Introduction
This is Steve Dorner, Board Secretary and Chair of the Board Nominating Advisory Committee, and I'm writing to talk about the first steps being taken to get our Board member search under way.
Board Vice-President Josh Nelson resigned this month due to out-of-town duties, and we have another Board member who may have to resign over a scheduling conflict. Per our bylaws, President Beaver appointed a nominating committee to recommend candidates for the Board. That committee consists of:
Michelle Blevins, McGill Lead Secretary
Nadia Camacho, ELAC President
Steve Dorner, Board Secretary (Chair)
Roberto Sanchez, SSC President
Carolyn Smith, Board member
The committee's mission is to nominate one candidate for each Board opening at the October 20th Board meeting. At that meeting, other school Board members are also allowed to nominate candidates "from the floor" (meaning other than the ones the committee nominated.)
I have set our first committee meeting for September 15th at 5:30pm. That meeting will begin with an informational session for prospective Board members, and then we will continue to our remaining committee business.
I have also posted a form to allow prospective members to apply.
Marketing the Board Meeting
In consultation with the Principal and teachers, I felt it important to get information to the parents immediately (our bylaws include the advice that Board openings "should be noticed with time to apply".) I tried to find a time when the Committee could meet in advance of the first day of school, but was unsuccessful.
I have therefore shared, under Ms Beaver's authority, the following marketing material regarding the Board opening:
These were handed out at the McGill New Student Orientation, posted at the School and on our website, and will also be handed out on the first day of school.
Our First Meeting
At our first meeting, I am hoping we will adopt a work plan to cover the rest of our activities. I will be proposing such a work plan, but please understand that the Committee as a whole is in charge, not I, and we will all together decide how we wish to proceed.
I set our first meeting for September 15th because it is the 3rd Thursday, and so should be open for Board members and those who attend Board meetings. As mentioned above, I would have liked to have met sooner, but I have had challenges getting feedback on potential meeting dates.
Questions, Suggestions and the Brown Act
For members of the public:
Please feel free to send your questions and suggestions to me, sdorner@mcgillschoolofsuccess.org or via text to 858-883-7122.
For current members of the Committee and the Board:
Because the Nominating Committee is composed of both Board Members and non-Board members, it is subject to the Brown Act. Therefore, there are restrictions on how the members of the Committee and the members of the Board may discuss the business of the Committee outside a properly noticed meeting.
If you are unfamiliar with the Brown Act, its application to the Committee means you should NOT discuss any particular matter of Committee business with more than ONE other Committee member, except at our meetings. For example, if Mr Sanchez would like to discuss a candidate with Ms Camacho, that would be fine, so long as neither of them go on to discuss that candidate with any other Committee members.
Therefore, if you have questions/suggestions/information solely about scheduling or other mechanics, you may contact me as above. If, however, you have opinions on how we should do our work, including comments on the 3-point work plan I outlined above, please save those for our meeting on September 15th.