Courtney Stillman is a former Frankfort CCSD 157C board member and served as board president for six years. She currently represents school boards as an attorney at Sraga Hauser, LLC. Tom Hurlburt is superintendent of Frankfort CCSD 157C.
Board reorganization can be unsettling. You may have experienced a contentious election with very close results. The newspaper may have raised controversy over outgoing incumbents’ votes.
Working with new board members can be uncomfortable at first. So how do you build relationships to develop a successful board?
Here are five suggestions from our board’s experience. These simple steps do not require significant effort but should result in success for your board and district:
1) Learn why your fellow members are part of the board . One key to successfully working with other board members is understanding their perspective, why they sought election to the school board and what they want to accomplish. This understanding may facilitate respectful board discussions, even if not all board members agree.
After the Frankfort board reorganized, one member was appointed as “Board Member of the Month.” For the member’s assigned monthly meeting, each completed a short questionnaire about his or her educational background, family, personal hero, hobbies and other interests outside the boardroom. Each member also indicated a reason for running for the board and stated a wish for the district.
As a result, board members learned basic personal information about each other and learned each other’s interests and motivations. After all the board members had been honored, each district administrator completed a similar questionnaire for “Administrator of the Month.” Board members and administrators both shared and gained helpful information about each other.
At one of the board’s self-evaluation workshops, board members wrote what they wanted their legacy to be for the district. We shared legacies with each other at the self-evaluation, and we kept a summary of the legacies for later review. Developing legacies again provided appreciation for, and understanding of, other members’ perspectives.
Even if one board member doesn’t agree with another, at least they may understand why they are asserting a particular position or voting in a certain way. Through this process, the superintendent also gains information about board members’ perspectives and goals for the district.
2) Follow the adage “those who play together, stay together.” Although everyone is busy with family and work, make time to have fun together outside the boardroom.
Frankfort CCSD 157C began a summer picnic tradition in which board members, administrators and their families meet for a barbecue in August, shortly before school starts. We brought food and lawn games and enjoyed some fun and casual conversation. Kids played. Spouses met everyone. We socialized in a relaxed environment without discussing district business and continued to build relationships among board members and between board members and administrators.
From the superintendent’s perspective, activities outside the boardroom provide further opportunity to get to know board members and to support and encourage them. The activities build teamwork and also allow board members to see the superintendent’s personality and character outside his or her strict administrative role in the boardroom.
Another good opportunity to spend time together is the annual IASB/IASA/IASBO conference in November. During breaks in the conference, the Frankfort board meets for meals. Spending time together outside the boardroom does not guarantee 7-0 votes in the boardroom, but it does contribute to mutual respect among board members and to a positive, healthy boardroom environment.
Remember, however, that these social activities are not for discussing district work, which would require meeting notices. They are purely social and for getting to know one another.
3) Engage in regular, periodic self-evaluation. Taking time to evaluate the board’s effectiveness is critical. Doing a self-evaluation with IASB not only allows a board to determine if it is following the Foundational Principles of Effective Governance, but also allows the board to identify and address any issues interfering with board member or board-superintendent relationships.
The comments section of the evaluation may provide particular insight into board members’ beliefs about the board’s efficiency, effectiveness and teamwork. Self-evaluation provides a forum to discover board members’ concerns and to resolve them before they negatively impact board success.
As a result of a self-evaluation, the board may agree on goals, procedures or protocols. For example, after one self-evaluation, in which some members voiced frustration with officer elections, the Frankfort board amended policy to include a specific procedure of meeting before the reorganization to discuss which board members were interested in officer positions and what various officer and board liaison positions entail.
The board also used self-evaluation to in-service new board members on expectations and professionalism. For the superintendent, the board self-evaluation process provides another means of communicating the board’s goals and expectations for itself and for the superintendent. Self-evaluation reaffirms the board’s commitment to serving the district.
4) Celebrate your success. In addition to socializing outside the boardroom, celebrating the board’s success, as well as individual board members’ accomplishments, helps to build strong, positive board relationships.
Each winter, the Frankfort district holds a board/administration holiday party before the December meeting. We have food, entertainment provided by board members, and we play games. The board president recognizes contributions made to the district by each board member and each administrator.
For example, one board member attended sufficient trainings to become an IASB Master Board Member, and the board team recognized this accomplishment. Every board member contributes something unique to the board team during the year.
The party is another opportunity to build morale, build relationships and have fun together. Pointing out and appreciating everyone’s special contribution to board work brings members together.
5) Keep working at the board/superintendent relationship. While the board/superintendent team may work together successfully now, don’t forget to nurture the relationship.
We all know that being a superintendent is a demanding job. The superintendent supervises other administrators, fields parent complaints, makes significant decisions to benefit children, and works on performance contract goals, to name just a few daily tasks.
After a day in the district, the superintendent goes home to family and home responsibilities. As the superintendent provides support and encouragement to board members, members should look for opportunities to support and increase the morale of the superintendent. For example, the board can send a card if the superintendent has a medical procedure or a significant family event. Board members should also say thank you regularly. A strong and respectful board/superintendent relationship sends a positive, comforting message of stability to your community and district parents.
The board also should periodically reconsider its superintendent evaluation tool to ensure that the evaluation process provides meaningful, helpful and constructive feedback.
During one self-evaluation, some Frankfort board members complained that the superintendent evaluation process was subjective, confusing and ineffective. The board formed a committee to investigate and review other potential evaluation tools, and as a result, completely revamped what the board had been using. If the evaluation does not report what the board believes the superintendent accomplished, and suggestions for growth, the tool is not serving its purpose.
In The Trust Effect: Creating the High Trust, High Performance Organization (People Skills for Professionals), Larry Reynolds wrote: “It is the relationships between people, and not the people themselves, which distinguish a great organization from a mediocre one. In fact, the quality of relationships can mean the difference between success and failure.”
Improved board relations assist with effective, efficient decision making that benefits the district.