Section 2000 Administration

The Administration shall implement the educational philosophy, goals and objectives of the Madison Board of Education. This shall be accomplished through guidelines established by Board policies; federal, state and local law; and employee contracts.

The Administration shall demonstrate professional leadership to the staff of the Madison Public Schools and the community in promoting educational standards and resolving conflicts that relate to the school system. The Board of Education will encourage and support professional activities that enhance the leadership skills of the Administration.

The Administration, as representatives of the school system, shall strive toward developing a good working relationship with the community in order to promote and maintain quality education in Madison.

The Administration, under the direction of the Superintendent, shall be responsible for the operation of the school system and is encouraged to utilize the management team concept.

Date Adopted: September 19, 1991

All administrative and supervisory positions in the Madison Public Schools shall be established by the Madison Board of Education in accordance with Board guidelines, State law, and district goals.

The Board of Education, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, shall consider the establishment of such positions in sufficient number and with specific purpose to provide for the effective management and structure of the school system.

The Superintendent shall recommend qualified individuals for appointment by the Board to management and supervisory positions. All management and supervisory personnel shall be evaluated annually by the appropriate Administrator. A current and comprehensive set of job descriptions and evaluations for all administrative and supervisory positions in the Madison Public Schools shall be maintained by the Superintendent.

Date Adopted: September 19, 1991

The Superintendent shall establish an Organizational Structure which shall be represented in an organizational chart and presented to the Board of Education for approval. The Organizational Chart shall provide an orderly means of achieving district goals and identify lines of primary responsibility for all employees of the school district.

The lines of responsibility shall be structured to enhance:

• the coordination, consistency and delivery of instruction
• the implementation of policy
• communication of goals and objectives
• conflict resolution
• understanding of individual roles and responsibilities as they relate tostudent, staff, and administration

The Organizational Chart shall be kept current. All changes within the chart shall be subject to approval by the Board of Education. Should there be a change in the philosophy and goals which form the basis for the Organizational Structure the Board shall direct the Superintendent to establish a new chart which reflects those changes and submit it for Board approval.

Should the Board of Education, as a result of temporary constraints, find it necessary to restructure lines of responsibility, it shall request that the Superintendent amend the Organizational Chart in an appropriate manner. The amended chart shall be presented to the Board of Education for approval on a temporary basis, not to exceed one year, and shall be referred to as the Amended Organizational Chart. At the end of that time, Board approval shall be required to extend the use of the amended chart, with a designated time established for its review.

Date Adopted: September 19, 1991

The Madison Board of Education shall employ a Superintendent to serve as the chief executive officer of the Board. He/She shall be responsible for the management of the school system within local, State and Federal laws and regulations, and Board policies. The Superintendent shall be accountable to the Board, and execute all board policies and decisions. As the educational leader of the district, he/she shall develop and implement programs consistent with the goals of the Board. The Superintendent is to administer all school operations and programs so as to maximize both efficiency and educational opportunity in the district.

The Superintendent shall be certified in accordance with the requirements of the State of Connecticut. The Board shall establish and maintain a job description for the office of the Superintendent of Schools which defines the responsibilities and expectations of the position. The employment of the Superintendent shall be determined by Board election wherein a majority of all members shall be required for confirmation.

The Board shall provide a written contract of employment which shall not exceed three (3) years in duration, as limited by law. This contract shall include, but not be limited to: salary, employment, benefits and term of office. The contract shall be kept on file at the Central Office of the Board, as a matter of public record, in accordance with State statute.

Superintendent's Responsibilities:

General responsibilities of the Superintendent of Schools include, but are not limited to, the following areas:

Board Relations:

• Assist the Board in the development and review of policies and establish administrative procedures for their implementation;
• Inform the Board of its statutory obligations and limitations;
• Communicate with the Board in a timely manner and provide necessary information to allow the Board to adequately consider proposals, recommendations and actions. In cases where emergency action must be taken within the school system, the Superintendent shall have the power to take appropriate measures in accordance with Board policy.

Staff

The Superintendent is responsible for the management of all employees of the school district. He/She shall organize the staff of the school system to achieve its objectives and goals, and identify lines of primary responsibility for all employees. He / She shall:

• Recommend qualified persons for appointment by the Board to all certified administrative positions, in accordance with Policy #4112;
• Hire all certified personnel, with the exception of administrative personnel, and noncertified personnel in collaboration with appropriate administrators;
• Recommend to the board the transfer of any administrative personnel;
• Assign, transfer and evaluate all personnel, except as indicated above, in collaboration with appropriate administrators;
• Delegate the exercise of power and/or discharge of duties to appropriate school personnel. Such delegation does not relieve the Superintendent of responsibility for any actions taken under such circumstances.

