Learn about an upcoming event that will be answering questions!
One of my plans over the coming weeks was to write a few articles based on training and information I had received from the Indiana School Board Association (ISBA) about the role of a school board member. I’ve made a few posts on social media and written a little bit about this topic, but as we come up to a critical election this year, I wanted to highlight some of the misconceptions about school board members.
Knowing what a school board member can and can’t do is important in deciding who to pick. I also find that the ethics around the role are important and seeing which candidates and board members violate the ethics of the role also says a lot about the character of the people who we entrust to make policies that will protect and educate our kids.
Well, this post isn’t going to get into any of the topics! Instead, I’m going to promote an event that the ISBA is involved with along with being presented by the Early Learning Alliance Network. This event is going to address many of the topics I was hoping to write about! This includes answering the following questions:
- Do school board members work for parents?
- What are the top things that school boards should focus on?
- Is it the job of the school board to respond to the voices of families in the community?
- Do boards make specific rules and procedures that our schools use?
- Do school board members act as direct representatives like a legislator?
- Do school boards make decisions about the inner workings of a school district?
- Where are the lines between what the superintendent is responsible for and what the school board is responsible for?
- Given the current moment, what are fair expectations of parents/families in terms of school board roles and responsibilities?
- What is the best way for parents/family/community members to interact with their school board?
I‘ll give you a sneak peek!
I believe that the answer to the first question is “no”. That alone surprises most people, and of course most candidates running for school board aren’t going to tell you that answer.
This event will be addressing questions derived from a survey of parents, community leaders, and school board members in several Indiana counties. The event will be recorded with a live option and is expected to have several national voices as well as members from national school board associations.
You can sign up for this event at the following link:
School Board Community Training
At this link, you will be asked for your name, email, and school district that you are associated with. I simply entered “HSE” for my district. You also will be asked your role. That’s it.
As to a date to when this will be available, that was not stated. When it becomes available, I’ll include it here.
In summary, for Hamilton Southeastern Schools, this next election will add three people to the school board. The decisions over the next three or four years could include hiring a new superintendent, determining how much in taxes to push on the community, redistricting (multiple times), and oh, so much more that I’ll be writing about in the coming weeks ! As such, knowing what a board member can — and can’t — do is vitally important to casting your vote to the right person!
And no – School Board members can’t fire teachers or IT directors, although a few have wanted to!
