At its Oct. 5 meeting, the district policy committee discussed language to establish a districtwide risk-management program and agreed that the superintendent should present a written program describing department responsibilities. Committee members emphasized that risk management should be an umbrella covering facilities, personnel, transportation, technology and emergency procedures, and they reiterated the need for independent inspections of school facilities at least once per school year.

Committee discussion covered current practice and gaps: members said the district performs building inspections and that the district’s liability insurance provider has historically inspected selected buildings and offered training, but the district lacks a single, formalized "program" with documented departmental responsibilities. Committee members asked that a written program identify which departments handle which types of risk (for example, facilities for building hazards, HR for employee-related exposures, technology for cybersecurity), and to document how the district will measure and mitigate risks.

Several members noted that state rules require an independent inspection at least once per school year; the committee said that language should be included in policy to make the requirement explicit for successors. Members also discussed options for using the district’s liability insurer to recommend an independent inspector and for the insurer to provide training materials and discounted training offerings.

Next steps: the committee directed staff to draft program components and a superintendent’s statement of how the program will be implemented across departments, and to bring that draft back to committee and the board. No formal vote was recorded; the committee agreed by consensus to proceed with drafting and to ensure the policy includes the annual independent inspection requirement.

Ending: Committee members emphasized that a district risk-management policy should be actionable — assigning responsibilities and describing regular reporting — rather than a high-level statement alone.