN, THE SAME IDEAS WITH THE SOCIAL CONTRACT WAS JUST THAT WE DID RECENTLY CHANGE THESE AND IT JUST IS. ARE THEY STILL APPLICABLE AS WRITTEN OR ARE THERE SOME CHANGES THAT NEED TO BE MADE? I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT YEAR SORT OF THE ROOT OF THIS MISSION STATEMENT. IT'S BEEN QUITE A WHILE. I THINK IT WAS WHEN DR. WRIGHT FIRST GOT ON BOARD THAT WE ACTUALLY CRAFTED. SOMETHING SIMILAR. YES, WE HAVE. WELL, WE HAD SOME WORDS FROM STRATEGIC PLANNING, WHICH WAS WAY BEFORE DR. WRIGHT, BUT MOST OF IT WE FLESHED OUT WITH DR. WRIGHT. OKAY. AND WE'VE BEEN TWEAKING IT EACH YEAR SINCE. CAN YOU MEET THIS YEAR'S PROJECTED CHALLENGES? IF EVERYONE USED THIS MISSION AS THEIR GUIDING PRINCIPLE, IS IT ADEQUATE? YES. ORIN I HAVE. YOU KNOW, ACTUALLY, ONE OF THE SCENARIOS THAT YOU HAD EARLIER ABOUT THAT LOW PERFORMING, THE HIGH TURNOVER, THE WORD THAT CAME TO MIND THAT'S NO LONGER IN OUR MISSION STATEMENT WAS LEGACY. WHAT KIND OF LEGACY ARE THEY LEAVING? I'M NOT SAYING THAT WE NEED TO THROW IT BACK IN THERE, BUT, YOU KNOW, I DID THINK OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT KIND OF, YOU KNOW, GENERATIONAL LEGACY ARE YOU LEAVING WHEN PUBLIC EDUCATION IS FAILING? BECAUSE YOU HAVE THE LACK OF LEADERSHIP, THE TURNOVER. SO IT JUST IT KIND OF RESONATED IN ME AS WE WENT THROUGH THAT SCENARIO EARLIER WHEN YOU SAID WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OR WHAT ARE THE RESULTS? AND JUST LEGACY IS WHAT CAME TO MIND IS THAT IT'S THEY'RE IMPACTING NEGATIVELY THEIR LEGACY. [02:30:06] SO YEAH, JUST SOMETHING TO THROW OUT THERE. YOU KNOW, BEFORE LEGACY HAD A LOT OF NEGATIVE CONNOTATIONS. THAT WAS ONE OF THE REASONS WE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSION. BUT HAVE WE MOVED BEYOND THAT? HAVE WE MOVED BEYOND THAT WHERE WE CAN SAY LEGACY NOW MEANS SOMETHING POSITIVE? YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING TO REFLECT UPON AS TRUSTEES TO THINK, HAVE WE MOVED BEYOND THAT OR DOES IT STILL HAVE NEGATIVE CONNOTATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH LEGACY? I THINK WE HAVE MOVED SO MUCH FURTHER THAN WHERE WE WERE. SO IT'S JUST SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT. SO THAT WAS ALL ORIENTED AROUND THE MASCOT CHANGE PRIMARILY, RIGHT? BEFORE. EVEN BEFORE THAT, WHEN IT WAS STRATEGIC PLANNING, WAY BEFORE. DR. WRIGHT, BECAUSE THAT WAS SO THAT'S WHERE THIS MISSION STATEMENT STEMMED FROM WITH LEGACY. THERE WAS A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT TRADITION AND LEGACY BECAUSE THERE WAS A LOT OF THINGS THAT WERE NOT THAT GREAT. SO THE LEGACY WASN'T WORTH CELEBRATING? AT THAT TIME? WELL, WE PUT IT IN. RIGHT. WE CHANGED IT FROM TRADITIONS TO LEGACY. OKAY. OKAY. I WASN'T THERE WHEN I DON'T REMEMBER THAT PIECE OF IT. YES. SO RAUL ARE YOU ADVOCATING FOR AND LEGACY TO BE PUT BACK ON THE END OF THAT? NO, I