Antioch Unified trustees hold governance workshop; facilitator urges clear goals, policy review and superintendent-evaluation tool

The Antioch Unified School District board convened a governance workshop to focus on board roles, communication, strategic planning and oversight. Facilitator De urged trustees to front-load measurable goals and to treat the board’s role as setting “what,” while leaving “how” to the superintendent and staff.

Why it matters: Trustees were repeatedly urged to align meeting agendas, presentations and contracts to a concise strategic plan so the board can judge whether programs are producing measurable student growth. Facilitators and members flagged gaps in policy maintenance (including an outdated technology policy), uncertainty about school nurse staffing, and a missing superintendent-evaluation tool.

Facilitator’s framework and board responsibilities Facilitator De opened with a reminder that this was a workshop, not a business meeting: “because this is not a board meeting we’re not making any decisions…we’re not…there’s no actions.” She asked trustees to adopt written board norms, to use a governance calendar and to require staff to…