MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES AND ETHICAL STANDARDS

The Smithfield School Committee will perform all duties consistent with RI General Laws 16-2-9.1, and this policy is effectively amended as that section is amended.

The Smithfield School Department does hereby establish a code of basic principles and ethical standards for School Committee members acting individually and collectively as boards of education in the management of the public schools of Smithfield.

The School Committee in Smithfield accepts the obligation to operate the public schools in accordance with the fundamental principles and standards of school management, which principles include but are not limited to the following:

1. Formulate written policy for the administration of schools to be reviewed regularly and revised as necessary.
2. Exercise legislative, policy-making, planning and appraising functions and delegate administrative functions in the operation of schools.
3. Recognize their critical responsibility for selecting the Superintendent, defining his or her responsibilities, and evaluating his or her performance regularly without directly engaging in administrative processes.
4. Accept and encourage a variety of opinions from and communication with all parts of the community.
5. Make public relevant institutional information in order to promote communication and understanding between the school system and the community.
6. Act on legislative and policy making matters only after examining pertinent facts and considering the Superintendent’s recommendations.
7. Conduct meetings with planned and published agendas.
8. Encourage and promote professional growth of school staff so that quality of instruction and support services may continually be improved.
9. Establish and maintain procedural steps for resolving complaints and criticisms of school affairs.
10. Act only through public meetings since individual board members have no authority to bind the board.
11. Recognize that the first and greatest concern must be the educational welfare of the students attending the public schools.
12. Work with other committee members to establish effective board policies and to delegate authority for the administration of the schools to the Superintendent.
13. Avoid being placed in a position of conflict of interest, and refrain from using the committee position for personal gain.
14. Attend all regularly scheduled committee meetings insofar as possible, and become informed concerning the issues to be considered at the meetings.
15. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to limit or otherwise interfere with the rights of teachers and other school employees to collectively bargain pursuant to RIGL Chapters 9.3 and 9.4 of Title 28 or to allow the School Committee or Superintendent to abrogate any agreement reached by collective bargaining.

ADOPTED: April 5, 1999