(49 Questions to Ask Your Board)
To be brutally honest, many board members simply do not know what their jobs are. They busy themselves doing things, many times the wrong things, which results in frustration shared by everyone associated with the organization.
– Randy Quinn and Linda Dawson1
The above assessment was offered by Aspen Group, International based on many years of experience consulting with school boards. Perhaps as a first step toward defining what the board member role should be, we should consider this description by NSBA of what board members should not be:
What not to be at board meetings:
- The Publicity Seeker…who uses the meeting to make flashy or controversial statements that will make the news and looks at the reporters or the cameras while saying them.
- The Politico…who uses the meeting as a forum for building or enhancing a political career.
- The Purse Strings Holder…who is only on the board to keep down school costs and repeates this refrain at every board meeting, regardless of the consequences for children and the schools.
- The Leave-it-for-the-Superintendent Advocate…who is unwilling or unable to contribute a lay person’s wisdom to board discussions and wants to resolve all issues by shunting them to the superintendent.
- The Naysayer…who is against anything anyone else advocates or endorses.2
Too often, board members are passively taught when they should become more active learners.
Scenario: A board member was attending a conference and happened to walk by a session devoted to new school board member training. As he approached the room where they were conducting the class, he saw two superintendents standing outside the door with concerned looks on their faces. Familiar with both superintendents, having been on the board of the conference sponsor, he was welcomed into their conversation. They indicated how they had encouraged their new board member(s) to attend this training session hoping it would smooth out some rough edges. Just the opposite was happening…the instructor was a college professor who had never been on a board himself but presented himself as knowing how boards should operate. The two superintendents were beside themselves. It was a classic case of the blind leading the blind.
Whether boards defer to those like this college professor who are outside the system, or to superintendents who have an interest in teaching them how to behave properly, thus making the superintendent’s job easier, it is a bad idea for the board to “contract out” the job of defining the board member role.
The effective board clearly defines its vision of the board member’s role, clarifying for example the fact that board members have no authority as individuals. The board establishes in writing its expectations for the board member role, including individual board member behavior that can contribute to overall board effectiveness. The board chair introduces new members to board policy on the role. The board alerts their members when their behavior is not aligned with the board’s vision of that role.
NOTE: Please feel free to comment. The opinions expressed in these blog entries are informed by references cited herein, and the experiences of the author. Your comments are welcome additions to the conversation.
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Excerpt from:
- A Framework for School Governance (2017), Rick Maloney
Additional References:
- 1Good Governance is a Choice (2019) Randy Quinn and Linda Dawson
- 2Becoming a Better Board Member (2006) NSBA
Next: Question #26 – Does Your Board Provide Guidance for Boardsmanship?