MEAN, AS A MATTER OF FACT, I'M OF THE OPINION THAT MISSION STATEMENTS SHOULDN'T CHANGE VERY MUCH. I MEAN, IF YOU LOOK AT ANY MAJOR COMPANY, MAJOR, YOU KNOW, THEIR MISSION STATEMENT KIND OF STAYS THE SAME RIGHT NOW. THE TACTICS THAT THEY USE TO GET TO ACHIEVE OBJECTIVES AND GOALS MAY CHANGE OR, YOU KNOW, THE CHANGE IN A LEADERSHIP ROLE BECAUSE THEY'RE GOING TO BRING IN PART OF THEIR TEAM. I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE THINGS THAT HAPPEN STRATEGICALLY IN A COMPANY AND AN ORGANIZATION AND A TEAM, ORIN TO MAKE SURE WE LOOP IN SOME SPORTS REFERENCES. RIGHT? YOU KNOW, BUT I WAS JUST SAYING THAT LEGACY CAME TO MIND, YOU KNOW, WHAT KIND OF LEGACY ARE THEY LEAVING IN THAT EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, WHAT KIND OF FUTURE ARE YOU IMPACTING? AND I THINK LEGACY PLAYS INTO THAT. I'M NOT SAYING THAT WE NEED TO ADD IT BACK IN. I JUST THAT ONE EXAMPLE. I DON'T KNOW WHY, BUT THE WORD LEGACY JUST KEPT POPPING UP IN MY HEAD. AND I KNOW THAT IT WAS IN A PREVIOUS ITERATION OF OUR VISION MISSION STATEMENT. EXCUSE ME. SO I WAS JUST KIND OF SPEAKING OUT LOUD. I'M NOT SAYING THAT WE NEED TO ADD IT BACK IN. I JUST I KNOW THAT WE ARE TRYING TO LEAVE THAT LASTING LEGACY. ORIN YOU CHALLENGED US THINKING, HEY, YOU KNOW THIS BOARD, I MEAN, THE DIFFERENT ITERATIONS OF WHO WE ARE RIGHT NOW, WHO IS THIS BOARD GOING TO BE IN THREE ELECTION CYCLES? WHO IS THIS BOARD GOING TO BE IN 20 YEARS FROM NOW WHEN DR. WRIGHT'S GETTING READY TO RETIRE? [LAUGHTER] AS WE ALWAYS SAY? SORRY, IT'S MY TURN TO THROW THAT ONE OUT THERE DR. WRIGHT. BUT ANYWAYS, YEAH, I WAS JUST I WAS JUST TALKING AND I'M OKAY WITH ADDING LEGACY. DON'T GET ME WRONG, I'M OKAY BECAUSE I REALLY THINK WE'RE IN A BETTER PLACE THAN WHERE WE WERE WHEN I DID THE STRATEGIC PLAN BACK IN 2000 AND I DON'T KNOW, EIGHT OR SOMETHING. I'M OKAY WITH THAT. I'M OKAY WITHOUT SO BUT IT'S SOMETHING FOR US TO REFLECT UPON. CHECKING WITH BYRON, I THINK WITH THESE TWO, I MEAN THERE, I WISH THERE WAS A WAY WE COULD CONNECT THE TWO INTO ONE BECAUSE, LIKE, THE MISSION STATEMENT IS TALKING ABOUT HOW WE'RE GOING TO DELIVER ON THE OUTCOMES WE WANT, WHICH IS THE VISION STATEMENT, WHICH IS WE DO THE THING IN THE MISSION STATEMENT. SO THEN SO WE CAN GIVE OUR LEARNERS THE VISION STATEMENT, RIGHT? SO THEY'RE KIND OF TIED TOGETHER. SO WE HAVE BOTH, BUT HOW DO WE PUT THEM TOGETHER? SO THEY'RE NOT TWO DIFFERENT THINGS. ONE IS OUR MISSION STATEMENT FOR ADMINISTRATION AND US TO EDUCATE, VALUE, NURTURE STUDENTS THROUGH INNOVATIVE AND PERSONALIZED EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES WHILE CELEBRATING DIVERSITY. AND THEN BECAUSE WE DO THIS, THEN WE WANT OUR LEARNERS TO BE HIGHLY SOUGHT AFTER FOR COLLEGE, PREPARE FOR LIFE OR WHATEVER. BUT THERE SEEM LIKE THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS WHEN THEY'RE REALLY