MAKING THE RELIGIOUS SCHOOL SAFE
As Board members, we have a fiduciary duty to insure the safety and security of all those who
enter the temple grounds. As Jewish leaders whose essential role is nurturing the future generations of our people, we are obligated to establish a secure learning environment for our children. As the
school year begins, school safety comes to the forefront as a critical and essential issue. The following suggested checklist, which appears in the 5761 Chanukah issue of Torah at the Center (available from the UAHC Department of Education), is designed as a guide to basic safety provisions. Make sure that the temple’s administrator, educator, and all others whose specific duties include the safety of the children are aware of these guidelines and follow them.
- Medical Forms
Complete and up-to-date information for every student–– including data about allergies, medication, insurance, health history, and medical conditions, as well as emergency contacts, including signed release forms, if appropriate––should be on file in a clearly marked and central location.
- Permission Slips, Release Forms, and Waivers
It is useful to have on file a signed generic per-mission slip for spontaneous trips and a release form designating who may take a child out of the school building. Remember that signed permission to use a child’s image or name in publicity materials is mandatory.
- Kits
A complete and updated first-aid kit should be stored in a prominent and accessible location and perhaps in each classroom.
- Emergency/Disaster Plans and Communication
Advance planning for emergency situations can greatly reduce casualties and distress. Each potential emergency and disaster scenario requires a written response plan with detailed instructions. The plan should be one that any adult with the ability to read can implement and
should include a chain of command, a designation of responsibilities, and the telephone numbers of important contacts. A diagram of the physical plant that shows the location of electrical wiring, gas and water pipes, and entrances and exits should be filed in the building office and with the local police. Internal communications systems (for example, an intercom, a public address system, building-wide alert systems, and cell phones) as well as phone chains should be in place.
- CPR Training and Emergency Posters/Instructions
School staff members should be trained in CPR for both adults and children, and their names should be posted throughout the school. Emergency procedures and CPR infor-mation
should also be clearly posted.
- Drills and Precautions
Preparation takes practice but saves lives. At the very least, evacuation procedures should be followed. Strangers in the building should be quietly but firmly approached.
- Safety Checks
Annual inspections of the school’s facilities (interior and exterior) and equipment, such as fire extinguishers, burglar alarms, smoke detectors, and first-aid kits,should be made. Parking and drop-off and pick-up rules should be established. Fingerprinting of and background checks for faculty members may be required by law.
For the complete text of this checklist and the entire sixteen-page issue of Torah at the Center
devoted to Making Schools Safe, you may download the PDF or contact the UAHC Department of Jewish Education by telephone, 212.650.4110 or by E-mail, educate@uahc.org.
YOUR FIDUCIARY DUTY
Trustees Ordinarily Serve at the Behest of the Congregation
All Board members know that they owe a fiduciary duty to their congregation. But what exactly does that entail? The commitment is more than merely attending meetings once a month and voicing an opinion. There is an obligation with reference to the professional staff and the finances of the temple. This duty requires knowledge of and obedience regarding the laws regulating nonprofit corporations in your area. And there are consequences of inappropriate conduct with regard to this obligation. A recent court case in South Carolina helps define this fiduciary duty.*
The trustees of a church voted to dismiss the minister without consulting the congregation. When the minister informed the congregants of his dismissal, they held a congregational meeting, at which time they voted to retain the minister and replace the trustees.
The court ruled that church officers and directors may be removed from office for specific misconduct in the manner authorized and that that authorization is commonly vested in the membership. The state appeals court ruled that “as a congregational church, the congregation was
entitled to make all decisions relative to retention of a minister and election of trustees… Accordingly, it [was] not the function of this court to disturb the wishes of the congregation. . . .”
In this case, the court rejected the ousted trustees’ claim that they created the church to be governed exclusively by trustees and ruled that the church trustees had been properly removed
at that membership meeting.
Use this case as an opportunity for Board discussion regarding fiduciary duty. Consider posing
the following questions:
- What do your bylaws say about who has the ultimate decision-making authority to hire staff?
- What do the Religious Corporations Laws in your jurisdiction require, and how do they
affect the operation of your synagogue?
- How can your Board members become familiar with the issues surrounding fiduciary duty?
*The case referred to is Williams v. Wilson, 533 S.E.2d 593 (S.C. App. 2000), reported in Church
Law & Tax Report, Vol. XV, No. 4, July/August, 2001, published bimonthly by Christian Ministry
Resources, Matthews, NC.
