Question #36 – Does Your Board Delegate Authority and Provide Support to the Superintendent?

Rick Maloney

(49 Questions to Ask Your Board)

The role of trustees is to hold what approximates absolute power over the institution, using it operationally only in rare emergencies – ideally never. Trustees delegate the operational use of power to administrators and staffs, but with accountability for its use that is at least as strict as now obtains with the use of property and money…In essence, this view of the use of power holds that no one, absolutely no one, is to be entrusted with the operational use of power without the close oversight of fully functioning trustees.

– Robert Greenleaf1

The board ensures that superintendent responsibility, once defined, is backed up by authority delegated in proportion to that responsibility. The board may reserve some areas of decision-making to itself, but if it wants the superintendent to act on its behalf – indeed, if it recognizes that the superintendent must routinely act on its behalf – it delegates authority over the rest to the superintendent, who manages the district under the strategic and operational board guidance.

Scenario: The new superintendent was hired after a nationwide search, multiple grueling interviews, and public Q+A sessions with various employee groups, parents, and other community members. She received marching orders calling for “game-changing” reform measures, and immediately went to work, with the board getting “out of the way” and cheering her on. One of the issues she tackled was meaningful teacher evaluation as a means of improving instruction. It required tough rounds of negotiations, and the tentative agreement generated opposition from a significant faction of teachers. Board members began feeling the heat. When parents joined in, the board delayed its deliberations, then indefinitely tabled the agreement. In frustration, the superintendent resigned at the end of her first year, accepting a job she had declined just a year earlier.

In the above situation, the superintendent had been given what appeared to be broad authority to decisively act in the interest of the board’s strategic reform goals. But the board had not thought things through at the time of superintendent hiring, and it was not prepared to support the superintendent’s authority with comparable freedom of action, unconstrained by the board’s potential for retroactive caution and second-guessing. The board’s failure to clarify superintendent authority at the time they hired the new superintendent undermined her authority when it was needed the most, when she and the board were faced with predictably tough opposition to hard decisions.

The board delegates authority to the superintendent over such things as selecting and hiring staff and managing the district to support achievement and instruction goals. The board refers operational issues to the superintendent for timely resolution without a need to bring such decisions to the board (in “Mother, may I?” fashion) for its ok. It follows a protocol for referring issues to the level most appropriate for resolution, ensuring that its delegation is appropriate and is balanced with freedom of action once delegated, and is tempered by the knowledge that delegated decision-making authority will be measured by the outcomes of decisions made under that authority. It may occasionally discuss stakeholder-raised management issues in board meetings because of their political implications but ultimately refers them to the superintendent for appropriate action. The board pursues school improvement strategies through its superintendent.

In fulfilling its fiscal responsibilities, the board reviews financial reports regularly (preferably monthly) and maintains awareness of the district’s ongoing financial status. It keeps an institutional eye on school activity, athletic, and cafeteria accounts, is aware of budget fund transfers, and remains alert to the year-end condition of the budget, including board-approved reserves.

Scenario: The superintendent prepared and presented a budget plan as part of the annual process that concludes with a board vote prior to the beginning of the next fiscal year. The plan was unveiled, and the board voted without comment. When the board moved to its next action, a review of policy guiding the budgeting process for the next year, Allie proposed forming a citizens’ budget advisory committee to look deeply into the budget and identify possible cost savings. The board considered her proposal, then voted against the idea, deciding to stick with its existing practice of setting policy-driven parameters for budget planning (be sure to account for this, don’t allow that) and expecting the superintendent to exercise prudence in judging the best use of available funds based on the board’s priorities for educational results. Allie complained to her board colleagues, charging that the board had abandoned its “fiduciary duty as stewards of the public purse.”

As in most disagreements, this board faced two conflicting positive values: the need to exercise fiduciary responsibility vs. the need to delegate to management. Both are desirable, and it is in how such conflicts are resolved that progress may be possible.

The effective board assures that sufficient authority is delegated to the superintendent to enable management of the district to achieve desired student outcomes within the limits and following guidance of board-approved values regarding how those outcomes are pursued. The board assures freedom of decision-making in keeping with authority that has been delegated, and that support to superintendent decision-making, including resource support, is allocated according to a plan that is equitable and ensures achievement of desired student learning goals. The board not only provides fiscal support but also gives the superintendent authority and freedom of action within reasonable limits and supports the superintendent in carrying out her role.

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Next: Question #37 Does Your Board Assure Accountability?