KIND OF CONNECTED TOGETHER. BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO THAT. AND WE HAVE TWO WE HAVE A MISSION AND A VISION. BUT DO WE NEED BOTH? CAN WE JUST HAVE ONE THAT'S TIED TOGETHER? SO YOUR MISSION IS YOUR PRESENT AND YOUR VISION IS YOUR FUTURE AND TEA REQUIRES US TO ADOPT A VISION. SO MISSION IS NOT REQUIRED, BUT YOUR VISION IS REQUIRED. SO IF WE WERE TO PUT THEM TOGETHER, IT WOULD HAVE TO BE CALLED THE VISION. BUT YOUR MISSION IS YOUR PRESENT, AND VISION IS HOW YOU IT BRIDGES TO YOUR GOALS, RIGHT? IT GETS YOU TO YOUR GOALS. SO ON THE MISSION. [02:35:02] DR. WRIGHT I WAS GOING TO ASK YOU, THE MISSION IS REALLY THE HOW. I MEAN, SO AS YOU THINK ABOUT THIS YEAR AND OUR STUDENTS AND EXECUTING THE HOW I MEAN, WHERE IS YOUR HEAD AT WITH THAT MISSION STATEMENT? RAUL MADE A GOOD POINT A WHILE AGO. I THINK THAT YOUR MISSION SHOULD STAY PRETTY CONSISTENT SO THAT IT DOESN'T CHANGE. BECAUSE THE SCENARIO THAT THAT ORIN PUT UP A WHILE AGO ABOUT THE DISTRICT THAT CHANGED EVERY SINGLE YEAR, YOU LOSE THAT CONTINUITY. AND I THINK THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE HAVE COME TO TRUST AND BELIEVE. AND SO I THINK IT'S STILL VERY SOLID. AND YOU MAY WANT TO TWEAK IT A LITTLE BIT LIKE YOU'VE DONE SOME OTHER THINGS, BUT IT ESSENTIALLY ADDRESSES THE CORE OF WHAT WE'RE STRIVING TO DO, AND THAT'S TO EDUCATE VALUE EVERY SINGLE KID AND CUSTOMIZE FOR THEIR LEARNING SO THAT THEN IN THE FUTURE THEY'LL BE ABLE TO DO THESE THINGS. AND THEN WITH THESE CORE BELIEFS THAT WE HAVE, IF WE IF WE HOLD TRUE TO THOSE, THOSE ARE BEST PRACTICES. AND WE KNOW THAT THAT'S WHAT'S GOING TO LEAD TO STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND SUCCESS. SO IT PROBABLY FITS. I MEAN, IT WORKS. YEAH. SOLID. YEAH. MY OPINION IS I LIKE IT. I THINK IT'S GOOD. I LIKE THE MISSION STATEMENT, BUT I KEEP COMING BACK TO THIS RESPONSIBLE CITIZENSHIP IN THE VISION STATEMENT. I NOTICED IT WAS Y'ALL MIGHT ENLIGHTEN ME ON ON IT WAS CROSSED OUT. IT SEEMS LIKE HERE ON THE MISSION STATEMENT BECOME EXTRAORDINARY CITIZENS. IS THAT SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED? JUST REAL QUICK ARE WE MOVING ON FROM THE MISSION STATEMENT? WE I THINK BECAUSE WE ADDED IT TO THE VISION WE WANT TO. YEAH, I'M TOTALLY OKAY WITH IT. I JUST I LIKE THE IDEA OF RESPONSIBLE CITIZENSHIP. THE REASON WHY IS BECAUSE THE IDEA OF CITIZENSHIP IS LOST ON MANY YOUNG PEOPLE TODAY. AND THAT DOESN'T ONLY MEAN GOING ON VOTING, IT ALSO MEANS VOLUNTEERING AND PUTTING SOMETHING BACK IN YOUR COMMUNITY BECAUSE THERE'S STRENGTH IN COMMUNITY AND THERE'S COMMUNITY AND STRENGTH. IT KIND OF TIES INTO BEING RESPONSIBLE, CONTRIBUTING BACK. AND I THINK THAT CONTRIBUTES TO THE OVERALL MISSION. IT COULD CONTRIBUTE TO THE DISTRICT JUST EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT. SO I LIKE THAT. I MEAN, WE DON'T HAVE TO ADD IT TO