Avoiding school board dysfunction

It’s 9:45 p.m. and we’re on item three of the agenda, with 12 more to go. Three board members are in a verbal brawl with two parents that resembles pro wrestling. It’s like a colonoscopy without sedation than a school board meeting.

People willing to serve in the hardest unpaid job are heroes. They stepped up when others stepped back.

New boards are taking office after recent elections. I’ve worked with many boards over my 38 years in education, so I’ve experienced the good, the bad, and the ugly. Here are a few suggestions for avoiding the ugly.

Setting a Tone: Every job has a learning curve. Learn from each other, and from the school community, by listening and visiting schools.

Board members aren’t managers. Adults can’t be managed. They can be led. Expect your administrators to lead, not manage.

A lot of people call a school board a “policy board.” The board determines policy, and the administration implements it. But a school board does more than churn out policies. School boards are “leadership boards.”

That means understanding how to disagree in public without being disagreeable. Insults don’t win arguments. Bullying creates division and chaos. You are the role models. Also, sincerely apologize when there are mistakes.

Set a listening tone. Listening to one group isn’t a great idea. You see the school through only one lens. You need to see the whole school picture and that takes listening to all voices in the district. If you want to understand what’s happening in classrooms, visit with teachers. The tendency is to only listen to administrators because it’s easiest. Easy isn’t best.

The complaint Department: First, parents are not the customers of the school district. If you treat them like customers, they're always right. They're not. Parents are partners. Treat them like that.

Ask any person complaining if they've talked to the one they are complaining about. That needs to happen first. You may need to let the complainant vent. I’ve found that some people just want to be heard. School employee complaints should be handled at the building level if possible.

Also, the idea that parents should oversee curriculum, books and rules is a recent political scheme to set public schools up as a political wedge issue. Which parents should be in charge? The goal of any public school is to teach what society needs and what helps students be productive citizens.

Do public business in public: Boards sometimes want to tackle controversial topics behind closed doors and then come out in public and pretend to discuss what’s already decided. The public won’t be fooled. Also, don’t arrange the agenda so the controversial topics are the last item so the audience will go home. They won’t.

Be a lobbyist: No matter what your political affiliation, board members need to advocate for increased funding and for other improvements to help public schools survive and thrive.

Congratulations to board members as they lead and protect the public school, a community treasure.

Bruce Lear taught for 11 years and represented educators as an Iowa State Education Association Regional Director for 27 years until he retired. BruceLear2419@gmail.com