Decision Making?

From PrEsErvicE to PracticE

a PartnershiP in decision MakinG?

as everyone assembled for the school board’s regular meeting, Dr. clore, superintendent of schools, nodded to the president of the school board that he was ready for the meeting to commence. this would be a difficult meeting. they would be considering all administrative contracts, but special concerns had arisen about the contract of tom Day, the principal of Westside Elementary–Middle School. Many parents and teachers were upset that the school had performed so poorly on the state assessments for a second straight year, even with the greater flexibility for meeting standards that had been announced by the state department of education. these groups had generated a small mountain of documentation to support their point of view and had pushed their request for his termination through all of the school district’s required steps up to tonight’s announcement of the decision. Dr. clore, too, had recommended that the board not renew Mr. Day’s contract. he had worked with him but had seen no improvement. In his mind, Principal Day was not an instructional leader. Day had poor communication with faculty, staff, and parents and seemed to lead from behind the principal’s desk rather than through proactive interaction with others. other parents and former students, however, continued to support Principal Day and had been lobbying both publicly and privately with individual board members for his retention. Dr. clore looked around. on one side of the room sat the parents and teachers who supported Mr. Day, ready to raise their objections if—more like “when,” thought Dr. clore—the board announced Day’s departure. on the other side sat those who had worked to remove him. It looked like a no-win situation. tonight, Dr. clore thought, we are all at a crossroad.

Dr. clore wished, again, that the state’s sunshine laws, designed to encourage openness in governmental decision making, permitted a little more privacy about personnel matters. although much of the deliberation had already been conducted behind closed doors in executive session, the announcement of contracts had to be made in an open meeting.

Well, he thought to himself, at least it will all finally be over with fairly quickly. the policy of this board was to allow a maximum of five minutes of citizen input on any agenda item. Each group with a similar view would have to select a representative to speak. Dr. clore was certain that the pro and con groups of parents were prepared to have a representative speak before the board, although he was less sure about the teachers. that meant at least ten minutes of unpleasantness. he hoped nothing got out of hand. the school board president was relatively new to his position, and personnel considerations could become emotional. Dr. clore knew that if the procedures were not followed exactly, a lawsuit could follow.

case Questions

1. Ideally, school boards and superintendents work in partnership. how would you define the roles of the superintendent and school board in this situation? 2. What legal issues could arise if the mandated procedures were not followed at this meeting? 3. What role, if any, might teachers have in such personnel decisions? 4. In a larger district, how might central office staff other than the superintendent be involved in an issue such as this? 5. What might be a better way for the school board to handle this potentially explosive situation?

The powers and responsibilities of school boards may be classified as follows: 1. Policy. School boards set the general rules about what is done in the schools, who does it, and how. The current practice of school-based management has allocated greater involvement of teachers, school-based administrators, and parent groups in day-to-day school operation and direction. 2. Staffing. Technically, the board is responsible for hiring all school district employees. In practice, however, school boards usually confine themselves to recruiting and selecting the school superintendent (the district’s chief executive officer) and high-ranking members of the central office staff. Decisions on hiring and retaining principals, teachers, and school-based staff are usually delegated to the district’s administrators. 3. Employee relations. School board members are responsible for all aspects of employee relations, including collective bargaining with teacher unions. Large school districts rely on consultants or attorneys to negotiate with teachers, but small school districts may use the superintendent or a school board committee.