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MSBA trainers tell Francis Howell R-III board to adopt two‑way community engagement plan; note new legal requirements
Summary
Missouri School Boards Association presenters told Francis Howell R-III board members they must adopt reliable two‑way community engagement practices and noted a statutory requirement that residents can request agenda time after following a chain of command.
Missouri School Boards Association presenters told Francis Howell R-III board members the district should adopt a formal, two‑way community engagement plan and share its communication plan with the board and the public.
Susan Goldhammer, MSBA chief of law and policy, told attendees that state law now requires districts to provide a path for residents to get on a board agenda after pursuing specified steps locally. “If they go through the chain of command, they can get on the board’s agenda,” she said, describing a legislative change the association has urged districts to address in policy.
Trainers and board members reviewed existing local activities the district uses for outreach — “Citizens in Our Schools,” Senior Pals events, community roundtables, principal coffee sessions, surveys and public comment at meetings — and discussed how to make those avenues more reliably representative. Board members said the district runs multiple engagement programs, that many meetings are recorded and that the strategic plan itself grew from community roundtables.
Presenters recommended a consistent district message and urged board members to amplify official district communications instead of posting independent summaries of meetings that can introduce opinion or conflicting narratives. “We really recommend letting the district do the talking. That helps maintain consistency,” a trainer said.
Trainers and board members discussed practical steps to reach underrepresented groups: scheduled invite‑based roundtables that feed participants, feeding attendees to increase turnout, working with principals and community organizations to recruit people and using staff who already engage with at‑risk families as proxies to gather feedback.
Board members raised the difficulty of knowing when public comments reflect a few vocal individuals versus a widespread community view; trainers recommended multiple engagement channels and intentional outreach to try to ensure representativeness while avoiding survey fatigue.
Trainers said the association has templates and guidance on community engagement and encouraged the Francis Howell R‑III board and administration to review a district communication plan together and select targeted engagement priorities.