Curriculum and Instruction:

Budget

Community:

Monitoring Goals and Annual Progress Report:

The Superintendent shall monitor the progress of the schools in achieving the goals of the Board regarding curriculum, school environment and school operations.

Annually, by the last regularly scheduled Board meeting in June, the Superintendent shall provide a written summary of the proceedings of the Board, and conditions and progress of the schools, as well as plans and suggestions for improvements of the schools.

Superintendent Evaluation:

The performance of the Superintendent shall be evaluated by the Board annually, in accordance with criteria and guidelines mutually predetermined and agreed to by the Board and the Superintendent.

(cf. 4111 Recruitment / Selection)

(cf. 4112 Hiring of Personnel)

Legal Reference: Connecticut General Statutes

10-145 Certificate necessary for employment

10-157 Superintendents. Relationship to local or regional board of education; verification of certification status, written contract for employment; evaluation of Superintendent by board of education.

1-210 Access to public records. Exempt records.

1-214 Public employment contracts as public records

Date of Adoption: June 25, 1991

Date of Revision: March 17, 1992

Technical Revision: March 21, 2006

Technical Revision: September 17, 2013

The Superintendent shall have the power to act when emergency action must be taken within the school system and the Board of Education has provided no guidelines for administrative action.

It shall be the duty of the Superintendent to notify the Board of Education promptly of such action. The Superintendent’s actions will be subject to review by the Board of Education at its next regular meeting.

It shall be the responsibility of the Superintendent to inform the Board of Education of the need for additional policies, or revision of existing policies, as a result of the action required by the Superintendent.

Date of Adoption: October 15, 1991

The Madison Board of Education encourages the Superintendent and Administration to create and maintain appropriate groups such as councils, cabinets and committees in order to:

• foster good communications with the staff, students and the community
• allow staff, students, and the community to have a voice in the process of making decisions which will affect them.
• establish effective channels of communication for the staff, students and community.

Date Adopted: September 19, 1991

The Madison Public Schools recognizes its responsibilities to manage public funds in a responsible manner, which includes identifying, addressing and appropriately managing any risks that may affect (1) the safety and well-being of its employees, (2) its financial stability, (3) its ability to achieve its mission, or (4) its ability to maintain a safe school community.

The Madison Public Schools further recognizes that, as a public entity providing a wide range of services, it engages in operations that may carry significant risk, and also engages in operations that are subject to possible disruption. Although risks are unavoidable, the Madison Public Schools considers no loss or interruption of services to be acceptable.

Therefore, the Superintendent shall establish a Safety Committee and empower it to assess the risks that may arise from or affect the Madison Public Schools’ operations and activities on behalf of its employees and develop regulations for implementing this policy. All Madison Public Schools’ employees are required to cooperate with the Safety Committee in this effort.

Date of Adoption: July 15, 2003

#2240 Retention of Electronic Records and Information

(formerly Education Data / Records Retention)

The Board of Education (the “Board”) complies with all state and federal regulations regarding the retention, storage and destruction of electronic information and records.  The Superintendent or his/her designee shall be responsible for developing and implementing administrative regulations concerning the retention, storage, and destruction of electronic information and the dissemination of such administrative regulations to all employees.  

Use of E-Mail and Electronic Communications

The Board of Education provides computers, a computer network, including Internet access and an e-mail system, as well as any electronic devices that access the network such as wireless and/or portable electronic hand-held equipment that can be used for word processing, wireless Internet access, image capture and recording, sound recording, information transmitting and/or receiving, storing, etc. (including but not limited to personal laptops, Smartphones, network access devices, Kindles, Nooks, cellular telephones, radios, Walkman, CD players, I-Pads or other tablet computers, walkie-talkies, Blackberries, personal data assistants, I-Phones, Androids and other electronic signaling devices), (referred to collectively as "the computer systems"), in order to enhance both the educational opportunities for our students and the business operations of the district.  

Electronic messages sent by school officials and employees as part of their work and/or by using the district’s computer systems and/or network are not private communications and are potentially subject to disclosure.  Employees must understand that the Board has reserved the right to conduct monitoring of these computer systems and may do so despite the assignment to individual employees of passwords for system security.  Any password systems implemented by the District are designed solely to provide system security from unauthorized users, not to provide privacy to the individual system user.

