§ 16-2-34 - Central Falls School District board of trustees. - Rhode Island Statutes

SECTION 16-2-34

   § 16-2-34  Central Falls School Districtboard of trustees. – (a) There is hereby established a seven (7) member board of trustees, whichshall govern the Central Falls School District. With the exception of thosepowers and duties reserved by the commissioner of elementary and secondaryeducation, and the board of regents for elementary and secondary education, theboard of trustees shall have the powers and duties of school committees.

   (b) The board of regents for elementary and secondaryeducation shall appoint the members of the board of trustees from nominationsmade by the commissioner of elementary and secondary education. The chairpersonshall also be selected in this manner. The board of regents shall determine thenumber, qualifications, and terms of office of members of the board oftrustees, provided however, that at least four (4) of the members shall beresidents of the city and parents of current or former Central Falls publicschool students. The remaining three (3) shall be appointed at large.

   (c) The board of regents shall provide parameters for overallbudget requests, approve the budget, and otherwise participate in budgetdevelopment.

   (d) The commissioner of elementary and secondary educationshall recommend parameters for overall budget requests, recommend a budget, andotherwise participate in budget development.

   (e) The commissioner shall approve the process for selectionof the superintendent.

   (f) The board of trustees shall meet monthly and servewithout compensation. The board of trustees shall have broad policy makingauthority for the operation of the school, as well as the following powers andduties:

   (1) To identify the educational needs of the district;

   (2) To develop educational policies to meet the needs ofstudents in the school district;

   (3) To appoint a superintendent to serve as its chiefexecutive officer and to approve assistant and associate superintendents fromnominations made by the superintendent;

   (4) To provide policy guidance and otherwise participate inbudget development; and

   (5) To develop staffing policies which ensure that allstudents are taught by educators of the highest possible quality.

   (g) The superintendent shall serve at the pleasure of theboard of trustees with the initial appointment to be for a period of not morethan three (3) years; provided, however, that the terms and conditions ofemployment are subject to the approval of the board of regents for elementaryand secondary education.

   (h) It shall be the responsibility of the superintendent tomanage and operate the school on a day-to-day basis. The superintendent'sduties shall include the following:

   (1) To be responsible for the care, supervision, andmanagement of the schools;

   (2) To recommend to the board of trustees educationalpolicies to meet the needs of the district, and to implement policiesestablished by the board of trustees;

   (3) To present nominations to the board of trustees forassistant and associate superintendents and to appoint all other schoolpersonnel;

   (4) To provide for the evaluation of all school districtpersonnel;

   (5) To establish a school based management approach fordecision making for the operation of the school;

   (6) To prepare a budget and otherwise participate in budgetdevelopment as required, and to authorize purchases consistent with the adoptedschool district budget;

   (7) To report to the board of trustees, on a regular basis,the financial condition and operation of the schools, and to report annually onthe educational progress of the schools;

   (8) To establish appropriate advisory committees as needed toprovide guidance on new directions and feedback on the operation of the schools;

   (9) With policy guidance from the board of trustees andextensive involvement of the administrators and faculty in the school, toannually prepare a budget. The board of trustees shall approve the budget andtransmit it to the commissioner. The board of regents for elementary andsecondary education, upon recommendation of the commissioner of elementary andsecondary education, shall provide parameters for the overall budget request.Based on review and recommendation by the commissioner, the board of regentsshall approve the total budget and incorporate it into its budget request tothe governor and to the general assembly. Line item budgeting decisions shallbe the responsibility of the superintendent; and

   (10) To negotiate, along with the chairperson of the board oftrustees and his or her appointed designee, all district employment contracts,which contracts shall be subject to the approval of the commissioner ofelementary and secondary education with the concurrence of the board of regents.

   (i) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to limit orotherwise interfere with the rights of teachers and other school employees tobargain collectively pursuant to chapters 9.3 and 9.4 of title 28 or to allowthe board of trustees or the superintendent to abrogate any agreement bycollective bargaining.

   (j) The appointment of the special state administrator forthe Central Falls School District and the Central Falls School DistrictAdvisory Group, created by chapter 312 of the Rhode Island Public Laws of 1991,will no longer be in effect upon the selection and appointment of the board oftrustees created in this section. All powers and duties of the special stateadministrator and the Central Falls School District Advisory Group are herebytransferred and assigned to the board of trustees created in this section, uponthe selection and appointment of that board.