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"Lack of leadership" is a frequently discussed topic in many school
districts. While the conversation can center on administrators and teachers, the topic
seems to surface most frequently when people talk about school boards.
The first indicator of a problem is
thinking that one's election to the school board qualifies one to lead. The second symptom
is believing that one's election to the school board qualifies one to lead.
On this planet leadership is not
the result of electoral success. To underline the point, here are some examples of
elected school board members who are dysfunctional leaders:
A newly elected school board
member files a freedom of information request two weeks after his election (and before
attending his first board meeting!) seeking the balance in the school district's Christmas
Club account. Because his family squirrels away money in such an account, he assumes that
the school district does the same thing.
A newly elected school board
member wants to approve every news release issued by the school district, and wants final
editing rights on the school district newsletter.
A newly elected school board
majority votes to assign members of the board to district classrooms for the purpose of
evaluating teachers.
A waiter elected to the school
board begins his tenure by telling cooks what to serve in the school lunch program.
A newly elected school board
member spills all the details of an executive session on negotiations to the union.
A school board member requests a
master key so that he can randomly visit class rooms and school offices nights and
weekends.
All of these elected officials
probably believe that they're doing the right thing. But the reality is that none of them
is moving the system forward, let alone contributing to the well being of students. They
are -- as business people might say -- "in over their heads."
School boards will have to overcome
dysfunctions like this if their school districts are to improve student achievement and
capitalize on the opportunities presented by the future.
Fortunately, dysfunctional
behaviors like those above have some common denominators. That makes them easier to
diagnose and remedy.
For example, there is a
relationship between misunderstanding one's role and the tendency to find yourself in over
your head. Other commonalities include the absence of school board orientation programs, a
lack of district direction, and a planning process that never progresses to
implementation.
The "checkpoints" below
can signal dysfunction. If your board keeps hitting potholes, try to determine which of
the checkpoints might be related to your bumpy ride. And, if your school board is doing
okay, use them as reminders that will keep you on course. |
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To get in synch with your community and exhibit true leadership, understand that
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It's the board's
role to set policy. but the line between policy and procedure can get
fuzzy. That's why school board members need to keep asking, 'What's this got to do with
policy?" Superintendents need to ask the same question. And both school board members
and superintendents need to agree that it's okay -- in fact, desirable -- to alert one
another to activities which are outside one's role.
Vision, mission
and priorities are the domain of the school board and superintendent ... but it's
foolhardy to develop these things in isolation. Too many school districts have allowed
school improvement teams or other groups to develop district direction and purpose.
Wrong. School improvement teams exist to improve teaching and learning. Any vision,
mission, and priorities they develop should relate to teaching and learning, and should be
developed within the context of the school district's vision, mission, and priorities.
The school board and superintendent must be concerned with the entire school district --
"the big picture." They need priorities which range from curriculum to
transportation, from maintenance to budgeting, from alternative programming to staff
development. When a school improvement team or other special focus group takes over
vision, mission, and priori ties, the perspective tends to be rather narrow. For example,
most school improvement teams don't have priorities related to long-range financial
management, facility maintenance, support staff training, community relations, and other
topical areas which must be addressed by a school district.
School district vision, mission, and priorities are big picture concerns. Before
developing them, it's wise to conduct surveys, review community demographics, assess
community support, conduct community listening sessions, and use a process to engage staff
and community.
Being prepared
makes everyone on the board look good. Remember, the perception is the
reality. If the first sound after the gavel is board members opening their informational
packets, it's a good bet the meeting will not be one in which your best foot is forward.
How
boards
conduct their business is as important as the business that they conduct.
Public confidence should increase as people observe you in action. If your board meetings
are the hottest program on cable TV, seek help.
Preparation.
discussion. and honesty often lead to consensus. It takes hard work to
understand the full range of issues and agenda items facing a school district. When board
members take action based on informed consensus, they need to explain what was involved in
their decision-making process; e.g., that the item was initiated and reviewed by a
committee or task force, that the various components of the item have been researched
during the past six months, that the action was taken following public hearings, etc.
Yet, despite the hard work and the explanations, narrow-minded people sometimes say that
board members are "rubber stamps." There's nothing wrong with individual board
members expressing opposing opinions, of course. And there's nothing wrong with being on
the minority side of a vote. It's when opposing opinions are expressed and negative votes
are cast simply to avoid the rubber stamp label that they become disruptive.
