Board Policy 0120 - System Oversight

I. Policy Statement

The Prince George’s County Board of Education (Board) is a body politic and corporate created under the laws of the State of The Board has full authority and jurisdiction over all educational matters affecting Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGPCS) and the responsibility to promote the interests of PGCPS.
The Board may sue and be sued and exercise all powers and privileges granted to or vested in it by law.

II. Purpose

The Board and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) will raise the level of academic achievement of the diverse PGCPS student body and raise the level of engagement of parents, students and the community as a whole. The purpose of this policy is to clarify the roles of the Board and CEO in system oversight.

III. Standards

The Board and the CEO will collaborate in the effective governance and administration of PGCPS to achieve its mission and goals with the understanding that the roles and responsibilities of the Board and the CEO are distinct.
Board Powers, Duties, and Obligations
1. The Board’s powers, duties, and obligations include, but are not limited to the following:
  1. Carry out the applicable provisions of federal and state laws and regulations and policies of the Maryland State Board of Education (Educ. Art. §4-108);
  2. Maintain throughout the county a reasonably uniform system of public schools that is designed to provide quality education and equitable educational opportunities for all students (Educ. Art. §4-108)
  3. Determine and provide, with the advice of the CEO regarding the legal ramifications and operational impact of the policies, the educational policies of the school system (Educ. Art. §4-108);
  4. Adopt and maintain a written antidiscrimination policy for PGCPS in accordance with state law (Educ. Art. 4-108);
  5. Be held accountable for high levels of academic achievement of each student in PGPCS (Educ. Art. 4-401);
  6. On the written recommendation of the CEO, adopt a comprehensive master plan, facilities master plan, annual budget, and annual capital improvement program (Educ. Art. §5-401);
  7. On the written recommendation of the CEO, enter into collective bargaining agreements with the appropriate employee organizations (Educ. Art. §6-408 & §6- 510);
  8. On the written recommendation of the CEO, appoint and set the salaries of all certificated personnel, with the exception of the chief operating officer, chief financial officer, chief academic officer, chief of staff, board liaison, and other necessary executive staff in the office of the CEO (Educ. Art. §6-201);
  9. On the written recommendation of the CEO, establish curriculum guides and courses of study for the schools in the school system, including appropriate programs of instruction or training for students with disabilities (Educ. Art. 4-111);
  10. On the written recommendation of the CEO, purchase and distribute textbooks, supplementary readers, materials of instruction and visual and auditory aids (Educ. Art. §4-205);
  11. Enter into all contracts and agreements necessary or incidental to the performance of its duties and the execution of its powers (Educ. Art. §5-112 & §7-106);
  12. On the written recommendation of the CEO, prepare the annual budget (Educ. 5-101);
  13. On the written recommendation of the CEO, condemn any school building that is unsanitary and unfit for use and conduct any repairs of or the purchase of and sale of land, school sites, and buildings (Educ. Art. §4-205 and Educ. Art.§4-115);
  14. Provide for an annual audit of its financial transactions and accounts (Educ. Art. §5- 109);
  15. Adjudicate appeals from decisions made by the CEO or the CEO’s designees in accordance with Maryland law (Educ. Art. 4-205);
  16. Annually submit to the State Board of Education a report on the condition, current accomplishments, and needs of improvement of the PGCPS and a statement of the business and financial transactions of the Board (Educ. Art. §5-111);
  17. Set the salary for the CEO in the contract with the CEO (Educ. §4-202);
  18. Evaluate the performance of the CEO (Educ. §4-101);
  19. With the advice of the CEO, determine the geographical attendance areas for each school established by the Board (Educ. Art. §4-109);
  20. Bring condemnation proceedings to acquire land if the land is required for any school purpose and the Board is unable to contract with the owner of the land for what the Board considers to be fair valuation (Educ, Art. §4-119);
  21. After consultation with the CEO, may establish and implement a Certified County- Based Business Participation Program (Educ. Art. §4-125.1);
  22. Develop and implement a recycling program for all facilities under the jurisdiction of the Board (Educ. Art. §4-127);
  23. Utilize alternative financing methods, pursuant to Code Ann., Educ. § 4-126
CEO’s Responsibilities and Powers
1. In addition to the powers granted to all county superintendents by state law (Educ. 4-205), the CEO’s responsibilities and powers include, but are not limited to:
  1. The overall administration of PGCPS (Educ. §4-402); and
  2. The day-to-day management and oversight of the fiscal affairs of PGCPS and the activities related to:
    1. Administration;
    2. Mid-level administration;
    3. Instructional salaries;
    4. Textbooks and other classroom instructional supplies;
    5. Instructional costs;
    6. Special education;
    7. Health services;
    8. Student transportation;
    9. Operation of plants and equipment;
    10. Plant management;
    11. Fixed charges;
    12. Food services;
    13. Capital planning and expenditures; and
    14. The development and implementation of the curriculum taught and the instruction provided in PGCPS (Educ. Art. 4-402).
2. The CEO shall hire and set the salaries of a chief operating officer, a chief financial officer, a chief academic officer, a chief of staff, a board liaison, and any other necessary executive staff in the office of the CEO (Educ. §4-204, §4-402 & Educ. Art. 6-201)).
3. The CEO shall appoint non-certificated administrative and supervisory personnel at Grade 30 or above and all other non-certificated personnel.
4. The CEO shall enter into memorandums of understanding that relate to the provision of policy analysis and advice to the Board with the following institutions of higher education, among others:
  1. The University of Maryland, College Park Campus;
  2. The University of Maryland, Global Campus;
  3. Bowie State University; and
  4. Prince George’s Community College (Educ. §4-402).
5. The CEO shall prepare and submit to the Board all reports required of the Board by the State Board of Education or State Superintendent of Education, including the annual report. These reports shall be available to the PGCPS community (Educ.Art. §4-205).
6. The CEO shall have the authority to consolidate schools if considered practicable and arrange for transportation of students to and from consolidated schools (Educ. Art. §4- 120).