The system's security aspects, message delete function and personal passwords may be bypassed for monitoring purposes.  Therefore, employees must be aware that they should not have any expectation of personal privacy in the use of these computer systems.  This provision applies to any and all uses of the District’s computer systems, including any incidental personal use permitted in accordance with the Board’s policy and regulations regarding computer use by employees.

Any retained messages may be retrieved as part of routine monitoring by the Board, an employee investigation or a formal discovery process as part of litigation.  Employees should bear in mind that e-mail messages may be retained at different locations within the computer network and that these messages are subject to retrieval.  Consequently, employees should use discretion when using computers or other electronic technology to send, record or retain electronic communications and information.

Retention of Electronically Stored Information

Electronic communications on District computers or electronic communication systems shall be retained only as long as necessary.  The same record retention policy that applies to paper records applies to electronically stored information, including e-mail communications. Therefore, like paper records, the content and function of an electronic record, including e-mail communications, determines the retention period for that document. The District will comply with all of the minimum standards set forth in the Municipal Records Retention Schedules, as issued by the Office of the Public Records Administrator for the State of Connecticut.  

In addition to the retention guidelines established by the Board and used by school district officials and employees, all school officials and employees have a duty to preserve all records and electronic information, including records and electronic information that might otherwise be deleted or destroyed, that relate to any matter that is currently in litigation or may be anticipated to involve future litigation.

Legal References:

Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 1-200(5); 1-211; 1-213(b)(3)
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 7-109
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 11-8 et seq.
General Letters 96-2 and 2009-2 of the Public Records Administrator
Public Records Policy 01, Digital Imaging, of the Public Records Administrator 
(Aug. 2014)
Record Retention Schedules Towns, Municipalities and Boards of Education

Frequently Asked Questions about E-mail, CT Public Records Administrator, available at 
https://ctstatelibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/EmailGuidelines.pdf

Date of Adoption:    April 6, 2021

The Board of Education recognizes that students have a basic need for security and safety in the school setting. Any event or circumstance which threatens the safety and security of students and staff will be considered a crisis. There are unlimited possibilities for crisis situations that could impact the district. Those include, but may not be limited to the following situations: medical emergencies, suicide, death, acts of violence, trauma, natural disaster, facility emergencies, and accidents.

The Board of Education acknowledges the necessity to implement a Crisis Management Plan in the event that a crisis should occur. Therefore, the Superintendent shall develop regulations to support this policy in the form of a Crisis Management Plan. The Crisis Management Plan shall provide for:

• an immediate and effective response to the actual emergency if such emergency has occurred on or near school property, at a school-sponsored event or on a field trip; and
• an immediate and effective response to the psychological trauma resulting from such an emergency.

The administration shall provide all staff members with ongoing in-service training concerning implementation of the regulations.

Date of Adoption: December 9, 1997

The Board of Education affirms that the placement of students into classes is the responsibility of the administrators at each school. Many factors will be considered in the placement decision. One factor is the student’s learning style and academic needs, in conjunction with the teacher’s instructional style. For grades K-5, another factor is the establishment of classes grouped heterogeneously with respect to academic skills / performance and social and emotional characteristics.

Procedures for Placement

A. Prior to Commencement of the School Year

Prior to placement, school administrators have the responsibility to gather input about placement from parents / guardians, teachers and support staff. This input must be directly related to the learning needs of each student. It should address learning styles, social and emotional development, and academic needs. Placement decisions will be determined by the administrator.

If, after receiving written commitment of a placement decision, but prior to the commencement of a school year, a parent / guardian has concerns about the suitability of the placement, he / she should contact the school principal to arrange a discussion about the placement issue. The principal shall address parental / guardian questions / concerns and explain the rationale for the student’s placement.

B. After Commencement of the School Year

After the commencement of the school year, a parent / guardian with concerns about the suitability of the placement should follow these procedures:

1. The issue or question shall be brought to the attention of the teacher so that the parents / guardians and teacher can work cooperatively toward its resolution.
2. If efforts to resolve the issue with the teacher are not successful, the principal shall be contacted. The role of the principal is to assist in the cooperative effort toward resolution.
3. The administration has the responsibility to use all available resources to cooperatively resolve the issue. This process shall include meeting with the teacher and parents / guardians. Support staff may be requested by the administrator to observe and / or meet with the student, parents / guardians of the student, and / or teacher to better determine the full scope of the issue or concern.
4. The administrator shall meet with the appropriate parties and give a final decision.

