The Coweta County Board of Education has been recognized by the Georgia School Boards Association as a 2018 Exemplary School Board.

The recognition is the highest offered by the GSBA, and honors the best practices in school governance and leadership. Board Chairman Larry Robertson Superintendent Steve Barker and other members were presented the recognition at GSBA’s Annual Conference in Savannah in June.

The Coweta County board was among only 35 Georgia school boards out of 180 to meet the requirements for the GSBA distinction this year. This GSBA Board Recognition Program requires a higher level of commitment from school boards and individual members. The ultimate goal is to provide a platform based on governance standards which challenges boards, but creates a culture of success for students and communities.

Coweta County’s school board has met the highest requirements of the GSBA program since it was adopted several years ago, and has been recognized as a GSBA Exemplary Board since 2016.

To meet the ‘Exemplary’ criteria, a school board must already have been recognized as a ‘Quality’ and ‘Distinguished’ Board by GSBA prior. Other requirements the board must meet include:

·         Adoption and implementation of a System Strategic Plan, accompanied by a balanced scorecard to measure progress on stated improvement goals and posted online for review by community stakeholders.

·         Compliance with all applicable accreditation standards by the board and school system.

·         Adoption of the Vision for Public Education in Georgia resolution and adoption of at least 15 of the resolution’s recommendations for local school districts into the system’s Strategic Plan.

·         An annual Superintendent evaluation which uses the school system’s Strategic Plan goals as a guide.

·         Regular review of district finances by the governance leadership team in public meetings, and development of an annual budget that includes public meetings and public input.

·         Exceeding annual state Board of Education training requirements by a minimum of three additional credit hours for all members of the school board and school system governance members, and meeting all local Code of Ethics policies.

·         Completion of an annual GSBA Governance self-assessment, and completion of an independent assessment by an independent GSBA Exemplary status committee.