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Executive Insights

The best way to start a new board year? Prepare for success

Kentucky School Advocate
December 2018

By Kerri Schelling
KSBA Executive Director

The 2018 election is in the books and school boards across Kentucky are getting ready for another year of what they do best – providing local oversight of public education in their communities.

Some boards will approach the new year unchanged, but many will begin 2019 with one or more new faces at the board table. In either case, all boards should thoughtfully plan how they will work together as a team to accomplish their common goals. Every member comes to board service for their own reasons, and their priorities and definitions of what success looks like in the district may change over time. So, it’s no wonder that effective school boards don’t happen by accident. They must be consciously cultivated and continuously developed to meet the changing needs of the members, the students and the community.

This realization often comes as a surprise to members since no one runs for (or sits on) a board thinking they aren’t ready to serve. And why wouldn’t they be? Everyone has experience with public schools – some as students, some as employees, some as community residents and some as taxpayers. When something is this familiar, it can be easy to believe that board service will be as simple as applying all the skills and knowledge in their personal and professional life to the specific ideas they have for positive changes in the district. If only that were true!

The fact is that the board role is unique and almost nothing in a person’s life adequately prepares them for board service. After all, how many of us have experience leading a multimillion-dollar operation responsible for educating a community’s children, employing a workforce, overseeing facilities and transportation, all while complying with state and federal mandates? But, fortunately, there is no reason to be discouraged. No one expects members to arrive on the school board with everything they need to be successful and that’s a major reason the Kentucky School Boards Association exists.

Each board is unique but here are a few activities that research and experience show can benefit any board in becoming – or remaining – a cohesive, effective board team:

• Have an orientation process in place. For many board members, learning everything they need to know about their board role and the school district is like drinking from a fire hose. Know in advance how, what, when and by whom information will be shared with new members so they can get the most out of it. And consider having the whole board participate. Revisiting information is a great refresher and veteran board members can provide first-hand insights.

• Make sure board expectations and norms are shared. Every board has its own culture that includes unwritten rules and expectations that are built over time. Having a work session in January to set goals and discuss how the board wants to operate can avoid confusion and frustration by all members.

• Get to know each other before the work starts. Learning more about your board colleagues as individuals sets the stage for working together more effectively.

• Learn together as a team throughout your board service. Whether it’s attending conferences and workshops, participating in a book study or sharing useful articles, learning together builds connections. Reporting on your professional development at a board meeting is also a great tool for keeping the public informed.

Henry Ford could have been talking about school boards when he said, “If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself!”

Happy holidays and best wishes for 2019!