Parental / Guardian Appeal Process

If parents / guardians do not agree with the placement decision, they may appeal to the Superintendent. The Superintendent shall obtain all necessary information regarding the placement, shall conference with all parties as appropriate, and shall give a final recommendation to the school administrator.

Cross References: 5070 Assignment of Students to Classes and Grade Levels

5070.1 Assignment of New Students to Classes and Grade Levels

5070.2 Assignment of Former Home-Based Students to Classes

Date of Adoption: February 3, 1998

Policy #2270 is now 1380

#2280 Uniform Treatment of Recruiters

Subject to the provisions of law, all recruiters, including commercial, military and nonmilitary concerns, recruiters representing institutions of higher education, and prospective employers shall be provided equal opportunities of access to students enrolled in the district's secondary school[s]. 

Except as provided below, military recruiters and institutions of higher education shall, upon request, be given access to the names, addresses and telephone numbers of secondary school students. 

On an annual basis, the school district will notify parents of secondary school students of their right to object to the disclosure of the student's name, address and telephone number to military recruiters or to an institution of higher education.  If a secondary school student or the parent of a secondary school student objects in writing to the disclosure of a student's name, address or telephone number to a military recruiter or an institution of higher education, then the district shall not disclose the student's name, address or telephone number to a military recruiter or an institution of higher education.  The objection shall remain in force until the district re-issues the annual notification referenced above, after which time the parents and/or secondary school student must inform the school district in writing again of their objection to the disclosure of the information described above. 

Legal References:

• Conn. Gen. Stat. §10-221b Boards of education to establish written uniform policy re treatment of recruiters
• Every Student Succeeds Act § 8025, 20 U.S.C. § 7908 Armed Forces recruiter access to students and student recruiting information
• National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 § 544, 10 U.S.C. § 503   
  Enlistments: recruiting campaigns; compilation of directory information

Date of Adoption:  April 6, 2021

#2300 Holds on the Destruction of Electronic Information and Paper Records

The Board of Education (the “Board”) complies with all state and federal regulations regarding the retention, storage and destruction of electronic information and paper records.  The Superintendent or his/her designee shall be responsible for implementing administrative regulations concerning the placing of a “hold” on electronic information and paper records that may reasonably be anticipated to be subject to discovery in the course of litigation. 

All school officials and employees have a duty to preserve all paper records and electronic information, including records and electronic information that might otherwise be deleted or destroyed, that relate to any matter that is currently in litigation or may be anticipated to involve future litigation.

The Superintendent or his/her designee shall be responsible for developing and implementing administrative regulations to preserve records, including e-mails and electronically stored information, that could potentially be related to any matter that is currently in litigation or may be anticipated to result in future litigation.  Such regulations shall identify those individuals responsible for identifying those matters for which records must be preserved as well as developing procedures, with the help of technical staff, for the preservation of electronically stored information.

Legal References:

  Rules 34 and 45 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
  General Letter 2009-2 of the Public Records Administrator Record Retention
  Schedules Towns, Municipalities and Boards of Education

 Date of Adoption:  April 6, 2021

The Superintendent will evaluate annually the performance of all administrative personnel directly responsible to him/her and make recommendations regarding their employment and salary status to the Board of Education. The evaluation program will be aimed at improving administrator performance and promoting professional growth within the framework of District goals and objectives.

Evaluations of administrators shall be conducted in accordance with the guidelines of the State Board of Education and such other guidelines as are mutually agreed upon by the Board and the “teacher’s representative” under the Teacher Negotiations Act. Further, claims of failure to follow such guidelines shall be subject to the grievance procedure in collective bargaining agreements negotiated subsequent to July 1, 2004.

(cf. 2131 – Superintendent of Schools)

(cf. 4060 – Evaluation/Supervision)

Legal Reference: Connecticut General Statutes

10-151a Access of teacher to supervisory records and reports in personnel file.

10-151b Evaluation by superintendents of certain educational personnel.

(amended by PA 04-137, An Act Concerning Teacher’s Evaluations)

10-151c Records of teacher performance and evaluation not public records

10-220a(b) Inservice training. Professional development. Institutes for educators. Cooperating and beginning teacher programs, regulations.

Date of Adoption: April 18, 2006