THE MISSION STATEMENT. I LIKE IT THE WAY IT IS, BUT I DO LIKE THE IDEA OF PUSHING CITIZENSHIP, AND I THINK THAT'S A GOOD THING. BUT THAT'S JUST MY $0.02 ON THAT. SO GOOD ON MISSION. OKAY, LET'S PICK UP WITH THAT COMMENT. YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE VISION STATEMENT. AND IF YOU DON'T MIND, COULD YOU RECAP WHAT YOU WERE SAYING ABOUT CITIZENSHIP? DID YOU SUGGEST ANOTHER WORD BESIDES RESPONSIBLE CITIZENSHIP, BUT JUST EMPHASIZING THE IMPORTANCE? YEAH, MY MICROPHONE. THANK YOU. I NOTICE IT WAS CROSSED OUT RIGHT HERE, AND I WAS JUST KIND OF I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WAS DONE THE LAST TIME YOU ALL VISITED THIS, CORRECT. DO YOU ALL REMEMBER, LIKE THE JUST THE RATIONALE FOR DOING THAT? WAS IT JUST TO ADD IT TO THE VISION STATEMENT? CORRECT. I THINK IT WAS TO MOVE IT TO THE VISION STATEMENT. OKAY. WHICH I'M TOTALLY OKAY WITH. IT WAS BECAUSE OF THE PRESENT VERSUS FUTURE. WE THOUGHT THAT, YOU KNOW, BY EDUCATING THEM ONCE THEY WERE ABLE, THEN THEY WOULD BECOME IN THE FUTURE THE RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS. AND SO I THINK THAT'S THE DISCUSSION THAT WE HAD AND WE MOVED IT FROM ONE TO THE OTHER JUST BECAUSE OF FIT. YEAH, IT LOOKS LIKE IT WAS ON THE IT WAS ON THE VISION. WE JUST MOVED IT FROM THE LAST BULLET UP TO THE SECOND BULLET, IT LOOKS LIKE. AND WE ADDED PREPARED FOR LIFE AND RESPONSIBLE CITIZENSHIP. SO WE PUT AN ADJECTIVE THERE AS WELL. I LIKE ERIC'S POINT OF THIS BEING MORE THE FUTURE, EVENTUALLY BECOMING RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS, BUT I'M TOTALLY OKAY WITH IT. I JUST WANTED TO VISIT THAT. SO. GOOD. PERFECT. AND THEN ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE PUT IN PLACE TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR STUDENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS IS GRADUATION REQUIREMENT REQUIRES THE SERVING. AND OF COURSE, IF YOU WANT TO GET INTO NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY OR, YOU KNOW, OTHER, YOU KNOW, OTHER OTHER ESTEEMED ORGANIZATIONS, I MEAN, IT'S GOING TO REQUIRE SOME ADDITIONAL, YOU KNOW, SERVING IN THE COMMUNITY AS WELL. SO THAT COMPONENT IS THERE. AND I'M GLAD, TOO, THAT WE CAPTURED THAT BECAUSE IT IS IMPORTANT THAT IT'S WE'RE NOT JUST CONSUMERS OF EDUCATION. RIGHT. AS A STUDENT, I MEAN, YOU ARE YOU'RE GOING TO BE PRODUCTIVE. YOU'RE GOING TO BE A PRODUCTIVE CITIZEN. SO, YEAH, GOOD. YEAH. GOOD CALL. ADDING THAT TO OUR GOALS AS WELL, MAKING THAT A REQUIREMENT. I THINK IT'S A GOOD POINT AND THANKS FOR ADDING THAT. I THOUGHT WE DID A LOT OF WORK LAST YEAR ON THIS AND I WAS VERY PROUD OF THIS AND I'M LOOKING AT IT AGAIN AND I'M STILL PROUD OF THE WORK WE DID HERE. IF YOU READ WHAT WE HAD LAST YEAR, IT WAS PRETTY, AVERAGE. AND WE SORT OF WANTED TO PUSH IT A LITTLE BIT TO SAY NOT ONLY DO WE WANT THEM ACADEMICALLY