Lead with transparency and integrity

One of the least understood aspects of school systems is decision making. Who decides what gets taught and how many tests there are? How are students assigned to schools or allowed to attend specialized schools? How are funds allocated to schools, and how are budgets increased or decreased? Who hires and/or fires employees? How are policies set? Governance is rarely talked about and rife with politics, yet system leaders who seek to transform their school districts must pay close attention to the decision-making processes — both formal and informal — if they seek to improve outcomes for children.

Let’s take formal governance processes first. Most school districts are governed by an elected board of education. While many citizens can’t name members of their local school board, school boards have significant power. Board members are supposed to do three seemingly straightforward things: hire/fire and evaluate the superintendent, set policy, and approve a budget.

But how board members fulfill these responsibilities in the political context of a school system is where the rubber hits the road. The superintendent and his/her team may be the face of the organization, but their power can be compromised by the political whims of elected officials. Being an elected school board member is one of the most difficult and paradoxical elected offices in our body politic. Unlike city council members, mayors, or state legislators, school board members are not supposed to do constituent service. When my street remains unplowed days after a snow storm, I can call my local representative to complain and expect that s/he  will register my complaint, pass it along to the appropriate agency, respond to me, and hold that agency accountable. But, if I called a school board member because I don’t like my child’s teacher, that would be considered inappropriate. The board member would be violating personnel rules if s/he did anything except tell me to talk to my child’s principal. School board members must be cautious about interfering with personnel situations that should be managed by district employees or risk complicating legal and regulatory processes.  Two very different worlds.