Northwest School Board Votes to Regulate Its Own School Visits

Even though school board member Brian Haskins was adamantly opposed, the Northwest R-1 School District Board of Education voted 6-1 to approve  a policy that requires advance notification when official school visits are made.

"Visits by school board members can be a disruption to the learning environment," said board member Nancy Bergfeld. "The school faculty or our principals are put under pressure if a board member visits. My goal is to insure that the employees of the district can do their jobs."

The new policy requires school board members to "work with" the superintendent to schedule a visit during a time that minimizes student and staff disruption. The policy calls for board members to schedule visits outside the normal school day whenever possible.

Superintendent Paul Ziegler wrote the changes in the school vist policy at the behest of several board members.

"This is not something that was concocted by the administration," Bergfeld said. "This is what we asked it to write. These are our words."

Haskins was vocal in his objections to the proposed policy change.

"I couldn't more strongly disagree with this policy," he said. "It goes against everything a board member should do and punishes future board members."

Haskins said he particularly objected to the wording in the revised policy, saying he didn't think a board member who drops in on a school should be considered a "disruptive outside visitor." He also said he doesn't think a board member should have to get permission from the superintendent to visit a school.

"I would argue that we are not outsiders, but the language drafted by the administration says just that," he said.

Ziegler said the new policy is an effort to make sure a school's staff has time to spend with a board member who visits unexpectantly. He said board member visits might pressure a school principal to make time for a visit even igf it is inconvenient to do so.

"What I'm suggesting is that a principal is not going to say no to a board member even if it is a bad time," he said. "I wouldn' be asking board members to do anything I wouldn't do myself.

"I call before I visit," Ziegler said. "I try not to just show up."

Haskins was not convinced.

"It's my duty to the taxpayers to visit the schools," he said. "It's part of the responsibilities of a school board member."

Passage of the revised school visit policy won't prevent Haskins from visiting any Northwest district school school he likes, however. He'll just need a hall pass from the superintendent first.