Kathleen Rod Nord leads South Lane School District board training on roles, executive sessions and ethics

Kathleen Rod Nord, a former Oregon superintendent and consultant with Human Capital Enterprises, led a board training for the South Lane School District Board of Directors that reviewed the board's role, statutory limits on its authority, and practical guidance on confidentiality and conflicts of interest.

Nord opened by telling the board that "the primary role of a board, a school board, is to develop policy," and urged members to keep students at the center of policy decisions while leaving day-to-day operations to the superintendent. She said the training would be spread across two sessions and asked members to surface questions for a "parking lot" that staff would manage.

The session included short personal introductions from board members and staff before moving into the policy material. Nord explained the different categories of authority the board exercises — legislative or rulemaking power,…