Board staff told trustees May 28 that they have implemented a leadership-team process and set new travel guidance for agency team members, and staff briefed the trustees about succession planning tied to the executive director's pending retirement.

Steve Nelson, staff to the board, said the leadership team now shares decisions that will outlive any single member and that the team has set travel guidance: in-state travel for outreach will remain unchanged, out-of-state education and conferences will generally be limited to one trip per team member per year, and virtual education will be encouraged when suitable. "Out-of-state education and travel, including conferences, will be allowed one per team member per year," Nelson said.

Several trustees objected to tightening travel, saying in-person conferences and networking are important for staff education and for representing the board in external forums. Nelson said the leadership team made the decision to be responsive to budget scrutiny and OFM guidance but noted the board retains authority to approve travel and budget items at future meetings.

Nelson also told the board he plans to leave the office March 31 (he described that date as his planned last day) and urged the board to decide quickly whether to recruit an external executive director. Chair Lawson asked staff to place an executive session on the June agenda to conduct a public-employee evaluation; trustees approved an executive-session vote to evaluate public employees. Nelson and staff outlined that a go/no-go decision on a formal executive director search should be made by the July board meeting so hiring and interim staffing plans can proceed.

No binding personnel decisions were announced at the meeting; trustees voted to hold the personnel evaluation in executive session and directed staff to return with a timeline for recruitment decisions.