Completes New Training Earns Two Credits

On June 6, 2009 Unis completed the state mandated New Board Member Training Conference in Plainsborough, New Jersey. The event was hosted by the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA) and covered the main areas of:

1. Legislation & Advocacy
   • Describes how NJSBA policy is adopted and drives legislative efforts, and looks at the legislative process from beginning to end.
2. The Board's Role in Policy Development
   • Discusses the board's responsibility to establish policies and ensure they are followed.
3. School Law
   • Covers the Sunshine Law, and the conduct requirement under the school ethics act.
4. Fiscal Management
   • Focuses on preparing a budget and the process to follow to ensure sufficient funds are available for a quality education.
5. Labor Relations
   • Discusses teh legal requirements of the duty to barging with employee unions and provides some practical advice on the negotiations process.
6. Curriculum/Student Achievement
   • Examines the responsibilities of board members to approve what is to be taught; to make sure what is taught is being learned; and to ensure needed resources are available and used efficiently. Looks at how the Core Curriculum Content Standards affect the role.
7. Evaluation of the Chief School Administrator (Superintendent)
   • Describes the requirements of and suggests methods for conducting the evaluation of the chief school administrator.

By completing this course Unis earned two Academy Credits towards his Certified Board Member (CBM) status.

Certificated Board Member (CBM)
The Certificated Board Member is the first tier of the NJSBA Board Member Academy certification program. Areas of study are designed to give members a firm foundation in the essential governance skills needed to carry out their responsibilities. To receive this certification, board members must earn at least 20 credits and attain some credits in all of the following CBM core topic areas:

• Relationships: board/superintendent, board/community, board/board
• Policy
• Curriculum
• School Finance
• School Law
• Labor Relations
• Board Operations