QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES

It's really been this kind of month already. If the intention is to be student outcomes focused then unless the law or policy say otherwise...

• Question: Is it appropriate for the board chair to be getting information from the superintendent that the rest of us are denied?   -- Board Member in Oklahoma

• TESBM: No.

• Question: My board chair wants to meet with me every week to go over my hourly schedule/calendar. Is that a reasonable request?  -- Superintendent in California

• TESBM: No.

• Question: Is it appropriate for the superintendent to tell the school board that it can't/shouldn't have a governance coach?  -- Board Member in Florida

• TESBM: No.

• Question: Does the board chair have to follow Robert's Rules of Order if that's not required by our policies?  -- Board Member in California

• TESBM: No.

• Question: Is the superintendent required to follow the instructions of an individual school board member? What if it's the board chair? -- Board Member in Texas

• TESBM: No.

• Question: Does the superintendent need to present to the board before making a purchase that is within the budget and within their spending authority?  -- Board Member in Ohio

• TESBM: No.

• Question: Can the school board effectively develop and adopt Goals using community outreach data captured by staff that is only a month old (instead of going out and doing another round of community listening)?  -- Board Member in Colorado

• TESBM: No.

• Question: If we are discussing a topic that clearly impacts student learning -- like new curriculum adoption -- and we include data about student learning, can that count as time spent monitoring our Goals?  -- Board Member in Rhode Island

• TESBM: No.

• Question: Is your approach to school board governance the only way for a school board to be student outcomes focused?  -- Board Member in Illinois

• TESBM: No.

• Question: Is your approach to school board governance more preferred by progressives on the left or by conservatives on the right?  -- Board Member in Arizona

• TESBM: No.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

• In the last newsletter, we shared about a board that tried to meet without the superintendent -- but failed. You all were mostly looking to be reasonable ("is she on vacation?", "can someone fill in for her?", "can the board just schedule another time?") but I think you're largely missing the point. This felt intentional, like a board trying to sneak around and do something without getting caught by the superintendent.

• For us, sneaking is the problem, but probably not for the reason you think.

• Why should a school board feel compelled to sneak around its own employee? That suggests that the more likely scenario is that the board members are trying to do something they know to be inappropriate OR the board has been so captured by the superintendent that it thinks it needs permission from the superintendent to remove the superintendent. And we see this a lot: school boards that don't realize they're the school board. 

• So here's the better plan: get clear about the community's vision (Goals) and values (Guardrails). Then evaluate the superintendent based on those. Then determine -- without hiding or obfuscation -- whether or not they should return based on performance data.

INTERESTING READS

• You often hear that you should "put the big rocks in first" regarding prioritization. Turns out, this isn't just sound advice, it's also common sense physics.  

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 effective policy leadership and how boards often engage in ineffective policy leadership

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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