School Bored: Ants, capable, good workers but bored and asleep. Termites are destructive and determined to bore into your school and destroy it. How to be a highly functional schoolboard, not bored. – Keith Kirkpatrick, author of the book Leadersick.
School board members, usually unpaid volunteers, play a major role in public schools. They (trustees) impact the lives of children as the complex organization moves forward from the beginning of recorded history. Some board members won’t change or adjust; sometimes, they must be replaced.
So, get on board. Teamwork accomplishes more than any one individual’s action.
Are you ready to build an effective school board? You’ve come to the right place.
Local School Board Actions
In Indiana and Missouri, the irresponsible actions of local school boards led to the takeover of the state board of education. Why? This happened for several reasons.
- Poor accountability of the administrative leadership.
- Poor planning (long and short term)
- Not paying attention to the school’s audit.
- Lack of ethical partnership and the inertia of the voters/people.
- Funding and enrollment trends.
- Allowing the rainy day fund to dry up.
Remember, it is always about the lack of funding, human resources, and oversight of academic success.
21st Century Qualities of Effective School Board Members
Ensuring you are building an effective school board doesn’t happen overnight. However, as you look to elect school board members, keep these qualities in mind for success.
- Have a historical understanding of public education and the community to which they are attached to live. Public education schools accept ALL students and provide the best education possible for them. High academic expectations, improvement strategies, and emotional support scaffolding must be included, too.
- Understand public service.
- Be respected in the local community as an advocate for children, educators, and the public good! This includes involvement in the League of Women Voters, Rotary, Kiwanians, Caring Place, and non-profit groups.
- Know and or be willing to understand learning education theory. Thus, as additional information is obtained, behavior should change, and learning occurs.
- Be connected to ideas of positive change regarding school facilities needed in the 21st Century, such as technology delivery of the local curriculum, enrollment trends, and the lack of highly qualified personnel to fill all required positions.
- Understand human resources.
- Understands federal public education law and responsibilities to the secretary of state office.
- Be able to read, comprehend, and synthesize a lot of information.
- They are not on board to drive their own agenda. All organizational change can occur in several forms. Today, schools need to be small enough (in departments, groups, and/or associations’ unions) to change transformational.
- Know how to discuss issues and work towards common ground solutions professionally.
- Board action is taken as a group, and the school board makes decisions. Once an action is taken, they must wholeheartedly support it!
- Be a willing professional to learn.
- Know that all states offer school board certifications that can be obtained over the term elected to or appointed.
Ensuring Your School Board Is Effective
Schools should consider hiring a consultant to ensure their school board is effective. As a leadership consultant, I help communities engage in forward steps with school board action, perceptions, and communication with local voters, taxpayers, parents, and all media outlets.
Always remember that school districts reflect the local community positively and negatively. While you can always speak your mind as an individual, partnerships are a must! As a reflection of the community, school board members should publicly always display business casual dress.
The School Board hires personnel, approves the budget, and always, always, always follows state and federal laws and local policies and procedures. When appropriate actions occur, excellent outcomes for students and communities result. In most cases today, a professional public relations person is the spokesperson for the school board’s actions. However, in smaller settings, this position is handled by the School Superintendent.
We can break it down into a few key points.
Why School Boards Matter:
- School board members significantly impact children’s lives by shaping the educational environment.
- Ineffective boards can lead to state takeovers, harming students and communities.
Qualities of a Highly Functional School Board:
- Active and adaptable members: They should be willing to learn, adjust, and work together.
- Community-minded: Understanding the community’s history and needs is crucial.
- Advocacy: Board members should be champions for children, educators, and the public good.
- Knowledge and skills: Understanding educational theory, HR, legal aspects, and financial trends is essential.
- Open-mindedness: Being receptive to new ideas and collaborating to find common ground is key.
- Professionalism: Members should be committed to learning, following proper procedures, and presenting a professional image.
Warning Signs of a Struggling Board:
- Lack of accountability: The administration is not held responsible for performance and finances.
- Poor planning: Ignoring long-term needs, neglecting audits, and failing to plan for funding and enrollment shifts.
- Disunity: Individual agendas trump the board’s collective decisions.
By following these guidelines, school boards can become effective advocates for a strong educational system that benefits students and communities.
School & Community Communication Process
If you have read this far, here are some free School and Community communication tips for creating effective school boards. Design a 10-page plan document that connects the school board to the school. The document’s cover page lists:
- School district name
- Address
- Telephone number for the public to contact a person who answers the phone
- The school logo mascot is centered on the cover page
- The mission statement is at the bottom of the cover page.
On the second page, list the table of contents of this ten-page document, including the mission statement, goals for graduates, in-house communication, community communication, policies, regulations, and forms (attached to federal law, state law, and local school-adopted procedures).
The third and fourth pages list goals for graduates.
Page five lists your House Communication groups, such as Golden Citizens, Medical Benefits Committee, Calendar Committee, Title 1 Committee, Professional Development Committee, Education Foundation, School Bulletins, Calling Trees, Counselor’s newsletters, and Parent as Teachers newsletter. From here, you will want to brainstorm with your school team to expand the in-house communications groups.
Page six would then list community communications, such as TV and local radio, service clubs, local community clubs/organizations, band and athletic boosters, parents as teacher organizations, ministerial alliances, and youth groups in the community (Scouting America, Boy and Girls Clubs, the Y, etc.)
The last pages of this document should be the school board policies and procedures, such as the public complaints policy, the meeting on participation in public policy, and the PIN Form (Problems-Issue—Need for Policy development form).
Using this outline can get you started on an improved school and community communication process.
Additional Resources for Creating Effective School Boards
When creating effective school boards, bringing in an outside consultant can help improve board communication and engagement. This is where I come in, so contact me to learn more about my consulting services.
Another helpful article is this summary post from U.S. News and World Report that describes effective school boards.
Lastly, many states offer programs and State School Board Certifications for board members to enhance their knowledge and skills in creating the best environment for teachers, staff, administration, and students while bringing together the community. All schools should seek opportunities such as this certification for their board members to learn and grow.
Check back often for more topics on school safety, Roberts rules of order, brain development studies, federal and state law requirements, curriculum and assessment requirements, advocation with state legislators, efficient transportation, food service school meals; breakfast, lunch, take home foods, parent teacher organizations, school community relations, new school boundaries, open enrollment, class size, functioning retreats, and more. Together, we are going to improve the future for these kids.
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