Trust at the Center of Good Governance

EXECUTIVE PERSPECTIVE

As with most board-CEO relationships, the relationship between a school board and its superintendent is paramount to ensuring effective, informed and sustainable governance. When this relationship is intentional and strong, it provides a foundation for districts to innovate, address timely challenges and meet the needs of every learner.

During my decades as a superintendent, I gained a firsthand understanding of the ups and downs of board-superintendent relationships and shifting dynamics. I learned how successful superintendents prioritize the navigation and cultivation of this essential relationship.

Tested Principles

While every school board-superintendent relationship is unique, certain principles are universal when fostering good governance, especially in challenging times.

Good governance begins with a clear delineation of expectations and roles. School boards govern and superintendents lead and manage. In reality, this division of labor can become blurred in practice, especially during crises.

A school board’s primary responsibilities are to set the district’s vision and goals, develop and approve policies, ensure financial stewardship, hire and evaluate the superintendent, and be accountable to the community. In contrast, the superintendent manages the day-to-day operations, including the oversight of financial and instructional practices and implementation of school board policies. Most importantly, superintendents also must prioritize their time and energy to transform their local schools and school communities through visionary leadership that upholds the promise of public education for all children.

Big-Picture Goals

A savvy and well-loved colleague of mine who is a superintendent of a large rural district recently shared that he kicks off his first meeting with a new school board by holding an educational session. The ensuing discussion revolves around the alignment of a shared vision with big-picture goals, then turns to the nuts and bolts of governance.

To shape the conversation, he asks simple but powerful questions: What does a great school board look like? What does a great superintendent do? What does joint success of the board and the superintendent look like? And finally, how do we get there?

Cultivating Trust

Brand executives often repeat that “trust is earned in drops and lost in buckets.” This truism applies to all relationships, especially those between school board members and their superintendent.

To strengthen trust with individual board members, a superintendent should be flexible when meeting the needs of each member. Board members come from diverse backgrounds with varying interests, communication preferences and styles of engagement. Some may prefer detailed reports, while others value concise summaries or a brief phone call every few days.

Shared Goals

At the end of the day, remind board members that every person is a human being with a place in the community, and board members and the superintendent likely share a passion for education. Don’t underestimate the unifying power of shared personal goals. You don’t need to vote the same to cheer your kids on at the Friday night football game and celebrate your district’s academic successes.

With mutual trust and respect as a foundation, superintendents and school boards can speak to stakeholders with one unified voice. We can disagree privately on issues but remain committed to providing the best possible public education for our school community. Public disagreements must be civil. Anything less may undermine community trust.

While differing opinions and divided votes are a normal part of leadership discussions, all members should be encouraged — and expected — to publicly support a decision once it is made.

Students First

Regardless of external factors, cohesive and effective school board-superintendent relationships do one thing above all else: Put students’ needs first. Making governance decisions grounded in the district’s mission and evaluating policies through the lens of student outcomes ensures that the focus remains on what matters most.

In my experience, healthy relationships require intentionality, care and lots of work! Effective governance relies on a strong relationship to withstand the storms and the agility to move fast when conditions are favorable. Ultimately, good governance hinges on the strength and trust of the school board-superintendent relationship, and ideally this relationship reflects the values we uphold as leaders in public education.

If we can be respectful, honest, authentic, curious and kind with each other at the highest level of school system leadership, we have a much better chance of graduating students who embody these admirable traits and can actively engage in society post-graduation.

Be well, my colleagues and friends.

David Schuler is AASA executive director. Twitter: @AASA_ED