Leadership is both an indicator and a contributor to success, as is the case with our Eastmont School Board. Effective school boards are comprised of individuals that can lead effectively to ensure the success of the district as a whole.
To help select the right board members and evaluate their unique qualities, capabilities and achievements, it’s important to understand what a school board actually does:
An individual board member has no authority. A board member is only as effective as their ability to work cooperatively with stakeholders and with other members of the board. Collectively, the board creates a vision for the district and passes that on to their one employee, the superintendent, to be implemented.
The board oversees the budget, the superintendent, and district policies while maintaining community relations, steering the district to its goals and adhering to state and board regulations.
With that understanding, what skills should board members possess?
They must understand the needs of the entire community and all stakeholders, including taxpayers, industry, government, port and business districts, students and, of course, our educators in order to design, refine and propel the district vision.
They must be able to listen and consider experts and differing points of view and be willing to learn from those around them in order to support actions that are fair and ultimately successful for the district as a whole.
A board member must be comfortable with the complexities, nuances and depth of multimillion-dollar budgets and be able to differentiate between short term costs and long-term value in order to most effectively use the resources of the taxpayers. This is often complicated given multiple funding sources and their covenants.
They should have experience managing a vast array of people and personalities with the ability to evaluate and direct in order to build on the experience and skills of others.
They should be experienced in interacting with the stakeholders throughout our community and in building strong and lasting relationships.
A board member must be prepared to ask hard questions mindfully while maintaining both the necessary motivation and required accountability.
Your Eastmont School Board Members must be able to do all of this while keeping inside the scope of state and board policies and regulations.
Many of these skills can be learned over time and there are great resources and individuals to learn from, nevertheless, there is no substitute for experience. I invite you to review my management experience and history of effective and endorsed leadership and then, let’s talk. I’d love to hear from you - What are your hopes and expectations for the district? What matters most to you? Let’s connect. I’d be happy to meet (phone, email or in person).