GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Green Bay’s school board met for nearly three hours Monday night, but no classroom-related items were on the agenda.
Instead, the entire meeting was about how board members can improve their communication.
“I sometimes feel frustrated or embarrassed when we don’t interact with each other in a way that shows mutual respect,” said Eric VandenHeuvel, a school board member.
Last month, board members voted to spend up to $6,000 to have two outside facilitators work with them on having smoother meetings.
Beverly Scow, of Wise Women Gathering Place, guided the group Monday night through behaviors it can change and develop.
“It’s nice to have someone who is not part of the group to come in and create a space where they can share their ideas in a way that balances everybody’s voice,” said Scow.
The session included addressing concerns each board member has.
“People need to be able to feel safe to voice their opinions and know that it’s not going to end up on Facebook in some modified, snarky, way,” said Laura McCoy, a school board member.
School board member Katie Maloney tells FOX the facilitation work is money well spent considering the board has a big decision coming up in hiring a new superintendent.
“It makes us a more effective board and the communication piece is one of the skills, one of the tools we need to be a more effective board.”
Rhonda Sitnikau, another school board member, only supported one of the two votes for facilitator help.
She tells FOX 11 board members disagreeing has some community members actually feeling hopeful.
“I would say that change isn’t pretty and people want change and that is sometimes what you get. You get tension, you get disagreement, you get moments where there is frustration that is palpable and that is part of the change.”
The board is scheduled to have at least three more facilitator-led sessions.
