By having a smaller number of basic policies, the school board can review every policy each year. Under the old system, it would take at least four years to review all policies and procedures.

With a school board that potentially changes makeup every two years (due to elections), it wasn’t feasible to review the old policy manual. Instead, individual areas were reviewed as problems or issues arise.

Under Policy Governance®, each year, a calendar of policies to be reviewed can be published in advance and the public will have transparent knowledge of what policy issues will be on the agenda for each meeting.

The basic policies define the ends and the limits on staff means. The actual means of achieving the ends will be left to the professional educators – specifically, the superintendent and those he delegates.

The superintendent is held accountable for achieving the ends, and the school board is accountable to the public for defining those ends policies and hiring and supervising the professional superintendent who ensures that those ends are met.

Because the entire body of policy is reviewed throughout the year, evaluation of the success of those policies takes place on an ongoing basis. Instead of reacting to a problem, the policies are examined proactively and evaluated for needed changes.

Everyone — the school board, the staff of the district and the owners (the public) — are aware of the criteria against which the school board measures success — the expected “ends” to be delivered by the superintendent.