Board President Bill and four newly seated trustees convened a governance workshop Aug. 10 to discuss how the Mountain View Whisman School District board can rebuild trust and sharpen its focus on student outcomes.

The session centered on the board's internal culture, lines of authority, and how trustees should engage with staff and the public. A recurring theme was the need for shared norms about confidentiality, communications and how trustees represent the board publicly.

Why it matters: Trustees said a clear, agreed set of governance norms could reduce confusion, curb leaks of closed-session information and help the board sustain longer-term focus on student achievement. Participants linked governance practices directly to the district's ability to implement its strategic plan and budget priorities.

Board members described the current board as being in transition after recent turnover. Trustee Charles said the board has 'such a diverse set of backgrounds and skill sets' that can help the district, but added that trustees are still 'getting to know each other.' Board member Devon said multiple speakers on the workshop materials had urged a 'return to a focus on student achievement.'

Several trustees and staff recommended a written governance manual or handbook. One draft suggestion was to capture operating norms (on meeting behavior, public comment routing and closed-session confidentiality) so new trustees and the public understand expectations. The board discussed capturing 'must-attend' events and creating an annual trustee presence calendar so trustees know which school and community events are priorities.

Trustees also discussed how to divide school-site engagement and office hours so every school has a regular trustee contact without expecting every trustee to attend every event. Trustee Anna described prior practices of trustees meeting with principals and school communities in small groups with a district staff member present so trustees could hear site-level perspectives without directing operational decisions.

On staff access, trustees said they want more structured opportunities to meet senior staff (CBO, HR, instructional leaders) and hear informal updates, but also acknowledged the power imbalance when a trustee meets one-on-one with an employee. The group agreed any such meetings should generally be arranged through the superintendent and that members should avoid directing staff individually on district business.

Ending: Trustees asked staff to return with an engagement framework and a proposed governance calendar. Several members said they would also try rotating public-facing time slots (office hours, farmers-market presence or PTA visits) to widen community contact.