Asking questions
is okay. Sincere questions demonstrate that you want to learn. Most school
board members -- even those who knew everything on the night of their first school board
meeting ~ will tell you that it took a year or more before they felt informed about
educational matters and comfortable with the responsibilities of being a board member.
School boards are
responsible to all the people in their community ... and all the
students, too. Every decision about every item must be made with the interests of everyone
in mind.
School districts are often called school systems. People who study systems tell us that a
system is " ... a product of the interdependence of its parts." That is, you
can't attend to any part of the system without affecting every other part of the system
and, indeed, the system itself.
You can't satisfy the athletic supporters without affecting the band boosters. You can't
emphasize the arts without affecting the basics. And you can't improve staff development
without impacting the budget. Everything is interrelated. People who do not serve on
boards find this difficult to understand.
Every issue is
special, even when it's not special to you. When people address the school
district through employees or members of the school board, they are expressing some thing
of special interest to them. Even if it's not important to you, it's important to them ...
and they will judge you by the courtesy and skill with which you respond.
Board members are
simply citizens until there's a quorum and the meeting is called to order.
Unless it's an official board meeting, everything an individual board member does is
unofficial. The school district is not well served by school board members who play the
Lone Ranger or Rambo.
It's important to
have a board "understanding." Understand how your board
"does business." Know what is expected of committee chairs ... what to do when
you're uncertain ... who speaks for the board, etc. When things are going well these
things aren't important. But guess what? Lack of attention to these things can derail a
board, and when things start going downhill these are the things that get really
important. Deal with them now.
School board
members are targets. People try to pick them off, one at a time. If people
are calling you, they're also calling some or all of your colleagues. Make sure you know
about those board "understandings." Listen to people, tell them how your school
board does business, and steer them to the people who should be helping them.
When a majority of
the board votes to support A it's time to stop lobbying for B. In a
democratic society, the majority rules. There is dialog and debate, and then a vote. The
vote determines outcome and direction. Those who can't shift their thinking to the next
discussion undermine the democratic process.
Executive sessions
are permitted by law so that certain matters can be discussed in confidence.
Leaking confidential information is a violation of the public trust ... and generally
disgusting behavior. Enough said.
When school board
members play "stump the stars." everyone looks bad. Ambushes and
sniping are terrorist techniques, and surprises should be saved for birthdays. Teachers,
administrators, and other staff members are usually on the school board agenda to inform
or to enhance board member understanding, not to be embarrassed or "raked over the
coals."
Being visible is
important. When board members attend school events and district
activities, people notice. Show up ... look presentable ... be informed ... and emulate
sponges. You can share what you "soak up" with your board colleagues at the next
meeting.
Communication
means different things to different people. Sometimes people say,
"You didn't communicate" when they really mean, "I didn't get my way."
Don't let people blame things on "poor communication." When things go wrong,
it's usually the result of the way you do business or how people get treated in the
process. When people say that there has been a communication breakdown, do some serious
thinking about what they really mean.
Some people have a great deal of
confidence in their school boards; others have very little. Most are somewhere between the
extremes of the continuum.
If these checkpoints indicate that
you might be on the wrong side of the "confidence continuum," there are some
corrective measures you can take.
If you're new to the board, listen
and learn before taking action. If you're an experienced board member, try the same thing.
(Sometimes we don't understand the lesson the first time around.)
If you and your board colleagues
sense a confidence problem, look first at the school district's vision. Does it clearly
state where the school district is headed and why? Lack of a vision unravels boards and
can make board life miserable. Worse yet, it can result in a drifting school district.
If your school district's vision
seems to be okay, look next at process -- the way in which the school district does
things. Does your district have a process designed to move it toward its vision? Does the
process engage people in meaningful ways? Is it systemic and continuous?
Boards that generate confidence
project an image of professionalism, fairness, and efficiency. Board members understand
their role and their responsibilities. And their agenda is always in the best interest of
the entire community.
Checkpoints can provide insights
into the way your school board functions. And, they can serve as keys to unlocking public
confidence in you and the schools that you represent.
In today's competitive environment,
school districts have to focus on creating and keeping customers. This means providing
quality programs and services in such a way that people want to do business with
our schools. These are things that you can't do if your school board is dysfunctional. |
