Board Powers & Duties

Board of Education Policy BBA

The Board of Education is a representative body elected by the registered voters of the East Carter County R-II School District of Carter County.  It is the purpose and the role of the Board of Education to exercise general supervision over the schools of the district, and to ensure that the schools are maintained as provided by the state statutes, the rules and procedures of the Missouri State Board of Education and/or the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the policies, rules and procedures of the school district.  In addition, the Board is accountable to the electorate, and shall be responsive to the educational needs and the imposed financial constraints of the district.  In conducting its various functions as the legislative and policy-making authority for the district, the Board recognizes the following general responsibilities as paramount: 

• Legislative and Policy Making: The Board is responsible for the development of policies, rules and procedures to serve as guidelines for the general management and administrative actions of the district.  The establishment of the goals and objectives of the school district and the methods of financial support needed to reach those goals and objectives are a part of the policy-making function of the Board of Education.
• Executive: The Board shall employ a superintendent to serve as the chief executive officer of the district.  The Board shall delegate, in writing to the superintendent, the executive and administrative duties and responsibilities necessary for carrying out its policies, and shall hold the superintendent accountable.
• Appraisal: The Board is responsible for evaluating the effectiveness of its policies and their implementation.  The Board shall hold the superintendent responsible for furnishing complete information necessary for the Board's evaluation of the district's programs. 
• Provision of Financial Resources: The Board is responsible for the adoption of the annual budget, which will provide financial basis for personnel, facilities, materials and equipment to enable the district to carry out its educational program.
• Staffing and Appraisal: The Board is responsible for employing the professional and support staff necessary for carrying out the district's instructional program.  The Board is also responsible for establishing salary schedules, terms of employment, and other personnel policies district wide, and for the regular evaluation of its staff.
• Public Relations:  The Board is responsible for providing adequate and direct means for keeping the district patrons informed about the schools, and for keeping itself and the school staff informed about the needs and wishes of the public.
• Educational Planning and Evaluation: The Board is responsible for establishing educational goals which will guide both the Board and the staff in working together toward the continued improvement of the educational programs in the district.  It is responsible for providing for an ongoing evaluation of the school program as measured through the goals and objectives set forth by the East Carter County R-II School District Board of Education and by the Missouri State Board of Education.
• Judicial:  The Board is responsible for acting as a court of appeals for the professional and support staff members, students, and the district patrons when issues involve Board policies and their fair implementation.

The Board of Education shall control all aspects of the operations of the district within the limits of the law.  However, the Board will make its members, the district professional and support staff, and the district patrons aware that the Board has authority to take official action only when it is acting as a whole.  The Board shall be the final authority.  No section of the policies, rules and procedures may be construed to limit the statutory powers of the Board to exercise its own prudent judgment.