PREPARED, WE WANT PEOPLE HIGHLY SOUGHT AFTER. [02:40:02] WE WANT RESPONSIBLE CITIZENSHIP. SO WE TRY TO ADD SOME MORE ASSERTIVE AND ACTIONABLE WORDS TO OUR VISION BECAUSE WE THOUGHT WE WERE READY FOR THAT. YEAH, AND GO AHEAD. THEY WERE MORE PROACTIVE. WE WANTED TO BE MORE PROACTIVE IN IT BECAUSE THE OTHER ONES WERE PASSIVE. SO WE WANTED MORE ACTION. AND RAUL, WHAT HE MENTIONED, I THINK IS IMPORTANT THAT ONE OF THE THINGS WE DID, WE TALKED ABOUT THIS A LOT LAST YEAR TO THE GOALS BUT WAS TO NOT MAKE THIS JUST AGAIN ANOTHER LIST OF THINGS BUT WE TIED ACTUAL HOUSE TO THE VISION TO SAY, OKAY, IF WE'RE GOING TO SAY THIS IS WHAT WE WANT OUR STUDENTS TO BE WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO TO CREATE A PATHWAY TO THAT? WE DON'T WANT TO JUST SAY BE RESPONSIBLE CITIZENSHIP, BUT WE'RE GOING TO REQUIRE THEM TO VOLUNTEER AND TO BE OUT IN THE COMMUNITY DOING THINGS. AND WE'RE GOING TO PUT SOME TEETH TO THESE THINGS SO THAT THEY BECOME REAL FOR US, OUR STUDENTS, ADMINISTRATION, COMMUNITY, IT'S BEEN A GOOD THING. SEE, AND THAT'S THE PERFECT EXAMPLE. IF I WERE TO ASK YOU ABOUT HOW THIS LOOKS IN YOUR DISTRICT AS AN OUTSIDER, AND YOU TOLD ME THAT I WOULD SAY THAT BOARD, THEY'RE SERIOUS TO BE ABLE TO SAY THESE AREN'T JUST WORDS. WE'VE LOOKED AT THE SYSTEM AND IT'S ALIGNED. THERE ARE ACTIONABLE ITEMS TO THESE EXPECTATIONS. SO WE KNOW WE'RE ACCOMPLISHING THE VISION. WE'RE MOVING TOWARDS IT. IT'S SO GOOD. WHAT ELSE? DO YOU STILL WANT YOUR KIDS TO BE HIGHLY SOUGHT AFTER FOR COLLEGE, CAREER AND MILITARY? ANY OTHER AREAS OR FIELDS? BYRON. I HAVE A QUESTION. OKAY. I KNOW CONTINUITY OF MISSION STATEMENT IS IMPORTANT, BUT I KNOW THIS BOARD IS AND BEFORE I GOT HERE, WE TAKE A I MEAN, START AT A REALLY BIG PUSH TO, YOU KNOW, TO, CELEBRATE OUR STAFF AND THE PEOPLE THAT WORK IN THE DISTRICT. WE'RE VERY EMPLOYEE FRIENDLY, RIGHT. BUT ARE NOWHERE IN OUR MISSION STATEMENT OR OUR VISION STATEMENT DO WE TALK ABOUT OUR STAFF. SO IN THE MISSION STATEMENT, CAN WE SAY THE MISSION OF HAYS CISD IS TO EDUCATE NATURE, OUR STUDENTS AND STAFF, THROUGH INNOVATIVE AND PERSONALIZED EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES WHILE CELEBRATING OUR DIVERSITY. AND WE HAD THAT DISCUSSION LAST YEAR AND THAT'S WHY WE MOVED IT TO THE BELIEF STATEMENTS. WE CAN CHANGE IT IF THAT IS THE WILL OF THE BOARD. BUT WE DID HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT BECAUSE I'M ALL ABOUT THE EMPLOYEE FRIENDLY. THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS HUGE FOR ME, BUT WE ENDED UP ADDING IT TO OUR BELIEF STATEMENTS AND MADE THAT OUR ONE MISSION IS OUR STUDENTS. THAT'S OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY IS THE EDUCATION OF KIDS. YOU KNOW FOR SURE. THAT'S WHY WE JUST. THROWING IT OUT THERE AS MUCH AS WE TALK ABOUT EMPLOYEE FRIENDLY. AND WE TALKED ABOUT IT LAST YEAR, RIGHT? I REMEMBER