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Illinois School Board Journal
July/August 2003

Reconciling expenses for board development

by Linda Dawson

Linda Dawson is IASB director of editorial services and Journal editor.

Board members often face raised eyebrows as well as raised voices from the public when it comes to spending district money for workshop and conference attendance. When your board is questioned about spending precious tax dollars on conference expenses in Chicago or even to attend a regional workshop or division meeting, you need to know why participation in these events is important -- not just to you personally, but to your community.

No one is born knowing how to be a good school board member. Your superintendent went to school for many years as a student, as a teacher and then again as a student, to learn to be an effective administrator. Board members, elected by the public, need information on local issues, policies and procedures as well as knowledge of how the educational system functions beyond the community in which they serve.

The Joint Annual Conference for IASB, IASA and IASBO represents 195 hours of panel presentations, keynote speakers, Cracker Barrel sessions, public relations counseling opportunities, the delegate assembly and a chance to "meet the experts." Not counted in that total is an additional 16 hours available to view products and services from 175 exhibitors and 21 hours to visit the bookstore.

That represents 232 hours of programs and services available for the registration fee of $270 ($285 on-site). Another 40 hours of pre-conference workshops are available at a cost of only $15 an hour.

But annual conference, as well as division meetings and workshops, offer another bonus: the priceless opportunity to network with your peers from all parts of the state.

Obviously, no one board member can take in everything. But if multiple board members attend conference, they can split up the schedule and cover more than one area at a time.

Many of the decisions board members need to make involve complex information: tax caps; funding; curriculum; legal issues; bargaining issues. And each election cycle brings hundreds of new members onto boards in Illinois -- members who need to learn what their role is as board members, as well as getting up to speed on the issues. For those reasons alone, continuing education is as important as continuing education for teachers and other professionals entrusted with the education and supervision of school children.

Currently, Illinois does not require professional development for school board members, although some states do. Continued participation in IASB's Master Board Member program and LeaderShop Academy workshops may serve to show that Illinois school board members are taking responsibility for their own continued learning without such state mandates.

A board that cuts training expenses and cites finances is like a business that cuts advertising when it is losing customers. Just as a business needs advertising the most when customers are scarce, school boards need professional development so they can stay abreast of the best thinking on problem solving. Not to do so would be considered "pennywise and pound foolish."

Make professional development for school board members part of your district policy and include a line item in your budget for these expenses. Our "Ask the staff" question on the inside back cover provides some guidelines on how much to budget for annual conference, division meetings and workshops, as well as an idea of how much it might cost your board to attend a national conference. By including your own professional development both in policy and the budget, you let your community know up-front that it is important.

And as taxpayers become familiar with the subjects covered at convention, they tend to be more supportive of board members and superintendent attendance. Share the program in advance with your local media. Let them know the topics that will be covered and why specific topics are important to your board. Then make sure to report back to them when you return, especially to share new ideas and strategies that you have learned.

In addition to offering numerous professional development opportunities all at once, the annual conference also is a time for significant decisions that affect board members throughout the year. During conference, the Delegate Assembly sets IASB's advocacy agenda, and it is important for school boards to send a delegate. Just as board members want to represent the voices in their communities, conference participation by as many member districts as possible is essential to making sure all voices are heard.

Through its resolution process, the Delegate Assembly takes ideas from member districts and puts them to a vote to formulate IABS's official position on the myriad of issues that face local boards of education. These position statements guide lobbyists in their efforts with the legislature throughout the year. Representation from local school boards across the state gives the association a firm sense of direction.

With all these important reasons in mind to attend conference, you also should be aware that Chicago hotels hosting the JAC are pitching in to help Illinois schools deal with their current financial problems.

All of the conference hotels (more than 40 of them) have frozen their room rates at last year's level for the 2003 conference. In fact, both of the primary conference hotels -- the Hyatt Regency and the Chicago Sheraton -- are rolling room rates back to 2001 levels. This year's double room rate of $138 per night at both facilities is substantially less than half their regular rates.

Convention hotel rates at other major cities around the nation typically run $100 a night more.

While this information may help you explain your conference expenses, board members also need to be careful about using district funds to pay only for official, board-approved expenses while at conference. Personal funds should pay for personal or family incidentals.

By letting your community know the importance of conference, keeping an eye on your expenses and paying for personal incidentals, board members will be well informed as well as fiscally responsible.