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Illinois School Board Journal - ARCHIVES
July-August, 2006
ASK THE STAFF:
Ensuring a full slate for board elections
This issue's question is answered with information drawn from a number of sources on school board candidacy, including publications found in a special kit IASB compiles for school board candidates.
Question: Looking ahead to next spring’s school board elections, how can our board ensure a full slate of qualified candidates and help those candidates understand what board service entails?
Answer: Attracting quality candidates who will serve on a school board can be an issue in districts with any demographics — small or large; urban, rural or suburban; elementary, high school or unit.
With just four months until candidates can begin circulating petitions on November 8, it’s not too soon to begin thinking about the positions that might be open on your board in 2007 and how to find the best people to run for those positions.
Some communities establish citizen search committees, often called "caucuses," that contact prospective candidates and select a slate for endorsement. Their rationale: many people who would be excellent candidates either don’t think of themselves that way or don’t want to be labeled as a politician. They believe the search committee process can help identify those best qualified to serve and encourage them to run.
For most districts, however, the process of attracting qualified candidates is much less formal. Becoming a school board candidate in Illinois is not difficult. However, as those who serve on a board already know, it does take a little effort and attention to detail. Finding candidates, therefore, may be a process best served by nurturing people when they are not under a deadline to get paperwork filed.
But just what should the district look for in a prospective candidate?
"Your School Board and You," a pamphlet published by IASB, lists five attributes of effective school board members:
1. The ability to work as a member of a team, including an open mind and an ability to engage in give-and-take and to arrive at a group consensus.
2. The willingness to spend the time required to become informed and to do the homework needed to take part in effective school board meetings.
3. A desire to serve children and the community and a strong belief in the values of the public schools.
4. Respect for the needs and feelings of other people and a well-developed sense of fair play.
5. Recognition that the school district is probably the largest business in town and that the board is responsible for seeing that the business is run by highly skilled professionals.
One of the best ways to identify candidates with these attributes is to look at school committees, parent-teacher organizations and other district functions where community members already serve as volunteers. Those who agree to serve in such capacities already have shown an interest in the community and its schools.
Board service has no prerequisites, other than being at least 18 years old, living in the district for at least one year and being a registered voter. That means school board members come from all age groups and an endless variety of backgrounds and occupations.
While some boards may want to look for candidates who hold comparable views, it also can be beneficial to look at those people who see things in a different way but still value the attributes listed above and are willing to work as a team toward common purposes.
The selected candidates should be invited to attend some regular board meetings if they are not already in the habit of doing so. Attendance at meetings allows prospective candidates to get an idea of board processes.
A current board member also might want to meet with a prospective candidate to identify any known problems the board might face in the coming year. (Even if that person decides not to run for the board, the current board member may be able to get a valuable "outside" perspective on how to approach district problems.)
Another good practice is to have the district superintendent sit down with candidates to discuss information about the district, such as the budget, school facilities and student trend data.
Because prospective board members can come to board service with such diverse backgrounds, IASB compiles a kit for school board candidates prior to each election. The kit includes the pamphlet referred to above as well as a number of IASB publications that can help candidates understand the election process, as well as what will be asked of them if they win their election.
Candidate kits will be available from IASB beginning in early September. For more information, contact Dana Heckrodt or Tammy Call at 217/528-9688.
For more insights and ideas regarding the recruitment of board candidates, visit the IASB Web site and download "Recruiting School Board Candidates" at www.iasb.com/files/recruiting.pdf.