Offers practices on fostering school board teamwork and effectiveness: (1) establish a code of behavior; (2) enforce the code; (3) make sure the code is up-to-date; (4) define the roles and duties of the board president, vice president, and secretary; and (5) establish some goals and a way to assess progress. (MLF)

School board members can make bad decisions if they give in to peer pressure from the community and from within the board. Cites examples and suggests that board members who don't know enough about an issue can't make a reasonable decision. (MLF)

A school board member and a superintendent realized in their three years of working together in a Florida school district how crucial the board/superintendent relationship is to a smoothly running school district. Advises board members and superintendents to keep their roles straight and to work as a team. Offers guidelines to board presidents.…

Professionals who have worked with school leaders say conflict results from the board and superintendent stepping into each other's territory. They advise: beware the revolving door; keep your roles straight; redefine your concept of power; build trust; know where you're going; and know when to cut your losses. A sidebar lists resources. (MLF)

School board members are entrusted by taxpayers to establish and maintain quality in their school systems. Unfortunately, most board members lack the experience or training necessary to face a wide range of new and daunting challenges. This book was designed to help school administrators and board members understand the principles of Total Quality…

The booklet presents Louisiana's regulations for implementing state special education legislation. Nine topic areas are addressed: (1) responsibilities of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (free appropriate public education, state advisory council); (2) responsibilities of the Superintendent of Public Elementary and Secondary…

This handbook is intended to provide authoritative information and guidance to school board members in meeting the responsibilities of service. Frequent reference is made to pertinent sections of the Wisconsin statutes, and in many such instances the number of the statute is given. The guide begins with an outline of the role of the school board…

Pupil transportation is an essential part of the overall school program, which requires constant supervision and direction. Perhaps no other phase of the school program is more closely observed by the public or has a greater tendency to mold public opinion about the schools than the school bus system. The success of any school district pupil…

This document provides eight lessons intended to improve the functioning of school boards and education committees for Catholic schools. Each lesson consists of three parts: a reading or activity to be done by the members in preparation for the lesson, a study activity to be done at the board meeting, and a reading or exercise to be done after the…

This publication is designed to help members of boards of education understand and work effectively within the requirements of New Jersey's Open Public Meetings Act, also referred to as the Sunshine Law, which requires that the public must be given adequate notice of, and be permitted to attend, meetings of all public bodies empowered by law to…

The Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) was passed in 1990 as a result of a Kentucky Supreme Court order to establish an efficient and equitable system of public education. This report is a guide to the implementation of school-based decision making, which is the most immediate of the reform initiatives being implemented. A review of the role of…

This document is a brief discussion, in outline form, regarding the legal representation of the school board and the superintendent. Specifically, the school lawyer ordinarily represents the board rather than an individual employee such as the district superintendent. Exceptions to this rule, conflicts of interest, and disclosure matters are…

To assist Montana school boards, this manual outlines a four-step process for curriculum review. After a brief introduction on how to use the manual, part 1 describes the first step--organizing the curriculum committee. Covered are the committee's range of concerns, membership, responsibilities, resources, and other factors. Lists of state…

According to these authors, the Catholic board of education is the church's structural response to the need for the community to be broadly represented in educational policy decisions. This book of readings is intended to be an inservice tool for board members. Chapters concern the areas of board of education role, the organization of the Catholic…

A La Crosse (Wisconsin) board member describes the long and difficult manner in which the school board rose from the conflict of having a major board recall, eight new superintendents in four years, and serious personnel problems to reach a position in which the board and school became effective again. (MD)