When the Board Demands a New Policy

Board-Savvy Superintendent

We've all seen school board members who call for a new or drastically revised policy each time a novel problem or dysfunction presents itself.

One veteran superintendent told me years ago about the varsity sports coach who had dropped off students at school following an athletic event — before regrettably stopping by a local watering hole with the school van where the coach was (to use polite parlance) over-served. The school van ended up in a ditch before the night was over.

Existing policy allowed the superintendent to thoroughly address the incident, but that didn’t stop the board from spending the next few meetings on a complete rewrite of its policy on school vehicle use.