The Board of Education of Montgomery County met in Retreat at the Carver

Educational Services Center, Rockville, Maryland, on June 24, 2008, at 9:00 a.m.

Present: Ms. Shirley Brandman, Vice President

in the Chair
Mr. Christopher Barclay
Ms. Sharon Cox
Dr. Judy Docca
Mr. Benjamin Moskowitz
Mrs. Patricia O=Neill
Dr. Jerry Weast, Secretary/Treasurer

Absent: Mr. Steve Abrams

Ms. Nancy Navarro, President

Others attending the retreat: Mr. Larry Bowers, Mr. Roland Ikheloa, Ms. Suzann
King, Ms. Laura Steinberg, and Mrs. Glenda Rose (recorder).

Stated Outcomes by the end of the retreat session:

• Review the Operating and Capital Budget processes to ascertain what
changes, if any, should be made for next year
• Review the integration of committee work with the work of the Board to
ensure that committee work plans are aligned with the strategic plan and
support/inform Board decision making
Operating and Capital Budget Processes
• Review of Operating Budget Process – What worked well, what needs
improvement, and suggestions for modifying the process next year.
• Review of Capital Budget Process – What worked well, what needs
improvement, and suggestions for modifying the process next year.
• Review of September 20 and October 11 Forums on the Strategic Plan –
What worked well, what needs improvement, and suggestions for modifying
the process next year.
Integrating the Work of Board Committees with the Work of the Board

• Committee Work Plans – What are the work plans, how are the items
determined, and what is the Board’s role in determining work plans?

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• How are the work plans aligned with the Strategic Plan and the Board’s
work? – Are the items in the work plans properly Board work and what is
the connection to the work of the full Board?

Operating Budget Process

The Board determined that there was a need to clearly align budget formation
with strategic plan priorities. The focus of outreach efforts for forum
participants should stress the strategic direction with realistic budget
constraints. In this vein, there could be a one-page information piece available
to the public to help them with their testimony. In tight fiscal times, the budget
formation process needs to be narrowed to the most important initiatives.

In the future, there is a need to be able to set expectations early based on

financial forecast and not create expectations during forums that are unrealistic
given economic conditions. The Board needs to articulate the connection
between the financial climate and the ability to deliver on expectations raised at
forums. How do we link the strategic plan to the child? How do we influence
the funding agencies?

Finally, the Board must find ways to listen to the community in order to hear
new voices (like the County Council and county executive hold town hall
meetings). The Board needs to move forward with a cohesive strategy that
unites and mobilizes the PTA and the community on how serious the budget
picture is.

The decision was to keep the forums, but not make promises for the budget
and focus on the Board’s goals. The Strategic Planning Committee should
review the process, and the Communications and Public Engagement
Committee should craft a message to provide information to the community as
well as the PTA leadership. There was a suggestion to use the template of the
County Council to organize information for the Board.

Capital Budget and Boundary Hearing Process

The Board noted that the calendar and timeline is very tight for budget and
boundary processes. Therefore, the consensus was to keep the process for
the superintendent’s recommendation followed by Board-adopted alternatives
for public hearing. Information for Capital Budget should be organized in
packets, e.g., need for additions ranked by percent utilization similar to the way
County Council packets are organized.

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 Integrating the Work of Board Committees with the Work of the Board

Due to time constraints, the Board made a few observations about committee
work that included the structure of the committee with full Board approval of
recommendations from the committee. The members were concerned about
the committee work and the impact on staff time. Another retreat will be
scheduled that is dedicated to the work of Board committees.

The Board of Education adjourned its retreat at 1:05 p.m.

__________________________
PRESIDENT

__________________________
SECRETARY
JDW:gr