Pacific Grove — The Pacific Grove Unified School District Board of Education voted to adopt the agenda at a March 27 special meeting and spent the session reviewing governance training and the district’s governance handbook, agreeing to record future governance sessions and to pursue a streamlined rewrite of the handbook and board norms.

Board President Dr. Hazen opened the special meeting and moved to approve the agenda “as presented.” Clerk McNary seconded the motion; the board voted 5-0 to approve the agenda. The board then convened a closed session on collective bargaining with the PGTA and CSEA and on an employee complaint; after the closed session the board reported that “information was received and direction was given” for the bargaining items and that information was received regarding the employee complaint.

Why it matters: The board’s governance handbook and the set of norms that guide trustee behavior determine how trustees interact with one another, with staff and with the public. Trustees said the current handbook is long, repetitive and difficult to use; they agreed the district would benefit from a shorter, clearer set of norms and a practical, easy-to-use handbook.

Discussion highlights
- Recording governance sessions: Trustees and staff debated whether governance-training meetings should be recorded. Several trustees said recording promotes transparency and accessibility for members of the public who watch remotely; others said recording could inhibit candid conversation and make some participants uncomfortable given employment considerations. In the meeting’s discussion the board decided to record the governance session this time and to make the governance materials available in printed form afterward.

- Team-building and training: Superintendent Laura led a team-building exercise called “past, present, future” and tied the activity to leadership principles from the book Trust and Inspire. Trustees said the exercise helped build trust and underscored the need for governance training to continue across the year.

- Handbook, norms and process to revise: Trustees spent the bulk of the meeting reviewing the governance handbook’s language and structure. Multiple trustees described the handbook as too wordy and containing duplicate or legacy material carried over from prior boards. The group discussed keeping a short, clear set of norms (variously described as a “top 10,” board compact or “classroom rules”) and moving the longer legacy content into a reference appendix for future boards. Several trustees proposed a short homework assignment: each trustee will identify a short list (roughly five to ten) of norms they support, bring them to the next governance session, and the board will use a template (including CSBA materials) to create a concise handbook.

- Facilitators and timeline: Trustees discussed continuing to use the current facilitators (Lou Lozano and Eric Andrews) for governance training and the budget implications of outside facilitation. The board endorsed continuing governance training through the rest of the year and agreed to a plan for follow-up: trustees will review a CSBA-style template and return with suggested norms; a small ad hoc group or pair of trustees may be appointed to draft a proposed concise handbook for board review at a subsequent governance meeting.

Formal actions and outcomes
- Adoption of the agenda: motion by Board President Dr. Hazen; seconded by Clerk McNary; vote 5-0, outcome approved. (See “Votes at a glance.”)
- Closed session: board met to discuss collective bargaining with PGTA (2024–25) and CSEA (2024–25) under Government Code and Education Code authority and to consider an employee complaint; the board reported that information was received and that direction was given on bargaining items. No public votes were taken on those matters; the board reported the closed-session summary out loud after returning to open session.

Board members and staff repeatedly emphasized that the goal of the rewrite is to produce a concise, user-friendly handbook that reflects this board’s expectations, supports transparency, and preserves older material in an appendix for historical reference. Trustees also agreed to continue governance training and to bring short, candidate norms (five to 10 each) to the next governance session for consolidation.

Ending: The board closed the special meeting after setting homework and next steps for governance work; trustees will reconvene for the next regular meeting and a follow-up governance session to review proposed norms and a CSBA-style template.