Governance committee to revise board norms; plans for shorter, practical rules and round-robin questioning

The governance committee agreed to review and update Saint Louis Public Schools' board norms to make them shorter, clearer and more effective in public meetings. Members said current norms are lengthy and not consistently followed; they proposed concise, practical rules to guide question order, time usage and presenter interaction.

Members discussed a round-robin approach so that questions rotate among members rather than allowing one person to monopolize questioning, and suggested limiting follow-up questions so meetings run more efficiently. Several members also asked for suggestions and guidance from the Missouri School Boards' Association (MSBA) and proposed soliciting input from the full board and committee chair before finalizing revisions.

Outcome and next steps: A motion passed to review and update the board norms and to place the revised norms on the next governance committee agenda. Staff and board leadership will solicit proposals from the full board and from MSBA guidance, then draft a shorter set of norms for committee review.

Discussion vs. decision: The committee's discussion focused on meeting efficiency and public expectations; the decision was to undertake a formal review and update and to solicit input before returning a draft to the committee.

Ending: The committee plans to present revised norms at the next governance meeting after collecting input from board members and MSBA resources.