This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

What are we looking for in School Board candidates?

I did not set out to be a blogger. However with the new Patch it is necessary to register a blog to make an announcement with a link. So I have accidentally become the owner of the "BRSSD Election 2013" blog on the Belmont Patch...

With a majority of seats open, this election is important for guiding the future success of the school district. We all know of the many existing and upcoming challenges: budget, student population growth, boundaries, new superintendent, multiple new school principals, parcel tax, common core implementation, union negotiations, etc.

I have been working with a few BRSSD parents and teachers to try to encourage candidates for the three open school board seats in the election this November. Of course we really need to ask ourselves, "What are we looking for in our candidates?" That leads directly to the question, "What do we want from our school board and the governance of our schools?"

I offer the following as one take on the question: "What are the common characteristics of effective school board members?"

  • Advocate for the Achievement of all Students
    Continually maintains a focus on student achievement with a thorough understanding of the public education systems, local educational policies, as well as national trends and issues in education.
  • Commitment to Effective Board Service
    Is committed to investing the time and energy needed for board activity. Contributes to board meetings in professional manner and understands the distinction between their role of policy oversight without micromanaging the superintendent and staff. Acts with professionalism and integrity, is respectful of others, listens well and proceeds with fairness and consistency in words and action.
  • Experience in Management and Finance
    Has the skill set to navigate easily through large and complex suburban school budgets from a policy driven perspective. Understands the need for confidentiality on some issues in closed sessions. Uses data to drive policy decisions and empowers the superintendent to implement these decisions.
  • Being a Team Player
    Has a record of working across political, and geographic boundaries to build consensus in tough situations. Embraces the democratic process and accepts the majority will, even if the decision is not to their liking. Interacts well with superintendent and other board members.
  • Track Record of Relationship Building and Communication Skills
    Recognizes the importance of service and helps to build partnerships throughout the community to sustain positive efforts in the school district. The school board alone cannot make change happen. It takes the collaborative efforts and energy from parents, the community, school board, superintendent and district staff.
The above is from: EFFECTIVE Public School GOVERNANCE: Best practices, Governance Structures and Characteristics of Effective School Board Members

This certainly is not the only valid list. One of the virtues of a 5 member board is that different members can bring different skills to the table. I encourage all voters to think about what we want from our school board. We then need to find good people, get them elected, and support and help them do the difficult and thankless job we ask them to do for us.






We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?