BOARD-SAVVY SUPERINTENDENT
Dealing With a Bully in Public Session
By Richard E. Mayer/School Administrator, August 2015
The school board meeting is off to its usual
start: roll call, pledge of allegiance and announcements. The agenda then calls
for public comment — a period when anyone in the audience can fill out a card
and come forward when called by the board president to talk for up to three
minutes on any issue not on the agenda. Today, there is just one card.
The president reads the name on the card: “Betty
Burlmore.” Everyone knows from past experience that Burlmore tends to engage in
nasty tirades. She begins: “I come before you to ask why you waste the
taxpayers’ money on a top-heavy administration. Look at everyone sitting up
there. Why do we need so many assistant superintendents? Can’t the
superintendent handle the job?”
She asks the board to get rid of the assistant
superintendent for special education and let the assistant superintendent for
instruction handle her duties.
One board member has
had enough. He interrupts to educate Burlmore about the role of administration.
“May I just point out, Betty, that our district has a much lower administrator
ratio than other districts our size. According to statistics from the state
school board association, we should have two additional administrators. Our
current administrative staff is working very hard and doing a fine job for us
but they are stretched thin already,” he says.
The explanation only makes Burlmore angrier. “I can
see we have a board that wishes to continue wasting the taxpayers’ money on
unneeded administrators. Reducing central-office administrators is just the
start. We also should fire some principals. Can’t two schools share one
principal?”
“Betty, your time is up,” the board president quietly
chimes in.
Betty’s reply is sharp and loud. “Oh no it’s not. I
was interrupted, and I should have a chance to respond. That makes me think of
lots of other ways to cut the administrative fat.”
Listening Time
This episode has the potential of spinning out of
control. By challenging the speaker, the board member not only provoked the
speaker to make even more outrageous comments, but also prolonged the meeting,
increased the chances that the board president will lose control of the meeting
and violated the board’s procedural rules.
What the board member said was factually correct and
relevant, but the public comment portion is a time for the board to listen to
community members. Board members have plenty of chances to express their views.
When board members take on the role of the truth police during public comment
periods to correct factual errors, they neglect their role as respectful
listeners.
The superintendent also has a role in preventing poor
boardsmanship. The superintendent could exercise a little emergency First Aid
at the instant the board member started challenging the speaker by saying, “I
will be glad to make that information available on our district website.” Or
the superintendent may need a more direct comment: “I’m sorry to interrupt, but
the board can’t discuss this issue because it is not on the agenda.”
Exercising Restraint
Dealing with a bully during public board meetings can
be unpleasant, such as when a speaker uses a public meeting to make
inflammatory statements. However, rather than engaging in conversation with the
speaker, board members should be reminded they will get a chance to talk later.
The only exception to using such restraint is when the speaker slanders an
employee or endangers the privacy of a child or the like. In this case, the
superintendent or board president must interrupt and get the speaker back on
track.
A long-term solution is to ensure the board has an
adopted procedure and in-service training on the conduct of board meetings.
Through board workshops or individual discussions with board members, the
superintendent can help the board develop a tradition of exercising respectful
tones at meetings.
Of course, the superintendent and cabinet also can model
this at meetings. An unlisted part of the superintendent’s job description is
to help prevent members from behaving badly at board meetings.
Richard Mayer, a school board member in the Goleta
Union School District in Goleta, Calif., is professor of psychology at the
University of California, Santa Barbara. He adapted this column from his book, How Not to Be a Terrible School Board Member
(Corwin Press). E-mail: mayer@psych.ucsb.edu