Members of the Montgomery County School Board said they are proud of their accomplishments the past year, including extending Superintendent Tiffany Anderson's contract, choosing to consolidate Elliston-Lafayette and Shawsville elementary schools and giving teachers living out-of-county a break on tuition, but they do plan to improve how they communicate and make decisions.

The year had a "positiveness to it," despite having to make tough decisions, board member Jamie Bond said.

The comments came during a "self-assessment" session during the board's annual retreat Friday and Saturday in Roanoke.

As part of the session, each board member used blue dots to vote on areas in need of improvement from a list of seven categories:

High-quality decision-making and follow-through.

Future/proactive orientation.

Communicating with communities.

Staying connected to community.

Board conduct and self-assessment.

Future board development.

Relationship with superintendent.

School board members chose the first three categories -- decision making, being proactive and communicating -- as the top items they'd like to give more attention in the coming year. Above all, the board said it needs to examine ways to make decisions and "understand subtleties/unintended consequences of decisions."

"I think sometimes we make decisions too quickly without thinking about the subtle things in the long run," said board member Wat Hopkins.

He wasn't present for the vote on Anderson's contract extension. Although he said he would likely have voted in favor, he said the decision surprised him because he didn't know it was going to a vote. Hopkins, a communications professor at Virginia Tech, said he was concerned that the item was not listed on a school board agenda.

Although the board chose communication with the community as an area to improve, some board members questioned how much the community wants to communicate back.

Joe Ivers, a board member from Blacksburg, said he's out often introducing himself and no one asks questions about schools or policy. And board Chairman Wendell Jones noted that few people attend the board's bimonthly meetings in Christiansburg.

Bond suggested the board's biggest problem is that people don't understand its role.

"I just think a lot of people don't know what we do," she said.

In other action, Anderson handed out the book, "Teamwork Makes the Dreamwork" to just about everyone at the board's retreat.

The school system's leadership team also is reading the book.

The hardcover edition, written by leadership expert John C. Maxwell, is aimed at inspiring readers by asserting, "Together we can do the impossible."

Belview competes for technology money

A video featuring students from Belview Elementary learning the joys of the No. 2 pencil has been entered in a contest that could win the school $10,000 toward technological advances in the school.

The 90-second video is among four in Virginia entered in Big Lots' "Lots2Give" campaign, aimed at providing schools with cash. People can vote online on which video they like the best.

Teacher Lisa Cosslin created the video to help win a different batch of money to improve the technology used in the school, but that didn't work.

They're hoping this time, it will.

The video can be found at lots2give.com.

Anna L. Mallory covers events and issues affecting Montgomery County schools and beyond. If you have information you'd like featured, e-mail anna.mallory@roanoke.com.