Nine characteristics of a good school board


Buckminster Fuller once stated that human beings are the one species that could disappear tomorrow without causing a negative impact on the planet or its future. In micro-community terms, one might say the same thing about school boards and their impact on schools.

Mark Twain put it a bit more tersely tongue in cheek when he wrote, and undoubtedly said, "In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards."

(At this writing my wife is on a school board, so I'm sure she will convey to me the collective wrath of other school board members who read the comments above, however they illustrate that school boards have indeed been the source of community debate for some time.)

Evidence points to the possibility that school boards have been a source of frustration for students, parents, teachers, administrators and other school board members since the idea came on the scene. They have certainly provided ink to news articles, commentary and letters to the editor columns over the time they have existed, as well.

But it seems that even with the whims of the voting electorate there are school boards that tend to work in ensemble over periods of years. And even with hitches or bubbles in the flow of the individual tasks, they ultimately keep things on a big-picture course. It is not an easy thing to sit on a school board, and those who think it will be should not throw their hat into the ring when an election arrives.

Media publish or report on school boards in several areas within a region. Even within that region, the effectiveness and general quality of board work and accomplishments can cover a broad spectrum. Yet there seem to be common characteristics among effective boards that are dynamic and harmoniously provide for a proper and equally effective learning environment for the schools in their community.

School boards, even in relatively close proximity to each other, operate in a variety of styles. In covering them for the media there are plenty of opportunities to observe the many differing operational characteristics. Here are observations of some characteristics that good and effective school boards seem to have in common:

Plans - The least number of hitches in school efforts amongst staff and administrators, and subsequently within the community itself, happen where school boards have established a strategic long-range plan for their district. The plans are not etched in stone but revisited frequently. They continue on even when school board personnel change.

The board acts as one - This is NOT to say that every vote will be or should be unanimous. This IS to say that board decisions are of the board as a whole. Good school boards seldom have members whose individual motives and agendas come before the needs of the district as a whole.

Primary purpose in word and action is 'education' - Good school boards use education as their prime rationale, and coincidentally appear to usually have a very efficient district. In districts where the price tag is always the primary decision making factor, the educational process AND district management is often inefficient.

Thrive on change - Boards that anticipate, adapt, address and initiate genuinely new ideas seem to be less likely to be denial oriented organizations. They also encourage this manner of thinking in their faculty, staff and with hope the students. They are the boards who don't show fear when the government imposes new budgetary or other restrictions, but allow more creative input into providing a quality education.

Open with information and intentions - Like many publicly elected bodies, school boards are holders of public trust. Ideas are exchanged in open forums, and members of good school boards are not afraid to cite sources. School boards who are regularly open in their day to day workings, will be seen and trusted as accountable when and if a controversy arises.

Reflect the kind of school they have/wish to have - Good school boards are like good schools. They celebrate learning, encourage creativity and each other. To paraphrase a more important work - when others are asking 'why,' good school boards are asking 'why not?'

Realize their place in the community and school - While asked to alot resources for school systems, the better school boards and board members do not see themselves as being bestowed with directorial powers to call the shots in a school district. Instead, the better, more secure boards and members tend to act as if they are being elevated to a deeper level of service to the community and school district.

Rely on experts - Good school boards seek, listen thoughtfully to, heed and respect experts in their field. They respect the people they depend on as the professionals they have hired or sought out, and assume that the motives of the professionals or experts are as genuine as their own. They let the people they have hired on behalf of the school district as experts in their field do the work for which they were hired. School boards which do not treat as professional, the people they hired to be professionals, waste the energy of both the board and the professionals. Boards which presume the staff, faculty and administrators are professionals and treat all as such, tend to have more harmonious interactions, and are more credible when real concerns arise.

DO THEIR HOMEWORK - Good school boards are made up of people who study. The work of the school board is not just one related to one meeting per month. Effective school boards are made up of members who take time to read and question materials from faculty and administrators, organizations and the media. When they are tasked with a specific committee or area of concern, the study should not stop. Members call experts at institutions of higher learning, stay aware of education trends reported in the media, and seek out training and development opportunities for themselves. Armed with the comfort of absolute preparation, good school boards are fearless in providing their districts with the resources required for excellence in education - they provide those resources, then stay out of the way. For under those circumstances true quality education is unstoppable.

These characteristics are a compilation of much observation. Often school board quality is cyclical, but at the ends of the bell curve are those which are consistently dysfunctional, and at the other end those few which are consistently providing resources and encouragement to provide a quality institution of learning.

CreekNews encourages and supports school boards that have or are working toward the above characteristics.
(copyright 2004 Lloyd Schultz)
# # #