Northridge Local board presses for measurable goals, sets deadlines for superintendent and treasurer reviews

Northridge Local’s board used a special Oct. 22 meeting to work through goal-setting and evaluation expectations for the superintendent, treasurer and the board itself, with facilitator Steve Mazzi urging clear, measurable objectives and a timeline for review.

"So tonight’s work session is focused on the superintendent, the treasurer, and the board goals," Mazzi told the board as he laid out the process and recommended the board supply feedback within a week to 10 days so administrators could produce measurable objectives for November review.

Board members agreed the district’s strategic planning and the superintendent’s proposed goals need concrete metrics. One board member said last year was largely planning and urged adding midterm and year-end measures so performance can be evaluated: "we can evaluate, midterm as well as the end of the year, the success." The facilitator and administrators recommended the board send written suggestions quickly so staff can return a revised draft at the next regular meeting.

The session covered several substantive strands:

- Strategy and measurables: Board members repeatedly asked for specific, assessable objectives tied to the district’s strategic plan (the so-called "Viking voyage") so the superintendent and treasurer can be judged against clear outcomes rather than general statements. The facilitator advised using the strategic-plan milestones and the district’s year-to-date work to craft measurable objectives.

- Communication and district reporting: The superintendent’s communication goal calls for a district profile and an annual report and proposes standardizing parent and staff communications by moving to one primary platform (for example, ParentSquare) rather than multiple apps. Board members backed the idea but asked for examples and clearer definitions of a district profile versus a formal annual financial report.

- Curriculum reviews: Administrators described ongoing K–12 STEM (STEAM) work and an English language arts review intended to meet the state’s science-of-reading requirements. The board was told pilots of curricular options will run in classrooms and that the district expects to bring a materials recommendation in March or April for board consideration.

- Human-resources and sustainability: The board discussed hiring, mentoring and retention, and asked for measurable recruitment and retention steps — such as college outreach and onboarding improvements — to be added to leader goals.

- Succession and transition planning: A draft goal included transition planning for the treasurer/CFO and other director roles given an anticipated retirement timeline in roughly two years. Board members debated whether a detailed succession plan should be part of 2024–25 goals, asked that individual names be removed from documents, and noted that upcoming board elections could affect any long-term hiring decisions.

Board members also praised recent weekly administrative updates and discussed using those updates as part of the measurable communication standard: recording when administrators meet together, summarizing business-operations discussions, and reporting changes rather than re-presenting the entire forecast every month.

The board agreed to continue the work by collecting individual feedback on two priority board goals (communication/collaboration and transition/org-chart work). Members were asked to send written suggestions to the board’s designated collector by the end of October so the items can be compiled and discussed at the November meeting.