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Illinois School Board Journal
March/April 2005

Orientation makes transitions easier

by Rob Delane

Rob Delane is director of school board development for the Ohio School Boards Association. His article is reprinted, with permission, from the November 2003 OSBA Journal.

The upcoming election may result in a fairly significant change in the complexion of school boards across the state.

For many of those elected individuals, it will be a little like getting married. First they get elected and then they realize what they have done. In most cases, these are people who want to have a positive influence on the education of their district's students.

While they will have many questions, they may also come to the board with preconceived ideas on how things should be done. Moving from private citizen to public school official, and from being an individual to a member of a team, can be a difficult task.

As one board member stated: "It's not what I expected. It takes a lot more time than I ever anticipated to deal with the array of concerns the board must handle."

The shoes they have been wearing are not like the shoes they will now fill. Old knowledge must be weighed against new knowledge and tempered in light of their new role.

So, what responsibility does the existing board have to help make this transition a smooth one for these newly elected officials? It will help the transition if the experienced members consider that these new members may:

• Not know the other members of the board, their backgrounds, interests, concerns and hopes, nor will they know the key staff members with whom they will deal;
• Know little about the history of the district, school law, employee relations, transportation, food service, personnel administration or teacher certification;
• Lack information on the complex web of federal, state and local agencies that influence how schools function;
• Be unaware how difficult it is to influence, in major ways, school district operations;
• Not realize that many of their ideas have already been considered and rejected for various reasons, and that the board operates under constraints the new member wasn't aware of;
• Be unfamiliar with the educational jargon that will be spoken at the board table;
• Not know what their colleagues on the board, staff members or an irate parent might expect of them.

There are so many unknowns, and, while sufficient knowledge will only come with time, the board can help to make the transition much more effective. Certainly, there is no one best way when it comes to the orientation and development of new school board members. The degree to which a school district provides for school board member orientation and training ranges from next to nothing to an all-out effort. Too often, a district's orientation process is little more than handing new board members the policy manual, a copy of school regulation and maybe minutes from prior board meetings.

In some districts, however, the board already has an orientation and development policy and provides funds for training activities, such as workshops or retreats.

At a minimum, the existing board might compile the following materials to give to each newly elected member:

• A personal copy of written board policies and district administrative rules;
• Information on the school board's organization, as well as a copy of the district's organizational chart;
• An explanation of how board meetings are conducted;
• An orientation on the authority and responsibility of the board, superintendent, administrators and individual board members;
• A copy of the district's budget, with an explanation of how money is spent;
• Details on the district's continuous improvement plan;
• An overview of curriculum standards required by state and federal law;
• A copy of the district's collective bargaining agreements, along with an explanation of recent bargaining activities;
• A copy of the district's recent districtwide and building report cards;
• Information on any other significant topics, such as community relations, school finances, curriculum and instruction, personnel or facilities.

The path to becoming an effective board member is not an easy one, especially since the character of board service is continually changing. The task becomes even more difficult since there is no one body of knowledge that will make someone an effective board member. But, having a plan in place to address the critical needs of newly elected school officials will aid the entire board team in keeping the district moving in a positive direction.