Dealing With Misogynistic Board Members

Board-Savvy Superintendent

A text message appeared as I was facilitating a group planning session. As I sneaked a peek while people were working together at their tables, the message piqued my curiosity. It read simply, “I need your help … and fast.”

The message came from a female superintendent with whom I had been working. I knew she would not send a message of this sort unless it was serious. When I called her, she asked if I remembered that three new members of her board of education had just been seated following their election. I assured her I remembered. “Well,” she said, “I think I may have a problem with one of them.”

The superintendent relayed that at a recent evening work session on the state of facilities in the district, one of the new board members, a male, came up behind her at the “build your own sandwich” table and invaded her private space by nestling up close be-hind her. She politely said, “Excuse me,” and moved to the other end of the table. Later that evening as she was clearing materials from the conference table, he did it again and remarked on how “lovely” her dress was and “perhaps a size smaller might highlight her wonderful figure better.”