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Williamsburg School Committee Values

School Committee Chart of Values

The Williamsburg School Committee Responsibilities

Policy

  • Establish goals and policy for the school

Budget

  • Review and approve school budget
  • Negotiate employee contracts

Superintendent

  • Hire and evaluate the Superintendent

Other

  • School Committee meetings are open to the public.
  • All School Committee members welcome and encourage community members and school staff to attend their meetings.
  • All business is conducted in open session unless an Executive Session is otherwise noted on each meeting's agenda.
  • Meeting agendas for all School Committee meetings are posted on the HRSD Superintendent's website.
  • All meetings follow a similar format:
    • Call to Order, routine matters (announcements, visitors, circulation of bill warrants), budget, policy, action items, and reports.
    • Meetings are held monthly following a regular schedule.
  • The Williamsburg School Committee meets the 3rd Wednesday of each month unless otherwise noted.

School Committee Mission Statement Values

  • Inclusive: Our committee strives to reach out, listen well, and be open to all voices and perspectives in our community.
  • Transparent: Our Committee strives to actively deliberate with the community openly, clearly, and directly.
  • Responsive: Our committee strives to anticipate and be informed about opportunities for improvement, and to communicate our ideas and decisions respectfully and sensitively.
  • Collaborative: Our committee strives to work closely, share resources, and partner with other groups and individuals both within, and outside, the community.
  • Focused: Our committee strives to always prioritize students first when making decisions.
  • Visionary: Our committee strives to identify creative and innovative practices, resources, and solutions to provide students with the best education possible.

The People and Their School District

The School Committee has the dual responsibility for implementing statutory requirements pertaining to public education and local citizens' expectations for the education of the community’s youth. It also has an obligation to determine and assess citizens’ desires. When citizens elect delegates to represent them in the conduct of public education, their representatives have the authority to exercise their best judgment in determining policies, making decisions, and approving procedures for carrying out this responsibility.

The School Committee therefore affirms and declares its intent to:

  • Maintain two-way communication with citizens of the community. The public will be kept informed of the progress and problems of the school system, and citizens will be urged to bring their aspirations and feelings about their public schools to the attention of this body, which they have chosen to represent them in the management of public education.
  • Establish policies and make decisions on the basis of declared educational philosophy and goals. All decisions made by this Committee will be made with priority given to the purposes set forth, most crucial of which is the optimal learning of the children enrolled in our schools.
  • Act as a truly representative body for members of the community in matters involving public education. The Committee recognizes that ultimate responsibility for public education rests with the state, but individual School Committees have been assigned specific authority through state law. The Committee will not relinquish any of this authority since it believes that decision-making control over the children's learning should be in the hands of local citizens as much as possible.

School Committee Powers and Duties

The School Committee has all the powers conferred upon it by state law and must perform those duties mandated by the state. These include the responsibility and right to determine policies and practices and to employ a staff to implement its directions for the proper education of the children of the community.

The Committee takes a broad view of its functions. It sees them as:

  • Legislative or policymaking. The Committee is responsible for the development of policy as guides for administrative action and for employing a Superintendent who will implement its policies.
  • Appraisal. The Committee is responsible for evaluating the effectiveness of its policies and their implementation.
  • Provision of financial resources. The Committee is responsible for adoption of a budget that will enable the school system to carry out the Committee's policies.
  • Public relations. The Committee is responsible for providing adequate and direct means for keeping the local citizenry informed about the schools and for keeping itself and the school staff informed about the needs and wishes of the public.
  • Educational planning and evaluation. The Committee is responsible for establishing educational goals and policies that will guide the Committee and staff for the administration and continuing improvement of the educational programs provided by the School District.

LEGAL REFS: M.G.L. 71: 16-16I specifically, but powers and duties of school committees are established throughout the Massachusetts General Laws and in particular M.G.L. 71.