Welcome back to the start of another school year! It seems like yesterday that we were celebrating the beginning of a new millennium, and now we are almost at the close of the first decade of that millennium.

While it is the responsibility of the Bethel Park School District to educate our children, I thought I might take some time in this column to educate the readers about the roles and responsibilities of School Boards in Pennsylvania.

As you may already know, there are 501 school districts in Pennsylvania, each of them governed by a Board of School Directors. To serve as a School Director, individuals must reside in that school district for a minimum of one year, have good moral character and be at least 18 years of age. School Directors are elected by the local citizens of that district to serve a four year term. School Directors are the only elected position in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to serve without compensation.

The Pennsylvania School Code provides School Boards with the broad authority to establish, equip, furnish and maintain the public schools in the district.

School Directors are grassroots, democratic representatives of the people who live closest to the children our schools are established to serve. Related to this "representative" role of School Boards, is the function they serve as elected taxing bodies, responsible for raising a considerable portion of every district's budget, mostly through real estate taxes. This, too, is both a traditional and continuing role of School Boards throughout the state.

School Boards also act as agents of state government. School districts and their Boards were created by state government to help fulfill a state constitutional mandate that the General Assembly provide for a system of public schools. School districts and School Boards exist in large part because the Pennsylvania General Assembly, as well as the public in general, value a substantial measure of local control in the governance of the public school system.

The philosophy of local control has a strong tradition in Pennsylvania, with each district developing a strategic plan to outline how the district will assist students in meeting the state's academic standards, including requirements for high school graduation.

School Boards have the authority to employ the necessary qualified personnel to operate the schools on a day-to-day basis. To support these activities, School Boards are given the authority to levy taxes, borrow funds, obtain grants and expend funds as outlined in the Pennsylvania School Code as well as other state and federal laws.

Throughout Pennsylvania, public school districts spend more than $14.8 billion annually to provide educational services to more than 1.8 million students. In 2009-2010, the Bethel Park School District will spend $70,069,162 to educate approximately 5,100 students.

As trustees, School Boards have the responsibility of ensuring the strength of the public school system as well as its effectiveness in educating all of the children in the communities in which they serve.

Article V of the Pennsylvania School Code, titled Duties and Powers of Boards of School Directors, "gives School Boards across the state the authority over several areas, including adopting policies, establishing schools and programs, determining the school calendar and adopting curriculum and textbooks." Please see the complete list in the box that accompanies this article.

Language in the School Code prescribes a long list of decisions pertinent to the operation of the school district that must be determined by a majority vote of the School Board. Other state laws establish requirements for the School Board, relative to how it conducts public meetings. The Bethel Park Board of School Directors conducts public meetings in accordance with Roberts Rules of Order. School Board meetings, which are open to the public, are usually held twice each month. The first meeting of the month is called the Committee Meeting (usually held the third Tuesday of the month), where the Board discusses the items to be placed on the agenda for voting at the Regular Meeting (usually held the fourth Thursday of the month).

The Bethel Park Board of School Directors will meet the following days through the end of 2009:

• August 11 and 27
• September 15 and 24
• October 20 and 29
• November 17 (combined Committee/Regular Meeting)
• December 1 (Reorganization Meeting) and 8 (combined Committee/Regular Meeting)

Our system of local governance, while not perfect, still is the best system to provide the basis of effective leadership, which ultimately creates a quality learning environment for our children and our community. These are responsibilities the Bethel Park Board of School Directors takes seriously. It is an honor and privilege to serve the students and residents in our community.

DUTIES AND POWERS OF BOARDS OF SCHOOL DIRECTORS
(as outlined in Article V of the Pennsylvania School Code)

• Adopting policies to manage the district
• Establishing schools and programs
• Determining the school calendar
• Adopting the curriculum
• Adopting textbooks
• Appointing and dismissing the superintendent
• Appointing and dismissing other professional staff
• Adopting an annual budget
• Levying and collecting taxes
• Borrowing money
• Determining the depositories for school funds
• Entering into contracts
• Determining the salary of all personnel
• Purchasing and selling land
• Determining the location of school buildings
• Operating school cafeterias
• Adopting policies to govern student organizations
• Authorizing staff participation in professional conferences
• Authorizing student field trips

This message appears in the August 2009 issue of the Bethel Park Chronicles.

© 2009 Bethel Park School District. All rights reserved.