Guardrails, Principal Support, & Supt Contract

QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES

• Question: What if our superintendent doesn’t agree with our Guardrails?   -- Board Member in Georgia

• TESBM: Guardrails are the written form of the community’s non-negotiable values; they say what the superintendent must not do while pursuing the board’s Goals. When the board adopted those Guardrails, it delegated day-to-day management to the superintendent on the condition they remain inside those Guardrails. By accepting the job, the superintendent accepted that boundary. A few thoughts on a superintendent now pushing back.

  • Guardrails always exist, whether written into policy or not; the community is never without high priority values. The ones that are hidden from the superintendent tend to be more harmful than the ones the board writes down.

  • The board is encouraged to listen to the superintendent, but it should never surrender the authority for representing the community's values just because the superintendent is uncomfortable. A superintendent is free to explain why a Guardrail may be unworkable, but the board -- as the community's representative -- decides whether the Guardrail stays, is revised, or is removed. Until the board votes to change it, the Guardrail remains non-negotiable.

  • Boards must remember the monitoring calendar. Progress monitoring is the board’s regular forum for judging whether the superintendent is advancing the Goals and operating inside the Guardrails. If persistent misalignment appears, it is documented in those reports and revisited during the annual evaluation.

• Guardrails are the price of leadership admission. A superintendent who won't operate within them signals a mismatch the board must address.

• Question: Shouldn’t we be doing more to help principals directly?  -- Board Member in Washington

• TESBM: Board members wanting to support principals directly comes from good intentions, but doing so directly is more likely to create harmful impact. This behavior skips the established chain of accountability and often creates blame/fear, confusion/resentment, and misalignment in the school system's culture. Once the board delegates operational authority to the superintendent, principals report to the superintendent, not to the board.

• How can the board be supportive? 

  • Focus on setting expectations, not giving instructions. If principal support or quality is a concern, consider creating a Guardrail to protect the value that's at risk.

  • Improve proficiency in monitoring data. Ask strategic questions in Goal/Guardrail monitoring about what the data reveal, what has been tried, and next changes. Inquire (preferably in writing well before the meeting) about principals’ involvement in the monitoring report analysis. This keeps the board’s focus on student outcomes and the superintendent’s focus on adult supports.

  • Board members can volunteer in schools. Just remember that when a school board member is volunteering, they are there in the same capacity as any other volunteer (meaning they can be deployed or excused as determined by the principal, not the board member).

• By holding the superintendent accountable for results with principals instead of supporting them directly, the board respects the delegation, preserves a healthy culture, and safeguards student outcomes.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

• In the last newsletter, we shared about a district where members of the public demanded that superintendent contract extension discussions be held in open session rather than closed session. You all were strangely quiet on the topic. 

• The appropriate answer varies by state; some require superintendent evaluations be done in closed session and some in open session. Most leave it to the board to choose. Because our approach to school board governance results in monthly micro evaluations of the superintendent during public school board meetings, we recommend pairing that practice with private employment-related conversations (when the law allows it). 

• In this district, the board tried to meet without the superintendent -- but failed. What would you do? Go here to share what you would do in this situation. In the next newsletter, we'll share your responses and our coaches' thoughts.

INTERESTING READS

• This school board is hosting training opportunities for people who are interested in running for the school board with a focus on student outcomes. This can be an incredibly wise practice!

• This school board is streamlining its policies and clarifying the policies it has around how the board operates. We strongly recommend efforts to accomplish both of these objectives.

UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES

• Effective Delegation from Board to Superintendent?
  • We are hosting a 30-minute webinar on how the board puts in place policies that effectively clarify the relationship between the board and its direct reports.

    • 11am central on Friday, August 8th, 2025

    • RSVP Here

  • Did you miss last month's 30-minute webinar? Email Greg for a make-up session on any of our growing list of topics, including effective budgeting, superintendent evaluation, professional services management, strategic planning, or consent agendas.

BONUS MATERIAL

For paid subscribers, here are links to additional resources (to gain access to the links below, please consider subscribing):

• A guidance document describing the relationship between board member behavior and school system culture.
• A guidance document on Guardrails and how they create freedom for the superintendent

Thank you for reading The Effective School Board Member. You ask tough questions and twice per month we get nationally certified school board coaches to provide answers. We help school board members tell their stories and provide additional resources to help them be more effective.

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