Teamworks Proposal

The School Board Working Session is this Tuesday at 5:50 p.m. with the School Board Meeting starting at 8:00 p.m. The public is welcome to attend either session. This is where the ground work is being laid for the tough decisions facing the District this year. It starts with whether or not to use Teamworks.

I asked Susan Hintz to clarify why Teamworks is necessary given the large number of collaborative work groups that the district already facilitates without the need of an outside consultant.

"We believe that outside facilitation is imperative if the board chooses to consider short and long term needs. My recommendation is based on best practice recommendations from other metro area school districts and our own experience utilizing outside experts in high stakes conditions. TeamWorks was selected from three firms interviewed in a competitive process. We have found their technical expertise invaluable." ~ Susan Hintz

The District is in a tough situation no matter what and is facing the proverbial double-edged sword. If they recommend using a consultant (for $90k) then their critics will view them as incompetent in the ways of facilitation. It should be noted that Teamworks is being hired for two components: facilitation and research. If the District does not use an outside consultant, then there appears to be no attempt at using a neutral third party (although I know that Teamworks is questionable as a neutral third party when they are hired by the Administration).

Tune into the Blog on Tuesday night. You can simply lurk in the background and read or participate! The live blog format gives the audience the ability to participate and have your comments posted to all. We used the live blog during the last meeting and had great response.