LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - MARCH 16, 2014
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by Kim Cox
Superintendent of
LeRoy Central School
The Work of the
Superintendent and the
Board of Education or
Who’s In Charge?
This is a question that is often
posed: “Who is in charge of the
school district, the superinten-
dent or the Board of Education?”
The answer is yes. The Board
and Superintendent form the
District governance team, which
consists of the seven members
of the Board of Education and
the Superintendent. The eight
members of this team serve in
two distinct roles.
The Board of Education is
responsible to oversee the dis-
trict by establishing policies
and proposing a budget that
provides a sound education for
all students and smooth oper-
ations throughout the District.
The Superintendent is hired to
run the District and all of its
day-to-day operations, using
the Board policies as a guide. In
essence, the Board of Education,
as a unit, has one employee the
Superintendent; and generally
speaking, everyone else works
for the Superintendent.
There are often misunder-
standings about the role of an
individual Board member and
the authority that the position
carries. It is important to under-
stand that an individual School
Board member has no more
authority than any other com-
munity member. For instance,
individual Board members do not
give directives to individual staff
members. If a Board member
hears something of concern, it is
most appropriate for the Board
member to refer the concerned
person to the source of the con-
cern – the teacher, principal, etc.
After referring the concerned
person back to the proper chain
of command, the Board member
will usually inform the Superin-
tendent and let the Superinten-
dent monitor and/or handle the
situation as necessary.
It is not until the Board comes
together during official meetings
that an individual Board member
has any authority, which comes
in the form of an individual vote
for or against recommendations
made by the Superintendent.
Therefore, the Board only has
authority to make decisions when
it acts as a whole unit by majority
vote.
Our governance team works
hard to listen to each other’s ideas
and to draw from each other’s
unique knowledge and experience
when considering the big picture.
However, when it comes to the
day-to-day issues that you may
have questions or concerns about,
it is always best to start at the
level the issue has occurred and
follow the “chain of command”,
for example talk to teachers first,
then principals, then the superin-
tendent. Addressing the Board of
Education about anything should
be a last step, and talking to an
individual Board member about a
concern often does not make the
most sense because an individual
Board member cannot speak on
behalf of the Board nor direct
the Superintendent to make any
specific decision.
Highly effective boards and
board members
understand that,
individually and collectively,
they play four major roles:
repre-
sentative
– of the total communi-
ty,
leader
– of the district,
stew-
ard
– of two precious resources:
children and public funds,
advo-
cate
– of public education…and
of an educated public.
Highly
effective boards
represent their
community well, fulfill the pub-
lic trust, and truly lead student
achievement by devoting most of
their corporate intellect, energy,
and time concentrating on key
work as follows:
• Build with the community a
shared
vision
for student achieve-
ment;
• Set clear
standards
for stu-
dent learning, and for all aspects
of district performance;
• Ensure
alignment
of resourc-
es, programs, and culture with
goals and standards;
• Create a positive
climate
that fosters learning and student
achievement;
•
Collaborate
with the super-
intendent and community to build
support for student achievement
as a top community priority;
• Establish a strong
account-
ability
process for student
achievement;
• Commit to an attitude and
process of
continuous improve-
ment
for student achievement.
Within your district gover-
nance team, the superintendent is
responsible for a variety of roles,
such as the
Superintendent
is an
advisor
– the district’s profes-
sional educator and the board’s
principal counselor about stan-
dards, curriculum, assessment,
and all other matters affecting
student achievement, where the
district is going, and how best to
get it there;
executive
– the dis-
trict’s Chief Executive Officer…
action agent;
leader
– a catalyst
for educational excellence;
man-
ager
– of the district’s resources,
programs, and processes;
advo-
cate
– of public education…and
of an educated public.
Board + Superintendent =
District Governance Team
So, the Board of Education
is in charge ... and the Super-
intendent is in charge ... but in
different ways. This provides a
good set of checks and balances.
(Information used in this article
was obtained from New York
State School Boards Association)
BOARD PETITIONS PICK
UP & DEADLINES:
District
residents interested in serving on
the Board of Education must file
their nominating petitions by 5:00
p.m., Monday, April 21, 2014.
Petitions must be delivered to the
District Office, and must have at
least 25 signatures of
qualified
voters. Petition forms may be
obtained from the District Clerk
on business days between 9:00
a.m. and 4:00 p.m. This year’s
budget vote and election will be
conducted between 7:00 a.m.
and 9:00 p.m., Tuesday, May 20,
2014, in the gymnasium corridor
of Wolcott Street School.
Two Board of Education seats
will be vacant, for a term of
three years. Qualifications for
membership on a School Board
include:
• Must be a qualified voter of
the district (a citizen of the United
States, 18 years or older)
• Must be and have been a
resident of the district for a con-
tinuous and uninterrupted period
of one year.
Superintendent''s Column
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