Connecting Productively With the Board Chair

Board-Savvy Superintendent

AS A SUPERINTENDENT, I was fortunate to work with school board members who understood their roles and genuinely cared about the common good. I especially enjoyed working alongside savvy, skilled board chairs.

As an education consultant working with superintendents and boards, I have observed fully functional boards (and board-superintendent relationships) and some not-so-functional situations. While much has been written about board-superintendent relations, little research and authoritative literature focuses on establishing and sustaining a strong working connection between the superintendent and the board chair.

This is a relationship directly impacting the effectiveness and success of not just the board but the entire system.

Discomforting Actions

Recently, at the invitation of a superintendent, I facilitated a conversation between her and the newly elected board chair, a policy analyst for the state legislature. As such, he regularly articulated personal comments for or against proposed legislation at public meetings on behalf of the school board prior to the board taking any positions.

The superintendent had talked with the board chair several times to express discomfort over these actions and to point out board policies that likely were violated. But the chair’s actions continued, prompting the superintendent to consider the help of an outside facilitator.

In its coverage, the local news media portrayed the chair’s statements as board-adopted positions, contributing to teacher union demands to meet with the superintendent.

A Facilitated Answer

Whose responsibility is it when a board chair gets out in front of things? How does a superintendent handle this situation? What is the role of other board members?

In this case, the situation was remedied by hosting a facilitated conversation where the two leaders discussed what had happened, the repercussions associated with what happened and possible pathways forward. The board chair was seeking to be valued as a knowledgeable person but was insensitive to protocol.

We determined that a work session on proposed state legislation that could affect the school district was an action upon which all could agree. Key stakeholders and the media were invited to the work session, which was led by the board chair and the superintendent.

Harmonious Measures

Superintendents can be proactive in forming a solid partnership with the board chair. As Simon Sinek writes in It Starts With Why, superintendents ought to openly share their “why’s” — why do I work in education, why did I pursue the superintendency and why here? — and board chairs can share their “why’s” — why did I run for the board, and why did I seek the role of the chair?

This leads to a deeper conversation about vision. What do we hope to accomplish as we lead together? How will we get there? How will we build agendas together? How are we structured currently and is it working? Are we capitalizing on board members’ strengths?

Are people staying in their own “lanes” in terms of roles and responsibilities? How will we handle conflict when it arises? Do we have norms and agreements and are they working? What happens when someone violates those norms or agreements? Should we develop norms if we don’t currently have them?

In Connecticut, owing to the visionary leadership of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents and the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education, we recently completed a three-part series of facilitated conversations between board chairs and superintendents that were well received. This is a model worth replicating.

Conflicts will assuredly arise. Having a plan to handle conflicts before they occur is an investment that pays off.

The essential foundation for a harmonious and successful working relationship between superintendent and board chair comes down to this: mutual respect and trust, a common understanding of roles and responsibilities, agreements on how to work together and a commitment to serving the students, employees and community.

PEG PORTSCHELLER, a retired superintendent, is president of Portscheller & Associates in Parachute, Colo.
@pportsch