Boards: Stay out of the Weeds

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Is your school board’s work in the weeds or are you looking from a global perspective?

It’s so easy to get off track. For boards of education, it is imperative that the board simply follow the system-wide strategic plan with that plan driving the monthly meetings of the board.

So why do boards end up “in the weeds” sometimes?

It all goes back to an understanding of a board’s roles and responsibilities.

Local boards of education are elected to be policy makers, stewards of the budget, advocates for public education, and to hire and evaluate the superintendent. It’s when individual board members or the board as a whole gets “in the weeds” that problems crop up. Board members should be big picture thinkers…visionaries. A 21st century board of education should be thinking globally and working strategically so that the graduates from their local system can compete anywhere in the world.

So, step back and think about your local board. From what perspective are you leading? We encourage our children to dream and to dream big. Hopefully, we’re doing the same through good local board leadership and it’ll then show through gains in student achievement.

Our contributor, Diane Sandifer

From local to state and national roles in public service, Diane Sandifer served on the Harris County Schools GA Board of Education from 1998-2008. Additionally, Diane was elected as president of the Georgia School Boards Association in 2006 and was a member of the National School Boards Association Board of Directors in 2007 and 2008. Diane advocates 21st century governance from the board room to the classroom through her passion for integration of technology as well as effective strategic planning. Diane represents school board members in statewide commissions and projects and has played an integral role in educational research through groups like the Wallace Foundation. Diane lives in Pine Mountain, Georgia and is currently the account executive for eBOARDsolutions.