Sherwood "Woody" Dees is a former superintendent of schools for Limestone CHSD 310 and Midwest Central CUSD 191 in Manito.
Forming a new school board team starts when candidates file their petitions to be placed on the ballot, not after the election! As school board candidates, they all have the potential to be seated as school board members. So educating candidates before the election minimizes the amount of acclimation time needed after the election.
As a former superintendent, I conducted a series of informational sessions and invited all school board candidates and incumbents to attend. These informational orientations took place during February and March preceding the school board election. The topics of these weekly sessions were:
Each session lasted approximately two hours and each candidate left with a raft of materials to peruse on their own time. Each session started with questions from candidates about materials covered in the previous session(s) and/or general concerns.
Session one
The governance session began with a thorough description about "who we are" and introductions of central administrative staff and candidates, followed by a detailed district geographical description.
Attendance center boundaries were defined with maps of locations and boundary landmarks. Building principals presented their school's state report card, emphasizing student demographics and most recent ISAT/PSAE test data. Principals also distributed handbooks that detailed procedures in place for their building for the current year.
School personnel rosters (often master schedules) showed which employees worked at which buildings, at what jobs and at what times. Past school board meeting agendas showed how meetings were conducted and what a candidate could expect if elected and seated.
Candidates were given a schedule of meeting dates and were encouraged to attend to see first-hand how the board operates. Informal "meet and greet" socials with coffee and cookies were planned 15 minutes before each regularly scheduled meeting so candidates and incumbents could get acquainted. Agendas were mailed to candidates when sent to incumbents. Supporting materials, minus closed session information, were also included as background information about existing issues and pending actions.
Weekly newsletters about the district that were sent to school board members were also sent to candidates. We also "walked through" the collective bargaining agreement.
The purpose of the governance session was to show candidates how the district is formed and how the district currently operates. It also described ways that changes could take place — when, where and by whom. The hope was that changes desired by newly seated school board members would be proposed in a professional manner and through appropriate channels.
Session two
The second orientation session dealt with the district's policy manual, an eight-section, voluminous manuscript of several hundred pages. Although each candidate received the entire manual, the orientation session focused on the table of contents for each section and was designed to enable board candidates to locate policies on their own.
Familiarity with the policy manual provided candidates with current operational procedures, broadened the candidate's view of the job and identified the manner one goes about to change or alter a policy or procedure.
Legal citations at the bottom of individual policies helped candidates determine the history of the policy. Cross-references also showed candidates other policies that might be impacted.
From an administrative standpoint, policy familiarity for candidates helps clarify issues and/or initiatives they might wish to address. It also provided me, as well as incumbent board members, with an idea of what changes candidates sought by seeking election. Policy turns the emphasis to working as a team toward common good for the district, as opposed to wasting time/energy arguing with each other about rhetoric. Policy rules over individual dictates, so policy familiarity was of paramount importance.
Session three
How does a superintendent "teach" school finance in a nutshell to citizens when it is mandated that a district's finances cover a 32-page budget document, must contain nine separate funds and has four basic sections?
Although daunting, it's not impossible. The state board website offers assistance with "Mechanics of a School District Budget — A Guide to Understanding the Illinois School District Budget Process," found at www.isbe.net/sfms/pdf/mechanics/pdf. Questions in the index include:
Another helpful financial resource is the five-year School District Profile (www.isbe.net/finance/). It contains line graphs showing a district's status on five areas: fund balance to revenue ratio; expenditure to revenue ratio; day's cash on hand; percent of short-term borrowing max remaining; and percent of long-term debt margin remaining.
Only monthly budget updates and annual budget adoption discussions over time allowed some board members to eventually grasp the detailed complexities of school district finance. But the ISBE guide and five-year profile offered great places to start a candidate's school finance education.
And the result?
The candidates who attended these orientation sessions appreciated the information, the acquaintances and the familiarity with procedures. They said they felt better prepared to participate in meetings … that they were not just "thrown into the stream," but had been "brought up to speed" gradually and felt more comfortable with what they were going to encounter if seated as a board member.
Candidates also expressed preparedness for "Meet the Candidates" nights and/or other meetings in which they were to discuss their candidacy and views about the district.
Even candidates who were not elected said they were better-informed citizens, had a greater appreciation for the scope of board membership and would still consider running in future elections. On occasion, a defeated candidate was asked at a later date to fill a vacated seat on the board and, in doing so, entered office with a solid orientation and background, as opposed to starting from scratch.
Teamwork was built through information, orientation, communication and familiarization, as opposed to hoping for an instant "good fit" of personalities.
Using a basketball analogy, having no orientation for incoming board members/candidates would be tantamount to putting a player in a game after transferring into school that same day. The player would not know the plays, would not know the team's style, would not have the advantage of practice, and would not know his/her teammates, coaches or fans.
New team members, whether on the court, the field or in your board room, may fit in and do fine. They may fail miserably and embarrass themselves and the board publicly. But early orientation and familiarization provide a better opportunity for teamwork; even if that teamwork meant changing direction — at least it would be planned change by informed members!