UAHC DISASTER RELIEF FUND—SEPTEMBER 11 TRAGEDY
As leaders of your congregation, you may be asked by your members how they can be of assistance to those who need help in the wake of the September 11 tragedy. The UAHC has created a Disaster Relief Fund to benefit the families of disaster victims, many of whom have been cast into the worst kind of dislocation. The fund will also help the families and children of firefighters, police officers, and military
personnel who perished or were injured trying to save the lives of others. Please note clearly that donations are for the tragedy of September 11.
Donations can be made Online or by mail to UAHC Disaster Relief Fund, Attn: Development
Department, 633 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017.
BOSTON BIENNIAL BULLETIN
Daring to Dream: Transforming Reform Judaism
December 5–9, 2001
- Send a Board team to the 66th UAHC Biennial Convention. Fully register by credit card Online at www.uahc.org/Boston/register/.
- Attend or arrange for some of your young leaders to attend Striking Sparks: Raising Ruach, the first-ever Biennial Leadership Track for members in their 20s and 30s. It is a track designed for young synagogue leaders and for those interested in starting such a program in their temple, for example, the professional staff. Participants in Striking Sparks will help create the vision—and the reality—of dynamic, meaningful, and welcoming Jewish communities
and programs.
- Pray with a preliminary draft of the new CCAR prayer book, which will be used on Thursday and Friday mornings and will be followed by feedback sessions with the editors. This service will be one of five daily worship experiences.
- Register for one of the twenty-one Common Grounds Luncheons and schmooze with your peers who are involved in leadership, long-range planning, membership, budget, etc. Preregistration is required. Check out the topics on the Biennial Website.
- Come early, avoid the Wednesday rush at registration, and experience personal and communal Jewish growth by participating in the preconvention programs, which include study in such areas as Hebrew proficiency, mysticism, and creating caring communities.
To register on-line for the 2001 Biennial, complete the on-line registration form and submit credit card information to www.uahc.org/Boston. To pay by check, please print out the on-line form and mail it to UAHC Biennial Registrar, 633 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017.
For further registration information about the Boston Biennial, contact Robin Riback by telephone at 212.650.4180 or by e-mail at Rriback@uahc.org. For programming information, click on Biennial workshops, or contact the UAHC by telephone at 212.650.4270 or by e-mail at biennial@uahc.org.
USING MILESTONES
AS FUND-RAISERS
Special days in our personal lives are always great opportunities for celebration. Think about the joyous family celebrations marking bar/bat mitzvahs, anniversaries, and graduations.
Consider using temple milestones as an occasion for merriment, and, of course, fund-raising. Is your rabbi celebrating his or her thirteenth, eighteenth, or twenty-fifth year as the temple’s spiritual leader? Who would not be delighted to attend a dinner dance and contribute to a journal feting a beloved rabbi? Is your temple fifty years old? Conduct a Jubilee celebration honoring your membership, from founding members to the most recent joiners. Do you have a particularly historic sanctuary that is nearing its one hundredth anniversary? How long has your cantor, educator, or administrator been with you? Will the temple celebrate its thirty-sixth confirmation class this year? Has your rabbi led ten missions to Israel?
Consider any significant anniversary as an opportunity to bring the congregation together, encourage members to create celebratory events, and raise some funds to build and strengthen your congregational community.
For further information on increasing financial support for your congregation, contact the UAHC
Development Office by phone, 212.650.4140 or by E-mail, development@uahc.org.
CLICK ON COMMUNICATE!
Is your Board looking for ways to inform and involve a dispersed membership? (Communicate! entry #1588) A quick and easy way to retrieve all past Board Resolutions? (entry #1584) The UAHC Model Congregational Funeral Plan?(entry #1582) A fund-raising idea based on Torah study? (entry #1638) A step-by-step guide to planning a congregational retreat? (entry #1625) These are just a few of the most recent submissions to Communicate! the easy-to-use computerized encyclopedia of ideas, program expertise, contacts, and resources that is designed specifically for the UAHC and its member congregations.
Each month Inside Leadership will feature new Communicate! submissions. Use them for your congregation. Send in your own idea by October 15, 2001, and be eligible for a $1,000 cash
grant to be used for programming in your synagogue.
Communicate! is a project of the UAHC Ida and Howard Wilkoff Department of Synagogue Management and is now fully available on the Internet. Submit an idea
or access Communicate! on the Web. For further information about Communicate! please phone
212.650.4040, fax 212.650.4239, or E-mail Communicate@uahc.org.
Look for a complete Communicate! summary in the next edition of Inside Leadership.
Current and all back issues of Inside Leadership are available on the Web at http://www.uahc.org/leadership/inside.
Click on Communicate! Now fully available on the Web at http://uahc.org/comm.
