To: All students, parents, employees, and members of the public
From: Arnold J. Nadonley, Superintendent of Schools
Subject: Policies and Procedures Requiring Annual Notice
Date: March 20, 2023
This memo shall serve as notice that any Board Policy or district procedure requiring annual notice to the students, parents, employees, and/or the public will be found on the Richland School District website under “District” → “Policies and Procedures Requiring Annual Notice” or the following link:
Policies and Procedures Requiring Annual Notice
Please be aware that these items may be updated throughout the school year and they represent a portion of all Board Policies which can be found on the Richland School District website under “District” → “Board of Directors” → “BoardDocs Public/District Policies” or the following link:
BoardDocs Public/District Policies
Guidelines on How to Communicate a Question or Concern
Revised: July 6, 2022 (updated from July 26, 2021 and March 29, 2019)
In accordance with Board Policies 903 and 906:
There are times when a parent, resident, taxpayer, volunteer, or employee may have a question, concern, complaint, suggestion, or request and is uncertain as to the procedure to follow in contacting the school district. Many questions are easily and completely answered by communicating directly with the educator in charge of the class or program. The single most important thing to remember is when you have a concern, you should always take a moment to think through the process, be proactive, and state the facts and not opinions or feelings. Most importantly, use a “cool down” period before contacting someone in anger. Cooler heads always prevail.
It is the intent of the Board, through Board Policy 906, Public Complaint Procedures, that complaints, concerns, and suggestions be addressed and/or resolved at the lowest appropriate level.
Listed in the links below is a Parent and Community Communication Process Flow Chart/Chain of Command that should be of assistance when addressing each situation. Each situation should first be addressed at whatever level the initial action was taken with appeals moving on to the next level on the chain of command. While this Flow Chart/Chain of Command Procedure is not all-inclusive to every concern or issue that may come to light, it serves as a guide to carry out the Board’s intent and is not designed to be restrictive or limit appeals if one disagrees with the decision at any one level. Contact information for staff members is available on the district website at www.richlandsd.com.
Occasionally, a parent, resident, or taxpayer will call an individual school board director in an attempt to obtain an answer to their questions or concerns. Upon receiving such a call, the board director calls the superintendent as per Board policy. The district superintendent must then call the building principal to inform him or her of the problem or concern. The principal will then research the concern and communicate with the parent. Therefore, it is wise that you first call the teacher, counselor, principal, etc., so that he or she can respond without any undue delay. Under the law, individual Board members have no authority or power to direct staff. The Board of School Directors, as a whole Board, only has authority at a legally advertised and convened meeting. The Board as a whole directs the school administration to handle matters on their behalf via established policy or a majority vote.
The Richland School District Chain of Command can be found on the Richland School District website under “District” → “Policies and Procedures Requiring Annual Notice” or the following link: