Board Relationships 101

When an attractive superintendent’s job is dangled in front of an eager educator by a search firm executive, we rarely consider how our relationships with a school board and its individual members can make or break our leadership. That’s because the programs intended to prepare us to lead school districts either don’t address the subject enough or fail to do so in an authentic, real-world way.

Thirty-one years as a superintendent serving in eight districts across six states equates to countless configurations of school boards and infinite lessons in the workplace. What follows are some lessons I learned through hard reality. From my experiences, including my public mistakes, perhaps others can learn how better to forge and manage strong relationships with school boards collectively and members individually.

1. Do your homework before interviewing for and accepting a superintendent’s job

Google is your best friend in this exercise. As you research a prospective new position, always look for indications of whether your vision and beliefs align with the board that has invited you to an interview. Read news accounts of the board’s activities. Look carefully for information about how the board and district relate to teachers’ unions, local business, other governmental entities, religious organizations, etc.

Find biographies of the individual members. Know their spouses’ and children’s names, how long they’ve served on the board, their “hot button” issues and their key ties to the community. In short, go into your interview knowing as much about the board and its members as they know about you.

My experience: Early in my career, I was offered seven jobs in six states one year. Driven by ego, I did no due diligence and simply took the job with the largest student enrollment and largest salary. This district was 30 percent minority, with a growing Latino population, yet there were no Latinos or African Americans on the school board or in the superintendent’s cabinet.

It didn’t take long to realize my values deeply conflicted with the majority of the board. When discussing the possibility of reorganizing my senior staff to include Latino and African-American members, the board president warned me the community wasn’t ready for such a move.

Then, when we were considering what to include in a bond referendum and I proposed air conditioning for schools in minority neighborhoods, one board member said, “They don’t have air conditioning in their homes. If we air condition their schools, it will just make them sick.” Fortunately, I won on that one. Unfortunately, I alienated some board members in winning.

When I look back on my time in that district, I realize I certainly made my share of mistakes — most centered around trying to handle conflicts that arose from huge differences in our values and beliefs. Don’t fall into the trap of hoping people’s values or beliefs will change or that you as “the magnificent leader” can alter them.

2. The only certainty about your board is that, if you stay around long enough, it will change.

So you did your due diligence. The board liked you, and you felt comfortable with them and took the job.

Then the next election comes, and you find yourself dealing with different personalities and philosophies. In a worst-case scenario, new board members are elected by special-interest groups or others who turned the election into a referendum on your leadership. Stay above the politics that are a natural part of electing board members and move forward to forge relationships.

Often, candidates’ perspectives change once they are elected, and you can help shape new members’ knowledge acquisition and growth as public servants. Orientation is a powerful tool to introduce you and your staff to new board members, provide data and hold one-on-one discussions about issues and concerns.

My experience: In one system I led, the teachers’ union spent a large amount of campaign money and managed to elect a board majority. I made it clear to my staff we could not discuss union influence and would keep our focus on student outcomes. No sooner had the new majority president been sworn in at the first meeting than we realized we would have to do business differently. The reconstituted board questioned every staff recommendation and delayed decisions until they could “receive additional information.”

Instead of fighting union influence and trying to work with the board our old way, we simply modified how we made program recommendations. We used teams of teachers who had been part of the decision-making process to make formal presentations and recommendations to the board. The board had a tough time opposing recommendations coming directly from teachers.

3. You’re the boss. Make sure your contract gives you authority to make all personnel decisions, especially organizing and assigning staff.

Finding the right positions for your players can mean the difference between winning and losing, and identifying players who share your values, beliefs and commitment is critical. The ability to determine the organizational structure of your district allows you to focus on your strategic direction. I make it a point to inform board members before announcing major changes.

When your board members are part of identifying priorities, it is easier for them to understand and support your actions in making sure the best people are in place to do the work. In Houston, my contract gives me the authority to organize the central-office staff and to hire and fire employees. Terminated employees have the opportunity to appeal to the board.

My experience: In one district where I was heavily recruited, the school board had a reputation for micromanaging personnel decisions. During our time together, I raised their direct involvement in personnel selections. They agreed to add a provision in my contract that clearly defined our roles in the personnel selection, assignment and evaluation process.

One of the biggest surprises of my career occurred during my first board meeting in this district. During the closed session, we made 17 principal appointment recommendations. Immediately, a board member asked that I share the entire applicant list, by school, ranking candidates in order of preference. I reminded them of the selection process they agreed to during my interview. One smiled and said, “Yes, but that was when we were trying to recruit you.”

We got through the evening, but they did not approve any of my principal recommendations. It took weeks of work and my threatening to open schools without principals in place before the majority reluctantly agreed to our recommendations.

4. Don’t play politics with the board or get involved in intrigue or bad-mouthing. It will backfire.

You could be having trouble with one board member or the entire board. And you might be totally justified — the board could be completely dysfunctional or self-serving. When you speak negatively about the board or a member, it can come back to haunt you. Stay above the fray, and always maintain a professional demeanor. You also should take a clear look in the mirror and assess whether you are causing or adding to the problem.

One of my colleagues taught me a valuable lesson years ago. Addressing a professional conference, he told about working for a fantastic board of education that always focused on the welfare of students. Everyone present was surprised because reports of his challenging relations with the school board in general and one member in particular were in the news media.

Following his remarks, I asked him about what he had shared. “Well, I may have stretched things a little,” he said, “but I’ve found that school boards, like most people, often rise to your level of expectations. It gets back to my board when I speak well of them, and I don’t ever forget that it would get back to them if I did not.”

My experience: Early in my career as a superintendent, a board member made me aware of her unusual and powerful “arrangement” with my predecessor. She had several family members employed by the district, and the superintendent reviewed all recommendations with her prior to bringing them before the board. I let her know I accorded all board members equal respect and communicated all information to them at the same time.

Trouble began the next day. Rather than returning to talk to the original board member, discussing the situation in closed session with the entire board or simply remaining above the fray, I made the mistake of talking to each of them one-on-one to get their advice. Foolishly, I did not anticipate that several of them would go back to her and characterize me as talking negatively behind her back.

When the matter was finally discussed in closed session, the conversation wasn’t about her actions but rather about my professional behavior. Lesson learned.

5. Be willing to share leadership with your board.

I’m not suggesting micromanagement or establishing board committees. Instead, offer board members opportunities to engage in macromanagement, a concept I’ve introduced in several districts with varying degrees of success.

Monthly board work sessions can be used to engage members in discussions that give them direct, public access to high-level administrators for questions and conversations. These sessions, along with an annual retreat, can help generate a plurality of perspectives and can frequently uncover new problems or concerns. If you have board members who are elected to represent single-member districts, suggest they visit schools in other parts of the city for a different perspective.

My experience:  Helping immigrant students assimilate into a new culture — and teaching them English — has long been a controversial topic in many districts. In one district, some board members had supported the practice of early-grade Spanish-only instruction and testing, and superintendents and their board colleagues didn’t rock their boat, even though the results often were questionable. Each time I proposed looking at ways to introduce English at an earlier age, the political resistance was intense.

Reality hit when students were thrown into English instruction and faced testing in 4th or 5th grade where their lack of proficiency was apparent. Test scores plummeted, and these students became prime candidates for failure and dropping out. We decided to brave the politics, engaged the board and together looked for a better way.

Through board workshops and brainstorming, visits to districts that offered other programs where instruction occurred simultaneously in English and Spanish, and review of current best practices for teaching a second language, the school board relented. We developed dual-language programs in every board member’s community. The program became popular with English-speaking families and satisfied those who were afraid if we stopped teaching Spanish in favor of an English immersion program, students would lose their native language skills.

Dealing with a school board isn’t so very different from dealing with family. You may only get together with them occasionally, but they can impact your life every day if you don’t offer your attention and respect. Some may be supportive and loyal to family values, while you may encounter a “strange behaving uncle” on occasion who does everything possible to create dysfunction and chaos.

Eventually, you do all come to the table — and your relationship with each individual and with the group ultimately will determine your own success, the fate of your goals and those of the youngsters you serve to educate.