IV. Implementation and Responsibilities

Board Work Session
1. The Board, in coordination with the CEO, will establish agendas for Board Work sessions. The Work Sessions will address the Strategic Imperatives of the PGCPS Strategic The CEO/designee will provide detailed reports of the requested PGPCS division’s/department’s accomplishments of the Strategic Imperatives. The Strategic Imperatives include:
  1. Academic Innovation;
  2. Transformational Workforce;
  3. Organization Learning Culture;
  4. Safe and Supportive Environments; and
  5. Infrastructure and Operational Enhancements
2. The Board will submit information requests/questions to the CEO at least five (5) weeks prior to the scheduled Board Work Session. The Board Chair and CEO will confer at least four (4) weeks prior to the meeting to finalize information The Board will receive final meeting documents no less than two (2) weeks prior to the scheduled meeting. An exception to the aforementioned will be for unscheduled Board Work Sessions which would be scheduled at the discretion of the Chair
3. It is also the responsibility of the Board to direct the CEO expeditiously upon receipt of any report that warrants corrective action due to non-compliance with federal, state or local laws and regulations or established policies the Board’.
  1. This direction must be in writing with the signature by the Chair, which will include but not be limited to the areas of concern; the laws, regulations, and/or policies that have not been adhered to, if applicable; and the time by which a response is The direction may initially be given verbally, but it must be followed up in writing no later than five (5) working days from receipt of the report.
CEO’s Responsibility for Work Sessions
The CEO shall, on an annual basis, provide a schedule of all reports required by Board policy, federal and state mandates, and other reports produced by PGCPS. All such reports will be provided to the Board as part of the information package for the relevant Board Work Session. In addition to information requested by the Board, the CEO will provide data summaries and analyses. Reports containing extensive data will also include executive summaries.

V. References

Legal Reference
MD. CODE ANN., EDUC. § 3-104 MD. CODE ANN., EDUC. § 4-101 MD. CODE ANN., EDUC. § 4-108 MD. CODE ANN., EDUC. § 4-109 MD. CODE ANN., EDUC. § 4-111 MD. CODE ANN., EDUC. § 4-115 MD. CODE ANN., EDUC. § 4-119 MD. CODE ANN., EDUC. § 4-120 MD. CODE ANN., EDUC. § 4-125.1 MD. CODE ANN., EDUC. § 4-126 MD. CODE ANN., EDUC. § 4-127 MD. CODE ANN., EDUC. § 4-202 MD. CODE ANN., EDUC. § 4-204 MD. CODE ANN., EDUC. § 4-205 MD. CODE ANN., EDUC. § 4-402 MD. CODE ANN., EDUC. § 4-403 MD. CODE ANN., EDUC. § 5-101 MD. CODE ANN., EDUC. § 5-109 MD. CODE ANN., EDUC. § 5-111 MD. CODE ANN., EDUC. § 5-112 MD. CODE ANN., EDUC. § 5-401 MD. CODE ANN., EDUC. § 6-201 MD. CODE ANN., EDUC. §6-408 MD. CODE ANN., EDUC. §6-510
Code of Maryland Regulations 13A.02.07.04
Other Board Policies
Board Bylaw 9360 - Meetings of the Board

Board Bylaw 9454 - Annual Report
Relevant Data Sources
Other

VI. History

ADOPTED:

Policy Adopted 4/24/08

REVIEWED:

AMENDED:

Policy Amended
3/21/17

EFFECTIVE:

Version date: 01/12/2023

About This Policy

Updated January 12, 2023

Documents

Board Policy 0120 - System Oversight.pdf