The "SCHOOL BOARD" 101

By Gary D. Abrams

Some boards try to prevent and eliminate all conflict and competition among members(consensus building). Guidelines that will serve the "Board"

Some school boards try to prevent and eliminate all conflict and competition (consensus- building) among members. Their assumption is that teams must always be in harmony to be effective. In reality, the most effective teams are not afraid to engage in disagreement regarding the best ideas, option, and approaches to issues and situations. Similarly, competitiveness among members focused on finding the best ideas and making the best decision can lift the performance of the board to ever-higher levels. However, effective teams avoid allowing conflict to linger or fester and never permit personal attacks, which can lead to defensiveness and division among members and, ultimately, lower levels of performance.

Points to ponder-Privately...or with colleagues
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1. Do some decisions seem more obvious than they actually are?
2. What role do political considerations play in my voting decisions?
3. Do I always consider whether an issue furthers the mission of the schools before deciding how I will vote?
4. How does our board determine whether each issue that comes before it is within the board's role? Do we sometimes deal with matters that are not really part of the board's role?
5. What approach do we take when established rules do not fit a particular situation? How open are we to making an exception or changing a rule or policy?
6. How comfortable is our board with healthy disagreement and competition among members? Peace rules the day, where reason rules the mind. -William Collins

masterteacher

The board What does it take to get your vote? We may not think much about what lies beneath our voting decisions. If something is necessary, is clearly right, or make sense, voting to approve may not require much examination or thought. Even in these instances, however, the factors driving our decisions probably rest on a set of values and beliefs, a level of trust in the information provided, and our understanding of the situation and the choices available. In some cases, additional factors may play a role. Politics surrounding the issue, history of the situation, and how other board members have decided to vote may influence our decision. In other cases, such as setting the tax levy, the fact that board action is required by law may dictate that we will vote, but will not necessarily determine what our vote will be. Let's examine some guidelines that can be helpful in analyzing issues and deciding how we vote.

Start by considering the purpose and mission of the organization.

A good way to start is by considering whether the issue at hand is closely tied to and supportive of the organization's purpose. In the case of schools, of course, the core purpose is the education of students. Some issues will be more closely tied to the education of students.

Some issues will be more closely tied to the core purpose than others. However, a good question to ask before casting a vote is whether issue furthers the mission of the organization. You might also ask if it does so in the most direct, expedient, cost-effective manner. If not, consider how it might be adjusted to better support the mission or core purpose of the organization.

A second consideration is whether the matter on which you're voting is within the role of the board. Does it have to do with making policy, setting organizational goals or priorities, or securing resources? Does it enable the board to monitor organizational performance and establish accountability? If the matter goes beyond this level and concerns issues, operations, and decisions that fall within the role of staff, a second look at whether the board should take up the matter may be warranted.

Once you move beyond these two considerations, the factors that determine how you will vote on an issue may take more subtle forms. You may find that the issue turns on setting the best course of action for the short term versus the longer term. What may seem supportable today could face severe problems in the long term. For example, choosing to avoid a difficult spending cut now may create a greater financial challenge in the future when resources are even scarcer. Focusing only on the current year's budget without looking at the longer-term financial picture risks even greater problems in the future and may deprive the board of the opportunity to consider more sustainable options. On the other hand, in some situations a good decision for the short term may be the best course until more is known or conditions stabilize. _____________________________________________________________________________ The interest of a few often compete with the interest of many _____________________________________________________________________________

Another difficult choice in determining your vote involves whether to give priority to the interests and needs of the greatest number of people impacted- or to give precedence to all the needs and interests of an individual or small group who need and may deserve your support. In some cases, a compromise or a new approach might offer the opportunity to address the needs of both. In others, you may simply have to make a choice.

Still another factor that can complicate your voting decisions is whether to apply the rules, policies, and procedures as they were designed or to make an exception in order to address special circumstances not anticipated when the policies and rules were created. Obviously, setting aside carefully considered policies and processes risks setting a precedent that could make governing in the future more difficult. On the other hand, failing to make an exception when warranted begs the question of whether we are really leading.

For additional perspective in deciding how to cast our vote, research suggests at least three approaches.

The first is to consider how we believe the situation should ultimately be resolved or how we would like things to turn out. This approach allows us to determine what to do in the immediate circumstances by considering our ultimate goal or preferred outcome.

A second approach is to allow established principles to guide the decision. This approach provides assurance that our decision will be consistent over time and relies on the careful thought behind time-honored principles, standards, and values, even if the immediate outcome is not consistent with our preference and perhaps difficult to accept.

Finally, we might ask what we would want the decision to be if we were in the position of those depending on the outcome. Like the golden rule, (not that one-thee who has the gold-rules) this approach positions us to treat others as we would wanted to be treated.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The effective board considers the less obvious implications before casting its vote.
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The wise board knows that although many decisions are obvious and easy to make, others challenge us to examine our beliefs and values and to consider the core purpose of the organization before deciding how to proceed. These circumstances demand our careful thought and reflection. Difficult decisions test the character of the board and can define the organization for a long time to come.

The experienced board pays attention to the less obvious implications of the decisions it makes. Whether choosing between short-term and long term focus, balancing the needs of the majority with those of a minority, or deciding to abide by or set aside current policies and rules, the effective board carefully weighs and considers all the options before determining its course. James R. Rickabaugh

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