Malik shared that there are no specific updates ahead of the full Board meeting. Aaron affirmed that we are all aligned on the rubric, and suggested that the full Board ratify the rubric.  

Jessica referenced the policies reviewed last month and recalled that the Committee had agreed to look more closely at the grievance policy. She shared that she had looked at best practices and policy recommendations for ensuring that grievance policies are supportive of diversity, equity and inclusion goals, and also are effective for creating a positive culture in addition to serving as legal protection for the organization. She shared a few of the main take-aways that she saw, such as flexible/anonymous reporting mechanisms, and suggested that general best practices be examined and integrated into the policy in a way that makes sense for the school.

Committee members discussed and highlighted a range of ideas and concerns, including:

• Competencies of current staff - for example, would mediation training be helpful?
• What resources might be necessary?
• Need to avoid over-proceduralization
• Timeline for revising
• Considering what aspects should be included in the grievance policy and which should/could be instituted outside of the formal policy 

• Retreat has now been moved to July
• June meeting will still be voting on board membership and committee chairs
• Need to ensure sufficient Trustees for each committee at the meeting

The group discussed ideas for policies/best practices for committee membership: how many people should be on each committee, how many committees each person should/could join, and the commitments of committee members regarding attendance, contribution, etc.

• Malik mentioned that it can be helpful to highlight opportunities for learning and access to resources for committee members, to ensure that committee members can grow and contribute in their roles; committee members strongly supported this idea
• Committee members debated about whether we should limit or expand the number of committee members, in light of considerations around quorum and attendance 
• Committee agreed that there should be shared goals and expectations around Trustee responsibilities, but that generally there may not need to be rigid rules for most things   
• Kamaria suggested proxy voting as a potential tool for addressing quorum issues
• Kamaria also highlighted that non-committee members can join committee meetings without being a formal voting member

Jessica outlined three major goals for the Gov Comm in the coming year and proposed for discussion the following ideas on how they would happen:

Individual accountability/supporting Board members' growth:

1. Individuals will set their own goals and growth plan in July of each year so that the plans can reflect the committees they've joined;
2. Board can renew support/try to revitalize the idea individual mentorship relationships as a space for putting together and working on growth plans, accessing resources, etc.;
3. Public sharing/accountability? (biannually?)

Committee-level planning and accountability:

1. Timeline for establishing annual plan with monthly goals could be similar to individual goal-setting (July);
2. Public sharing/accountability could also be biannual, annual, or could be determined on a committee-by-committee basis 

Integrating DEI across all practices:

Jessica described that at the Board level, she hoped that by the end of next year the Committee will have:

1. Clearly communicated and expected regular reporting and accountability on DEI principles; for example, by making sure that DEI principles, best practices and comparative metrics are considered with all new/revised policies, tools, and performance rubrics presented to the Board;
2. Instituted an effective reporting tool/standardized approach that can ensure that these things are thought of on a systemic level throughout the school: For example, the idea of creating a standard checklist of how various interest groups have been taken into account for all major decisions and policy reviews? (Can include stakeholder groups, e.g., "parents-scholars-staff-leadership-School Board", and "diversity" groups, e.g., nationalities, genders, ethnicities, languages, abilities, financial means/resources, etc.)

Trustee feedback and discussion:

• Aaron expresssed strong support for Trustees to make or renew a pledge of commitment; Aaron also connected this to succession planning and institutionalizing culture 
• Shanta supported the idea of mentors and suggested potentially partnering with another school board; other committee members agreed
• Jessica suggested making formal outreach to another Board part of the Governance Committee's plan for the coming year
• Committee members discussed how many "touch points"/check-ins would make sense for individual and committee accountability plans, and concluded that we could try twice a year by adding it into the annual retreat and PD days
• With respect to DEI principles, the group agreed in that the goal was a good one and also discussed the appropriate approach for Board-level governance. The committee agreed to continue thinking this through.

Committee members agreed that this space would be redesignated as a permanent spot for intra-committee collaboration, instead of committee-by-committee updates.