THAT CONVERSATION. UNLESS I HAD IT IN MY HEAD. YEAH, IT'S EXACTLY RIGHT. AND WE PUT IT, WE REVIVED OUR BELIEF STATEMENTS AND WE I THINK IT'S THE ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR FIFTH BULLET ON THE BELIEF STATEMENT. RIGHT. AND THEY'RE BULLETS, NOT NUMBERS. SO. THERE, BUT. YEAH, I'M OF THE OPINION THAT THE MISSION AND VISION NEED TO BE STUDENT FOCUSED. AND THEN WE TAKE THE BELIEFS AND WE SAY, THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO LEAD TO THESE OTHER THINGS COMING TO FRUITION. WITH ONE OF THOSE BEING AN EMPLOYEE FRIENDLY, UNRIVALED IS WHAT IT SAYS ORIN AN UNRIVALED . SO THERE YOU GO. SO YOU KEEP IT STUDENT CENTERED BECAUSE THAT'S THE ACCOUNTABILITY STANDARD FOR EVERY ADULT IN THE SYSTEM. AND THEN AS PART OF YOUR BELIEFS, YOU RECOGNIZE THE WORK THEY'RE DOING TO ACHIEVE THAT. AND SO YOU SUPPORT THEM WITH THE MOST EMPLOYEE FRIENDLY POLICIES EVER. HOW DID YOU PUT IT IN THE PAST? TELL THAT TO EVERY DISTRICT THAT I VISIT. WE ARE THE MOST EMPLOYEE FRIENDLY DISTRICT EVER. GOOD. GOOD. SO JUST AS A MISSION STATEMENT DOESN'T CHANGE THAT MUCH, THE VISION STATEMENT IS QUITE SIMILAR. HOW ARE YOU FEELING ABOUT THE VISION STATEMENT? WHAT ELSE? GOOD. SO WHAT I WANT TO AND THERE WAS THE LAST DOCUMENT I THINK I HAD. I DIDN'T PULL UP THE BELIEF STATEMENTS. DID YOU WANT TO GO OVER THOSE? WE HAD EVERYBODY LOOK AT IT. DID ANYBODY COME WITH ANY FEEDBACK ON THAT OR ARE WE GOOD WITH IT? I THINK WE GOT AFFIRMATIVE NODS AND THUMBS UP ON THAT. SO LET ME WRAP THIS UP AND I WANT TO FIRST PAY YOU A COMPLIMENT BEFORE I GIVE YOU YOUR LAST. FIRST, PAY YOU A COMPLIMENT BEFORE I GIVE YOU YOUR LAST TASK. THERE'S ANOTHER BOARD THAT I HAVE A PLEASURE WORKING WITH. I THINK THEY'RE JUST GREAT STEWARDS OF THE ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES. AND THE ONE THING I LOVE TO COMPLIMENT THEM ON IS HOW INTENTIONAL THEY ARE EVERY YEAR WHEN IT COMES TO PLANNING AND LOOKING AT THOSE GOVERNANCE ISSUES, [02:45:10] LIKE YOU, THEY SPEND TIME TALKING ABOUT THOSE BIG PICTURE ITEMS THAT REALLY DO MATTER. THERE ISN'T TIME. I HATE TO SAY WASTED, BUT JUST NOT USED WISELY. TALKING ABOUT THINGS THAT DON'T PUT INTO PLACE THESE KIND OF MEASURES. AND WHEN I HEAR YOU ALL TALK ABOUT THIS MEANS SOMETHING HERE, IT IS ACCOUNTABILITY FOR US AS A TEAM. AND I TIE THAT BACK TO THE RESEARCH LOOKING AT CLOSURE. IT'S SIGNIFICANT. AND WHEN I HEAR HOW YOU CAN TIE THESE MISSION STATEMENT ITEMS AND THE VISION STATEMENT ITEMS TWO SPECIFIC THINGS THAT STUDENTS ARE DOING OR BEING ASKED TO DO, IT'S INCREDIBLE. BUT WHAT REALLY PUSHED ME OVER THE TOP WAS WHEN I LOOK AT HOW YOU KEEP RECORDS AND TRACK OF YOUR WORK IN PROGRESS, BECAUSE I'M LOOKING AT THE NEWEST BOARD MEMBER AND HE HAS IN HIS HANDS THE DOCUMENTS AND THE EDITS. HE GETS TO SEE NOT JUST WHERE WE ARE AND WHAT THE EXPECTATIONS ARE, BUT WHERE WE'VE COME FROM. AND