The Board Takes Responsibility for Accountability
“Whenever the board gets a new member, a new board is formed.”
Part 1 of this post introduced the idea of making the new members’ first day on the job one of intentional induction, not only for the new member but for the “new board” that is being formed.
What if the board, seriously accepting responsibility for its own performance, took the opportunity to induct its newest members, while at the same time guiding its own development by reviewing as a team its collective board responsibilities and renewing its determination to meet those responsibilities? The swearing-in ceremony is an ideal time for all board members to reflect on and renew their commitment to their boardsmanship responsibilities, while the board as a whole reflects on and renews its collective commitment to the responsibilities of governance. The following promises are offered as a comprehensive oath of governance for the board to reaffirm whenever its newest members take their individual oath of office.
Part 1
Part 1 went on to offer three promises related to Board Readiness. Part 2 continued the board renewal theme with five promises relating to Strategic Voice and Operational Guidance. Part 3 concludes with three promises relating to Accountability.
Accountability – To assure a continuing focus on the board’s obligation of assuring accountability to the community, we solemnly swear (or affirm):
- To account for district performance, reporting to the community whether the district is achieving desired results for students while complying with law, regulation, and policy guidance. It follows through on its delegation of authority to the superintendent by holding the superintendent personally responsible for organizational success.
- Why? It is unacceptable to achieve results through illegal, unethical, or otherwise improper means. It is equally unacceptable to follow all guidelines but fail to achieve desired results. The board must not only give the superintendent authority and resources to do the job; it must also hold the superintendent accountable for district success.
- Without a constant commitment to accountability, the board fails in its arguably most important responsibility, assuring that the district meets the community’s expectations for its students. (A word about the idea of “partnership at the top” between board & superintendent that is often promoted. A partner relationship implies a team of equals and compromises the boss-subordinate relationship, letting the superintendent “off the hook.” Without superintendent accountability the board finds itself “holding the bag” and failing its community.
- In support of the board’s collective commitment, each member individually promises to contribute to the board’s accountability work, judging whether board-determined values have been demonstrated by available data and seeking data that addresses such values.
- To account for board performance, self-assessing, self-reporting, and self-correcting according to agreed-on governing commitments
- Why? As in the case of operational guidance, accountability demands that the leader set the example for the organization.
- Setting but not enforcing expectations is an even worse sort of indiscipline than is failure to set such expectations in the first place, because having set standards, others can easily see that those standards have no meaning when they are not upheld.
- In support of the board’s collective commitment, each member individually promises to hold the board accountable to its governing commitments. Only board members can carry out the self-discipline needed by a board. Giving voice to those commitments, calling out violations, and making judgments about progress made, individual board members hold the whole board accountable for its standards of governing excellence.
- In addition to the “board-as-a-whole” making promises for its collective performance, each individual board member (both new and experienced) solemnly swears (or affirms): To account for their own performance based on boardsmanship commitments, centered on the oath of office and on board-approved standards of Boardsmanship behavior.
- Why? Recent research into the effects of boardsmanship on student learning (Lorentzen, 2013; Lee & Eadens, 2014) have found evidence to support long-standing guidance about Boardsmanship behavior from national and state school board associations (e.g., Becoming a Better Board Member, 1982 and Key Work of School Boards, 2000.)
- Just as is the case for the full board, each board member fails if boardsmanship standards are not enforced. Dysfunctional board member behaviors negatively affect the entire board and everyone in the organization.
- In support of its members’ individual commitments, the board collectively promises to promote and support accountability for individual board member performance. Recognizing that for elected board members, only board members (and indirectly, voters) can carry out this duty, the board can establish and maintain a habit of critiquing individual behaviors to provide feedback (and even publicly communicate) when standards are violated.
Summary
In the interest of regular board renewal and continuous improvement in board effectiveness, we should take/renew this expanded oath of office, making these 11 promises on a recurring basis. What better time than when new members come “aboard”?
The oath-taking ceremony is an ideal time to collectively renew the entire board’s commitments. What this might look like: New board members in my state take the oath in December, at the first meeting after November election results are validated. The whole board can follow up on the swearing-in of its new members by conducting a collective oath-taking ceremony, making the launch of its newest board members and a renewed board at the same time. It can follow up the oath with a board discussion of its meaning as the first item on the meeting agenda after the ceremony itself, before moving on to regular business. Making this process a matter of routine whenever new members assume office institutionalizes the practice and (each time) offers a timely and profound introduction for new members to a board whose goal is to develop a culture of excellence in governance.
References
The
above promises are derived from:
Maloney, R. (2017) A
Framework for School Governance, governance101.com.
Other references cited above are listed in sequence:
- Lorentzen, I. (2013) The Relationship Between School Board Governance Behaviors and Student Achievement. University of Montana Dissertation.
- Lee, D. E. & Eadens, D. W. (2014). The Problem: Low-Achieving Districts and Low-Performing Boards. International Journal of Education Policy & Leadership 9(3). Retrieved from www.ijepl.org.
- Becoming a Better Board Member: A Guide to Effective School Service, Alexandria, VA: National School Boards Association.
- The Key Work of School Boards, Alexandria, VA: National School Boards Association.