School Board Governance

School boards are charged with the responsibility to improve student achievement and increase community engagement to promote student achievement.  In a time of rapid change in education this responsibility is greater than ever.  School board members, both individually and collectively, must be leaders in their school system and in their community.  To be successful school boards need to move away from the old top-down leadership style and implement a governance approach that will lead to improved student achievement.

Governance is the theory that focuses the school board on policy decision rather than operational issues.  The board adopts a set of board policies based on values and end results and delegates the day-to-day operations to the superintendent and his or her staff.  This type of governance is more efficient and effective way to operate.  School Boards that have made a successful transition to governance, have more time available to connect with members of the staff and community to gather information about a variety of issues.

Board governance has direct effect on the entire organization's ability to function.  Be it policy governance or coherent governance, the school board is the connection to the community stakeholders and with that connection allows it to function as conduit between the community and the school.  School systems are a direct reflection of the communities they reside in primarily because most school boards are a fair representation of the community.  Because of this relationship, it is important for school boards to communicate the vision and mission of what the community wants out of their school.

It is important to note that, as the superintendent, I’m the liaison between the board and the organization's employees.  My role, as superintendent, is to frame and deliver to employees the board's vision what they want students to achieve.  This is very important or the board can overstep its role into micromanaging the day-to-day operations of the district.  This confuses what is their primary function, which is policy and governance.  It is my responsibility, as superintendent, to match the planning and operations of the district to achieve the mission and vision set by the board.  If the board becomes over involved, confusion and mistrust can arise between the board, community, and the staff.

My belief is that above all else the vision of the district must guide all that takes place within the district.  As superintendent, I must play a crucial role in the development of the vision because when the district develops a strong vision, rooted in what is best for students, it serves as the guiding principle in all actions related to ensuring that student achievement and growth occur.  It also provides the administrative team a clear understanding to guide the development of sustainable plans to continually work toward that vision.  This is where the district can work on continuous improvement that is based on data of how students are performing.  All decisions made about vision and how to get there need to be based upon the needs of our students, otherwise the overall sustainability of the district is in question.  At times obstacles will arise that impede this path. This is when my relationship, as superintendent, with the board and the principles of board governance offer approaches towards eliminating obstacles that impede progress towards a district's vision. 

While working with the board to develop an understanding of what critical role they play in ensuring student achievement occurs I, as superintendent, must assume responsibility for that success.  Once a board understands its management role of working at the policy level and accepts that the I, as superintendent, should function at the operational level the better the chances become of running an efficient, effective and successful district.  The challenge may be in getting the board to recognize the need for them to be proactive and see the larger purpose and vision for the district.  To be effective as superintendent, I must guide and educate the board on how a their vision of student achievement and their role of governance are intertwined with each other.