Pacific Grove Unified board endorses recording governance sessions, sets plan to slim handbook

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…