Administrators can avoid legal and personnel problems by ensuring that staff members, students, and parents clearly understand school board policies and procedures. Five steps are essential: adoption of official policy, policy dissemination, policy interpretation, development of handbooks, and action to ensure thorough communication with affected…

School-based health clinics can be effective, but they are not easy to establish and operate. Provides a list of areas to consider when establishing such a clinic. Important considerations are liability, accountability, confidentiality, informed consent, and parental involvement. (MD)

Outlines a board activity calendar developed by the Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District in California. It groups board actions by month and by meeting for the whole year, listing all actions and items the board anticipates considering. (MD)

Evaluating a superintendent's job performance is an important function of the school board. This proposed evaluation process includes short narratives as well as numerical ratings for use by board members. Includes a copy of the form. (MD)

If school boards do not forbid an overseas trip by students and teachers, they should formally approve the trip, check the school insurance policy, and--if necessary--buy an insurance rider to meet the legal responsibility they would face in court should there be a mishap. (MLF)

Four suggestions are offered to board members who make decisions about changes in school curriculum: collect and share information, establish curriculum priorities, plan curriculum changes, and monitor curriculum. (MD)

Offers guidelines for writing a school district policy manual that can reduce personnel problems, improve employee morale, and promote community understanding of school administration. (Author/WD)

Gives seven suggestions for handling board meetings when the audience is antagonistic. (WD)

Lists crucial procedures devised by a superintendent to produce board meetings that are both open and thoroughly organized. (Author/JM)

How to handle an irate individual or community group threatening to wreak havoc on board sessions. (Author/JM)

To avoid losing money when buying a bus, a school board should know its district's needs, use the district transportation officer's expertise, investigate local dealers' credentials, learn about differences in bus quality, follow detailed specifications, and pay promptly upon purchase. (RW)

Trustees evaluating their private school should know the school and its staff. They can use objective evaluation methods, such as standardized test results or college placement of graduates, but they should also incorporate the opinions of recent graduates and the community and utilize staff presentations to the board. (RW)

Outlines the factors that cause stress in board members and the steps members can take to alleviate the stress. Urges board members to refuse to let the job become overwhelming. (IRT)

In constructing its policy concerning community groups' use of school facilities, the board should consider cost, conditions, insurance requirements, school representatives whose presence might be needed, scheduling, and security. (Author/IRT)

A superintendent outlines the problems caused by a constant flow of new board members and suggests ways in which superintendents can help prepare new members for their jobs. (IRT)