The members of the St. Paul school board realized they had a problem, starting with themselves.
So as they search for a new superintendent to replace the one they forced out, they will meet in secret to figure out how to get along better.
In September, the board approved a plan to engage the public in searching for a new schools chief. Board members are eager to get beyond the acrimony of the departure of Valeria Silva, the target of the newly elected "Caucus for Change" board majority that took over in January.
Silva's ouster prompted the resignation of onetime chairwoman Jean O'Connell, who said the board had become "so disrespectful, destructive and cynical that I can no longer be part of it."
So the St. Paul Public Schools Board of Education decided it needs the equivalent of a group hug.
Such a gesture normally must take place in public, any time there is a quorum of board members. But the state of Minnesota has given its blessing for the St. Paul school board to meet privately with trained facilitators — as well as school administrators and teachers union leaders.
Meetings about improving "trust, relationships, communication and collaborative problem solving" do not violate the Open Meetings Law's mandate that public business be conducted in public, according to a Nov. 4 opinion by Matthew Massman, the state administration commissioner.
Those meetings haven't happened yet. But they're needed for "honest conversations that are very difficult to do in a public place," said Jon Schumacher, the school board chairman and part of the Caucus for Change.