E-mail is a great tool for some purposes- sharing logistical details of meetings, informing people of emergent situations, etc. And trustees, like most people these days in leadership positions, have Blackberrys.
But it's lousy as a means to debate issues, and it's no substitute for the face to face dicussions that take place at meetings.
Keep it mind as well that e-mail is not a secure communications channel. My rule of thumb has always been not to say anything through e-mail that I wouldn't want to see on the front page of the newspaper.
Over the years, some of our employees have said things through e-mail that helped them become former employees.
And remember that the school district's guidelines for acceptable use of technology, including e-mail, applies to Trustees just as much as it does to staff.
agreed. trustees should not have hallway meetings nor should they have email meetings.
ReplyDeletegood discussion for boards after the election - how will email be used? maybe we should switch to twitter and say anything that is going to take more then 140 characters should be done in person.