NJSBA consultant: Barnegat board scores strongly on self-evaluation, offers targeted training

Dr. Lori Banlow of the New Jersey School Boards Association presented the Board of Education's self-evaluation results and told the board it "did an excellent job," with group ratings above 3 across core governance indicators.

Banlow said the packet's bar graphs show the light gray bars reflecting individual responses and the dark bars reflecting the board's group rating. She said planning scored about 3.8 and called policy and student achievement areas of clear strength, adding that the board's overall performance showed "tremendous growth" from the previous year. "You really have done an excellent job," Banlow told the board.

The consultant flagged finance as an area where some individual members rated themselves lower, and she offered a tailored "budget 101" training with the business administrator and finance committee to boost members' comfort with financial reports. She also recommended optional conflict-resolution and ethics sessions to help the board manage differing viewpoints constructively.

Board members acknowledged the recommendations and discussed scheduling a finance session for newer members; Banlow agreed to coordinate training dates with district staff. President Sarno thanked Banlow and the board for their work and noted upcoming awards for students.

The board did not take a formal vote on the evaluation itself; Banlow's presentation concluded with an invitation to schedule follow-up trainings and to review the written evaluation pages in the packet.