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District 11 board agrees to move Mill Levy Override governance plan into draft policy; directors to refine language
Summary
Board members signaled agreement to convert the Mill Levy Override (MLO) governance plan into a formal board policy and tasked two directors to revise the draft, have the MLO committee review it, and return a proposed policy to the full board for later consideration.
Board members at a District 11 work session agreed by a show of thumbs to shift the Mill Levy Override (MLO) governance plan into a formal board policy and tasked Directors Trisha Nelson and Jason Ott to revise the draft and take it back to the MLO Citizens Oversight Committee for review before returning it to the board.
Treasurer Trisha Nelson introduced the proposal, saying the governance plan has become outdated and that “the board the board's role is to govern over the district, and we do that through policy.” Nelson said the committee that oversees MLO funds approved moving the governance plan into policy at its March 18 meeting, and she argued the move would centralize the requirements voters tied to the MLO into a single document to reduce confusion when staff and committee membership change.
The MLO oversight committee’s chair, Chip X, described the plan’s history: the 2000 mill levy ballot attached a spending plan to the election; later levies and amendments led to a 2017 governance plan that combined spending directions and administrative obligations. Chip X told the board that some elements in the 2017 document read as administrative responsibilities for the superintendent rather than governance guidance for the committee and the board.
Several board members raised wording concerns. Director Julie (last name not provided in the transcript) said the current draft reads more like a committee operations policy than an overarching plan and asked for time to “dig into this policy a little bit more” to restore omitted language. Director Jason Ott requested clarification on whether the draft replaces the existing governance plan or supplements it; Nelson and others confirmed the intent was to replace the governance plan with policy language that captures the ballot question requirements and the original spend plan.
Directors and committee members discussed specific points they want clarified before adoption, including whether the board policy should reference the board’s vision/mission or longer-lasting language in the original spend plan, how the committee will incorporate a District Accountability Committee (DAC) member (the draft adds DAC representation but does not specify a minimum number), and the cadence and public reporting of independent reviews (committee members noted a three-year independent audit requirement but questioned whether annual public reporting language in the draft matched that three-year cycle).
By the end of the discussion the board provided direction: Nelson and Ott should work together, produce a revised redline, compare it against the 2017 governance plan and the original spend plan, present alternative language where they disagree, have the MLO committee review the result (the committee meets in May), and return the revised proposal to the board for either a work session or nonaction/approval. The board indicated it would permit an email vote if timing requires it. Committee membership was noted to be reduced recently (approximately five to six active members) and the committee asked for assistance recruiting new citizen members.
The board did not take a formal recorded vote during the work session; the action was a direction and consensus by thumbs-up to proceed with drafting and committee review. Nelson and Ott are expected to submit a revised draft to board docs along with referenced source documents (the original ballot questions and the 2017 plan) so members can compare language before the next board consideration.
Ending
The board’s next step is for Directors Nelson and Ott to reconcile the draft policy language with the original spend plan and 2017 governance plan, present a revised redline to the MLO committee for feedback (May meeting was mentioned), and bring a version back to the board for formal consideration. Several board members asked that the original documents be attached to any materials so trustees can confirm the draft preserves voters’ specified uses for MLO funds.
