Lead with Confidence: Best Practices for Effective Board Meetings

About the Webinar:

This practical session provided charter school board members and administrators with essential guidance on conducting effective, legally compliant board meetings that advance school missions while maintaining transparency and accountability. Christine Mentis from the Florida Charter Institute and Kathleen Schoenberg, attorney and governance trainer with Charter School Training LLC and Arnold Law Firm, presented comprehensive best practices covering everything from meeting preparation and agenda development to facilitation techniques and decision-making processes. The presenters emphasized that well-run board meetings are foundational to good governance—they create clarity around roles and responsibilities, ensure compliance with Florida’s Sunshine Law and public records requirements, foster productive discussion and strategic thinking, and build stakeholder confidence in the school’s leadership. They explained that effective meetings require thoughtful preparation, clear communication, adherence to parliamentary procedure, and a culture of respect and collaboration where board members focus on policy-level governance rather than operational management.

Mentis and Schoenberg walked attendees through the anatomy of an effective board meeting, offering specific recommendations for structuring agendas, preparing board packets with sufficient information and lead time, facilitating robust but focused discussions, documenting decisions through clear minutes, and managing public comment periods professionally. They addressed common challenges including managing dominant personalities, navigating disagreements constructively, maintaining appropriate boundaries between board and staff roles, ensuring all voices are heard, and keeping meetings efficient without sacrificing thorough deliberation. The session included practical tools such as agenda templates, meeting procedure checklists, and tips for new board chairs. The presenters also covered legal compliance essentials including proper notice requirements, quorum rules, voting procedures, conflict of interest disclosure, and public access obligations. They emphasized that strong meeting practices reflect and reinforce healthy board culture, where members come prepared, engage respectfully, make informed decisions aligned with the school’s mission, and model the professionalism and excellence they expect throughout the organization. Attendees left with actionable strategies and resources to immediately improve their board meeting effectiveness, enhance governance quality, and strengthen their schools’ leadership foundations.