Helpful Hints to Remember

Though they didn’t make the list of the top seven habits, school board members also can improve their effectiveness by remember the following:

Keep your eyes on the big picture.

When school board members are elected or appointed to represent a specific portion of the community, they can be tempted to focus on the needs of their own constituents, rather than the system as a whole.  But effective board members balance their districts’ needs with those of their systems to ensure that the board’s goals are met.

Be honest.

Effective board members are honest with others and with themselves.  They base their decisions on principles and are straightforward about their beliefs.  Likewise, they don’t mislead their colleagues or the public by omitting pertinent details about the impact of a plan or their support for it.  Those that do cause the community to lost faith in them as individuals and the board as a whole, said the Rev. Clifford Jones, a member of the Auburn school board.  “If they know you’re going to vacillate on your principles, they’ll accept that you say,” he said.

Keep children first in your thoughts.

Often boards become so involved in hiring personnel, overseeing bus routes and cafeteria service, paying the bills, handling community and staff complaints, and coping with personality conflicts that they forget the reason they are elected or appointed – to serve schoolchildren.  The basis of every board decision should be whether or not your position is in students’ best interest.

Remember you have no authority individually.

This can be difficult for board members and the community.  Board members often are tempted to promise to fire an incompetent teacher or vow that the board won’t take and unpopular action.  However, individually, you have no authority to make such promises into realities.  Only when the board makes decisions as a body can actions be taken.  Individually, you cannot act along unless the board as a whole specifically delegates a task to you.

Stay out of personnel problems.

Effective board members remember that the superintendent and staff have the responsibility for resolving personnel issues.  The board only should become involved when the superintendent recommends action.  This is particularly important in cases that could lead to the dismissal of an employee.  One Alabama board learned that the hard way when a board member’s public criticisms of an employee and vows to see her dismissed torpedoed efforts by the superintendent to dismiss the woman.  Because the board sits in a quasi-judicial capacity on dismissals, the member’s comments were viewed by the board’s own attorney as prejudicial, and the board was warned it could lost if the woman challenged her dismissal in a lawsuit.

Quickly learn how to disagree agreeably.

Effective board members share their ideas and opinions and listen to others’.  Just because someone else’s opinion is different than yours doesn’t make it wrong.