Lexington School District 1 holds workshop on board duties, FOIA and superintendent relations

Andrea White, an education attorney with White & Story LLC, told members of the Lexington School District 1 Board of Trustees at a Dec. 10 workshop that the board’s power lies in its actions as a group and that most day-to-day authority rests with the superintendent.

White led a roughly 90-minute orientation for newly seated trustees and discussed board responsibilities ranging from policy adoption and budget oversight to limits on individual trustees’ interactions with staff and the public.

Why it matters: trustees approved by voters set policy and hire the superintendent, but White emphasized that courts and state law limit individual trustees’ authority and that improper actions can expose the district to legal risk. She urged trustees to coordinate with the superintendent and board chair on agendas, public statements and personnel matters.

White opened by describing the board’s principal roles: adopting policy, hiring and evaluating the superintendent, and setting district goals. “All powers of the Board of Trustees lie in its action as a group,” she said, adding that trustees should avoid acting unilaterally. She cautioned that trustees “only have authority to act when you are sitting in a dually called Board meeting where we've complied with…