Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Board Self Evaluation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Beaufort board weighs merits of anonymous self-evaluation; delays action until after election
Summary
Board members debated the usefulness and legal risks of a board self-evaluation; concerns about lawsuits and past unused results led the board to postpone substantive action until after the November election.
The Beaufort County Board of Education opened discussion on a board self-evaluation instrument on June 25, with members split over its usefulness and concerns about legal and interpersonal consequences.
One board member pointed to prior self-evaluations that were completed but not acted on and questioned their value. A different member raised a legal concern about internal conflict, stating that "there are 2 of us, you and me, who have been sued individually by 1 of the other board members," which framed the subsequent discussion about how any self-evaluation results would be handled. In response to confidentiality concerns, a board member proposed anonymous responses so that the aggregated results would not be attached to specific members.
Supporters of a structured self-evaluation said an anonymous, facilitated process (with clearer plans for follow-up) could be useful; skeptics said prior efforts ended without follow-through and cited risk that results could be used in litigation. Given an upcoming election and the possibility of new board members, the board agreed to hold work on the self-evaluation until after the November election and revisit in person then.
The meeting ended without votes on the self-evaluation instrument; the board adjourned by unanimous consent.
