The proper role of the board is a fundamental question. I think about it often, and no doubt I'll be learning about this central issue for my whole tenure on the board. The traditional way of saying what the board does is that it "sets policy." But what does this mean in the day-to-day life of a school corporation?
Here's a little bit of my thinking about the role of the board. I have been helped, of course, by many conversations and a fair amount of reading.
The board hires and evaluates the superintendent. This is a huge part of our responsibilities, and it happens every year. Each year when we do a formal evaluation of Dr. Taylor and sign his contract, we are in effect re-hiring him. As in any performance evaluation the board works with the superintendent to recognize strengths and weaknesses and to set short- and long-term goals. The way I think of it, it's our job to make the superintendent better at his job, to the benefit of students, staff, and the community.
Board members sometimes hear that the board needs to "rein in" or "take down" the superintendent, to "show him who's boss" and not just "rubber stamp" his recommendations. There are a few issues here. First and foremost, the superintendent is an experienced, credentialed, education professional, while the board works part-time and is made up of community members who are not education professionals. Second, since we hire the superintendent every year, we should be confident in his abilities--if we have serious doubts about his management style, priorities, or the direction he's taking the schools, we should be thinking seriously about replacing him. As long as we have hired him, we should feel comfortable supporting him, at least most of the time. Third, who benefits by public disagreements between the board and the superintendent? It's fairly easy to score political points by "taking the superintendent down" at a public meeting, and it may make for interesting headlines and sideline chatter. But a contentious relationship between the board and the superintendent rarely serves the students, staff, or community at all. If we're evaluating him effectively and helping him set performance goals, we will see improvement in the areas we've targeted.
The board does not "run" the school corporation. The superintendent is the CEO of the schools. He has the credentials, experience, and expertise to hire and evaluate staff (although the board approves all personnel decisions), develop and implement curriculum, work with state and federal regulations, and manage all the dimensions of this large organization. It is one of the paradoxes of school governance that the board is made up of non-educators. On our current board, not a single member has even one day's experience teaching or administrating in a K-12 public school, and this is pretty common. This is why a well-functioning board takes the superintendent's recommendations seriously, and why a board that micro-manages school operations is setting itself up for real headaches.
The board has a serious fiscal responsibility. The budget process is complicated, but the board is charged with making sure public money is being spent responsibly and honestly. Most educational decisions also have a financial component, and where we spend money is a good indication of our priorities. For instance, the free full-day kindergarten in the Lebanon schools costs more than having only half-day programs, but the board agrees that this kind of early education has an impact that's worth paying for. Our policies have to reflect a balance between providing the best education for Lebanon students and our responsibility to taxpayers. This also means making sure we have safe, appropriate facilities but not overbuilding.
The board sets policy. Our board has help in developing policy from a company that tracks education legislation and drafts policies to be sure we're in compliance with current law. At a local level, recent policy decisions include the corporation-wide dress code and decisions about budget priorities. For any policy change, and especially the big ones, board members do plenty of research, including many conversations with stakeholders in the community. We also carefully consider the superintendent's recommendations, because he's the professional.
What kind of issues does the board get involved with? I'm sure this varies from board to board, and from person to person. There's certainly some gray area, but there are also some pretty clear lines. Generally speaking, board members should not be involved with the day-to-day operations of the schools. Student grades, selection or playing time for a sports team, the books a teacher chooses to read to second-graders, what sort of flowers are planted--these are not the purview of the board. If a patron has a problem and has already followed the chain of command to have it addressed without getting satisfaction (by talking to a teacher or coach, then principal, then superintendent), a board member may get involved at that point.
Think of it this way: if a board member were to go into a fourth-grade classroom and start telling the teacher how to do a math lesson, or which books she should choose for reading groups, people would, rightly, say the board member has neither the expertise nor the authority to act that way. If a board member attended basketball tryouts and told the coach which students should make the team, community members would be right to object. If a board member went to the bus garage, got under a bus, and started questioning the mechanic about what she was doing to the transmission, the public should be concerned. If a board member walked into a principal's office and started making suggestions about the master schedule, or who teaches which grade level, that would be inappropriate. Likewise, if a board member is looking over the superintendent's shoulder, giving directions and second-guessing his work, that's inappropriate.
What makes for a good board member? Generally speaking, if someone comes on the board with a very strong personal agenda, that means trouble. For instance, if a board member is determined to remove a particular administrator or coach, or to see a pet program implemented, they won't be very interested in the larger work of the board. While different board members have different skills, as a board we don't get to pick and choose what our work is, and good board members are willing to do even the tedious work thoroughly and carefully.
One of the most challenging things about being on the board is getting good information. Board members tend to make school staff a little nervous, and information we get can be heavily filtered. We tend to hear more from people (staff, community members, parents) who are dissatisfied than from people who are content. As much as I try to keep my ear to the ground, make myself available and responsive, and spend time in the schools and at school functions, there's no way for me or for the board as a whole to know everything we'd like to. So, like everyone else, we take the information we have, engage our best judgment, and move ahead with our work. The better our information, the better our decisions can be. Keep that in mind when you're talking with a member of the board!
