The school board ExPLAINED!

Early voting is between April 24-May 2. May 6 is election day. The issue isn’t that students aren’t intentionally avoiding the polls. Instead, the biggest issue between students and voting for candidates is a lack of information about what a school board does. The school board controls different aspects of every student’s day, but many couldn’t name a single power the board has.

Monitor Success

Ensuring students are succeeding is their top priority. They set goals and create strategies to keep the district moving in a positive direction. For example, one of LISD’s goals is to achieve “Meaningful and relevant work [that] engages students in profound learning.” They pursue this by making decisions that eliminates busy work and focus on student engagement.

Communicate with the Community

School boards are outlets for the community. They must continually advocate for public education and keep community members informed and build trust. They must make sure residents are aware of district plans, new actions and student accomplishments.

Hire Superintendent

A superintendent is the person who handles all the day-today operations of the district, like the CEO. Superintendents handle the big picture and work with the board, legislators and community to ensure the district is operating at its best. The board interviews and hires a candidate. Then throughout the superintendent’s tenure, the board will evaluate their performance and can replace them.

Adopt a Budget and Tax Rate

In Texas, schools districts are funded by property taxes. The board oversees the budget, set teacher salaries and benefits, and decide what schools are upgraded.

Alex Thornfelt