YOU TALK ABOUT LEGACY AND EXPECTATION AND BUILDING A CULTURE ON THE BOARD THAT IS FOCUSED ON GOVERNANCE IS HUGE. AND I SAY THAT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF HAVING THE BLESSING, OF WORKING WITH ANYWHERE BETWEEN 30 AND 40 BOARDS A YEAR AND WISHING THAT WE COULD SEE MORE OF THAT. SO I WANT TO JUST COMPLIMENT YOU ON YOUR INTENTIONALITY IN ADHERING TO BOARD PRACTICES AND PUTTING A LOT OF THOUGHT INTO THOSE KEY THINGS THAT, AGAIN, ONLY THE BOARD CAN DO. THAT'S HOW SYSTEMS THRIVE. I LOVE YOUR ATTENTION TO THE VISION, TO THE MISSION, TO THE WAY YOU INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER. AND SO IT'S BEEN A REAL PLEASURE, AS ALWAYS, WORKING WITH YOU ALL. I WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK THIS YEAR. THE LAST THING I'LL ASK YOU TO DO IS IN YOUR FRAMEWORK, TAKE A LOOK THROUGH THE FRAMEWORK THAT I HANDED YOU. AND TONIGHT AND AS YOU GO HOME AND JUST OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS AND WEEKS, LOOK AT THOSE THINGS THAT YOU THINK YOU CAN PERSONALLY IMPROVE AND LEARN MORE ABOUT. YOU HAVE THE TEX ED CONFERENCE. YES. I AM SORRY TO DERAIL THINGS. I WAS HOPING THAT I WOULDN'T HAVE TO SAY THIS, BUT ON THE BELIEF STATEMENT. FOURTH BOTTOM. FOURTH BULLET FROM THE BOTTOM. ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR. OPEN COMMUNICATION, COMMA, TRANSPARENCY, COMMA, ACCOUNTABILITY. BUILD TRUST. THAT'S A TYPO. AND IT'S ON OUR WEBSITE. THE SAME SHOULD IT BE TO BUILD TRUST? WHAT WERE WE SAYING THERE? BUILDS. BUILDS. OKAY, SO WE JUST. CAN WE JUST ADD AN S TO BUILDS AND. SORRY. OR. AND NO PROBLEM LOVING ALL THE COMPLIMENTS. I'M GLAD YOU CAUGHT THAT. TYPO WAS MAKING ME CRAZY. IT MATTERS TO YOU. SO YOU CAUGHT IT. [LAUGHTER] WHICH DOMINANT TEAM STYLE IS THAT THAT ALLOWS YOU TO CATCH THAT. WHICH ONE OF THESE IS. WE BELIEVE. BARBARA, DID YOU GET NOTE OF THAT? AND I AM AN ENTHUSIAST, BUT I ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT DETAILS TOO. SO I'M A LITTLE TASKMASTERY AT TIMES. NOW, JUST BECAUSE SHE INTERRUPTED ME GIVING YOU YOUR ASSIGNMENT DOESN'T MEAN THAT I FORGOT ABOUT IT. NO, BUT JUST LOOK AT THAT FRAMEWORK. IDENTIFY SOME OF THOSE COMPONENTS UNDER THOSE PILLARS FOR BOARD DEVELOPMENT LAID OUT BY SBOE AND THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT TO INVEST TIME IN LEARNING WHEN YOU GO TO TEX ED CONFERENCE OR THE NEXT CONFERENCE OR CONVERSATION YOU HAVE WITH YOUR SUPERINTENDENT AND JUST PLAN OUT FOR YOURSELVES AS I KNOW YOU WILL, A PATH FOR YOUR OWN PROFESSIONAL PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT. IT WILL BENEFIT THE BOARD. AND IT'S IT Y'ALL. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU, ORIN THANK YOU. THAT WAS FANTASTIC. SO THERE'S NOT ANY OBJECTIONS. THE BOARD IS ADJOURNED AT 8:30 P.M.. NICE. [APPLAUSE] * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.