According to the California School Boards Association’s 2018 publication “What It Takes to Lead: The Role and Function of California’s School Boards,” school board trustees are locally elected public officials entrusted with governing public schools in our community—the only locally elected officials chosen solely to represent the interests of children.
The Role & Responsibilities of School Boards
School Boards govern school districts by:
- Setting the direction for public school in the community through a vision that reflects the consensus of the entire board, the superintendent and staff, and the community based on what students need to reach their highest potential.
- Establishing an effective and efficient structure, which include employing the superintendent, adopting bylaws, setting direction for and approving curriculum, adopting the budget and Local Control and Accountability Plan, and providing direction for adopting collective bargaining agreements.
- Providing support to the superintendent and staff as they implement the established vision for the school district, including acting with a professional demeanor, upholding district policies, ensuring a positive personnel climate, and being knowledgeable enough about school district efforts to explain them to the public.
- Ensuring accountability to the public, including evaluating the superintendent, reviewing, and revising policies, serving as a judicial and appeals body, monitoring student achievement and program effectiveness, monitoring, and adjusting school district finances, and more.
- Demonstrating community leadership by advocating for students, school district programs, and public education and involving the community in appropriate, meaningful ways.
According to the California School Boards Association (CSBA), “These five responsibilities are so fundamental to a school system’s accountability to the public in our democratic society that they can only be performed by an elected governing body.”
Effective School Board Trustees
School districts are governed by school boards, not by individual trustees. In addition to understanding the collective-decision-making process, effective school board trustees will:
- Keep learning and achievement of all students as the primary focus;
- Value, support, and advocate for public education;
- Recognize and respect differences of perspective and style on the board and among staff, students, parents, and the community;
- Act with dignity and understand the implications of demeanor and behavior;
- Keep confidential matters confidential;
- Commit the time and energy necessary to be an informed and effective leader;
- Understand the distinction between board and staff roles;
- Operate openly, with trust and integrity;
- Govern in a dignified way and treat everyone with civility and respect;
- Periodically evaluate the board’s performance and effectiveness;
- And more!
The CSBA says “Effective board members look at all decisions through an equity lens, meaning that they are focused on allocating resources to students based on their needs and constantly consider how board actions can help to close or widen access to opportunity.”
If elected, Erica Flores Baltodano can be trusted to do the necessary work to govern the public schools where parents and voters entrust their children and their tax dollars.
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