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Illinois School Board Journal - ARCHIVES
July-August, 2002
ASK THE STAFF:
'Governing by policy' defines board work
Cathy Talbert, IASB senior director of policy services, answers this issue's question.
Question: What does it mean to "govern by policy?"
Answer: To "govern by policy" means the school board has adopted written policy that defines the work of the school board and of the superintendent and staff. The policies that form the board's work include board process policies, written agreements about how the board will do its work, and policies about the relationship between the board and the superintendent. These board-superintendent relationship policies describe how the board agrees to communicate and work with the superintendent and staff. In the policies that form the superintendent and staff work, the school board describes the results it expects and the constraints it imposes on the use of executive or staff authority in pursuit of those results. Then the superintendent is free to pursue those results through any means that fall within "a reasonable interpretation" of the board's policies.
While many school boards manage to establish such policies to provide direction to the superintendent, their efforts to "govern by policy" in this area often collapse when exceptions to their policies arise or when someone questions a decision of the superintendent or staff. Placed under pressure, a board that is not truly committed to its governance philosophy will typically shift its focus from policy to the issue at hand and literally take the decision away from the superintendent and staff. Such a board is not governing by policy, for its staff knows that board policy does not tell the whole story and lives in fear of being second-guessed.
A board that truly "governs by policy" remains focused on policy at all times. Every issue that arises is examined as a policy matter rather than as an isolated problem for the board to solve. When a decision by the superintendent or staff is challenged, the board first asks itself: "Did the decision or action reflect a reasonable interpretation of our policy?"
The board is obligated to support the superintendent if the decision or action reflected a reasonable interpretation of board policy. But the board might opt to make the policy clearer or narrower to reduce the range of options available to the superintendent in the future.
On the other hand, if the challenged decision or action did not appear to be a reasonable interpretation of board policy, then the board has a policy violation on its hands to be dealt with in whatever manner the board deems appropriate.
In either case, the board focus remains on continuously improving its policies, not on making ad hoc decisions or rehashing decisions already made by the superintendent or staff.