by Kurt Nesbitt
Contributing Writer
Should the Elk River Area School District have extra or unique policies to guide its operations?
That’s the question at the center of the discussion among School Board members and officials as they review the district’s policies to figure out which they want to keep and which they want to eliminate.
According to Superintendent Dan Bittman, there are four groupings of policies that school districts have — those required by law and those recommended, and then those that are either unique to a district or ‘extra.’
Bittman recommended the School Board eliminate the extra ones. The School Board has already addressed the policies that the law requires it to have.
Decision time is coming for the last two sets of policies — those recommended policies from state associations and policies that are unique or extra.
“…And those are the ones we’re really going to spend some time about,” said Bittman.
He recommended the board eliminate all of the extra policies except the ones that the superintendent’s cabinet deems necessary.
One by one, board members weighed in on the item.
Director Jennifer Plantenberg-Selbitschka said she’s struggled with the idea internally, but also thought the superintendent doesn’t need to be bound by 87 policies. She said later that she’s against “making a sweeping axe” and feels that the board should be more respectful of its constituents as it proceeds.
Director Joel Nelson questioned the purpose of all the extra policies and Plantenberg-Selbitschka replied that they were meant “to make sure things went down the right road.”
Director Holly Thompson supports the idea. Director Gregg Peppin felt like the board should trust the superintendent but should also be the voice of the voters. He said he thinks some of the policies have value and is “in the middle” between keeping all of them and getting rid of all of them.
School Board Chairman Shane Steinbrecher said the board is not dealing with the root of the problem, as he feels merely putting policies in place won’t resolve issues and the superintendent evaluation tool will be the difference.
Nelson said he thinks some school boards hide behind policies and he worries about exceptions to policies.
Director Tony Walter said he doesn’t favor a complete sweep either.
Director Christi Tullbane just felt the committee has done a good job. She also agreed with Steinbrecher’s point, saying she thinks making policies as solutions to problems should be limited.
Steinbrecher directed the board members to read through the policies and choose which ones they want to keep, eliminate or discuss. Bittman said later that the committee of Plantenberg-Selbitschka and Peppin will recommend a schedule to the School Board, which will review the policies at the times on the schedule.