So, you want to be a high functioning school district?
Don’t we all.
As I look around at districts I admire for their consistent strong leadership I almost always find a district where the team of the Board Chair, Superintendent and Secretary Treasurer have an excellent working relationship. While I see this in my life every day, it is also backed up by the literature. In particular, there is a lot of research linking the success of school districts to the superintendent and board relationship. As Elizabeth Zagata references:
Superintendents and school boards play a pivotal role in the success of any school district. Research shows that districts with effective governance and a positive relationship between the school board and the superintendent consistently have better student outcomes. Indeed, the dynamic of that relationship can either hinder or help a district achieve its mission.
While not as often referenced in the literature, and while the superintendent is the sole employee of the Board, I would include the essential nature of the relationship with the secretary-treasurer (the CFO in a school district) to this conversation expanding it from a two-way to a three-way partnership. It is the Board Chair who leads a Board in setting a strategic plan. Then, it is a superintendent who leads a staff in bringing this plan to life and a secretary-treasurer who ensures resources are aligned to make it all happen.
My context is very unique. I was appointed superintendent in the fall of 2009 and our current secretary-treasurer moved into that position in 2011. And our current Board Chair joined the Board also in 2011, and assumed the Chair position in 2014. We are in our ninth years together in these roles. This continuity is very helpful. Now, I am sure if we didn’t communicate well with each other, have a clear common vision or engaged in ongoing power struggles, the time together would be of little importance, but fortunately we haven’t had these challenges.
So, what are some of the things I think we do well?
We have clearly defined roles. We don’t shy away from the conversations about responsibility but we are rarely stepping over each other. For us, it starts with policy. The Carver Model of board governance we have held for my time in the district keeps us honest in ensuring everyone is clear in their responsibility.
We have a shared vision. In some districts, the secretary-treasurer is not a part of the education conversations; not in our district. She is invested in the educational vision. And it all starts with our Board’s Strategic Plan that we review and set (or update) during the first several months of the term. The Board sets the high level direction and the superintendent builds strategies and structures to meet these goals.
There are no surprises. We talk regularly. In many cases, it is the superintendent with the board chair and the superintendent with the secretary-treasurer, and there is always efforts made so each of us shares all the information we have with each other. We never walk into a meeting and are surprised with information any of the rest of us have or share.
We support each other. It is crazy what I have seen in other districts. In some places, the board chair sees their job to challenge the superintendent and secretary-treasurer, often in public rather than work with them. And some superintendents withhold information from board chairs, and use it as power in their relationship. And secretary-treasurers see their work as the “Culture of No” in slowing or stopping the educational goals of the Board and superintendent. It is not hard, know what each other are tasked with and help each other be successful.
A simple question guides us. Our Board Chair will often say, “Is this good for students?” and this drives our work. When the answer is yes, this moves me to operationalize it and our secretary-treasurer to determine the financial implications.
I am lucky. I have worked with four excellent board chairs and two strong secretary-treasurers. And for the last 9 years, having the three of us in these same positions has been good for our school district community. Continuity helps build trust, and trust helps make things happen.
The most important thing a board does is hire the right superintendent, and the most important thing a superintendent does is hire the right secretary-treasurer. And the most important thing the three of them do is build a powerful team.
I have written previously on board governance and they may be useful prompts for others:
Board Governance – Small Things Can Make a Big Difference
How the Board and Superintendent Support Each Other
Doing Small Things to Improve Board Governance
The Impact of Boards on How Superintendents Spend Their Time
cultureofyes.ca 