Seaford School District board flags drop in community-relationship score, plans follow-up

The Seaford School District board on May 13 said it will pursue a plan to improve relations with parents and the broader community after a board self-evaluation found that the "community relationship" category fell to 2.83 this year, down from 3.37 the previous year. Board President Kim Hopkins told colleagues that four of five board members completed the electronic survey and that the district must identify a benchmark score to aim for.

Hopkins said the lower result reflected specific questions about whether the board seeks information from parents, develops mutual understanding of district goals, promotes cooperation and explains the need for adequate financial support. "So based off the ones that did complete the survey...the community relationship performed poorly," Hopkins said. She asked the board to discuss corrective steps and to select a benchmark (suggested ranges were discussed informally during the meeting).

The board did not formalize a remedy or adopt a target number at the meeting. Hopkins said members will return with a proposal that could include outreach changes, clearer communications about goals and expectations for parent involvement, and modifications to how the district solicits and responds to public feedback. The district will discuss the plan at a future board meeting.