The Sarasota County School District is governed by a five member Board of Education that is elected on a partisan basis. Board service is full-time and salaried. The Board is the governing body responsible for establishing policies and providing support for quality educational opportunities for all students. The current Board members come from the business and professional community. They are:

An analysis of the Sarasota County Board of Education School Board Rules indicates a well organized and indexed manual exists as a guide for Board governance. There does appear to be a mixing of board policy and administrative procedures in the document. This "School Board Rules" book contains statements of policy and administrative directives. It is recommended that separate and distinct manuals be developed, one for the statement of what (policy) the board intends the administration to do, and the other or administrative direction on how to (administrative procedures) carry out that stated policy. Each school's handbook should be developed by the leadership of the school and adopted by the School Board to increase clarity and reduce liability.

While it is commendable to find policy on school site management and non- discrimination, no specific policies exist in the following areas:

* Care of school equipment
* Superintendent-principal authority over school personnel
* Separation of policy-making and administrative methodology
* Curriculum and content equity
* Recognition of outstanding performance by students and staff
* Databased decision-making
* Access to computers and other technology for all students

Although documents and handbooks may contain some of the above information, these areas have not been elevated to the level of board-adopted policy. The Board should consider reviewing, updating and adapting policies as appropriate.

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