The question of who develops and adopts the rules and regulations to implement educational policies is at the center of the role controversy between boards of education and superintendents. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the demarcations between policy-making and administrative roles. Certain assumptions about board and superintendent…

According to this paper, all parties in educational management--central office and building administrators, supervisory and curriculum personnel, as well as the board--should participate fully in the business of managing a school district. But before enacting a new policy, an enlightened board will consider the impact that the policy could have on…

The control exerted by boards of education may be described by measuring what is controlled, what types of control are used, and at what level control is exerted. A model designed to measure these factors was tested in a random sample of 21 British Columbia school boards. The major findings revealed that school board decisions tended to…

Given the important role of local school boards in the school-restructuring movement, this paper presents findings of a study that identified what board chairs in North Carolina knew about school restructuring. The study also examined the extent to which chairs agreed with major ideological tenets of school restructuring and with their…

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…

Legislated change in rural schools districts may be slow and painful. This paper describes the ambience of a rural Texas K-12 school through the eyes of a new science teacher with northern and urban education experience and through the observations of an outside researcher. Attitudes that learning is not important, that hard subjects need not be…

Decentralized control of New York City elementary and junior high schools was instituted in 1969. Subsequent financial crises in the city transferred governance functions from school officials to the Emergency Financial Control Board. A comparison of school board members in poor city districts, middle-class city districts, and suburban districts…

This paper, by the Superintendent of Schools in Kansas City, Kansas, addresses several broad issues in urban education. The social, economic, and educational environment in Kansas City, are outlined, and the composition of the Board of Education is described. Criticisms of typical Boards of Education are offered, and possible solutions for…

The development of control over and coordination of higher education at the state level in Illinois during the first half of the twentieth century is discussed, and events leading up to the creation of the Illinois State Board of Higher Education in 1961 are outlined. The development of the board's authority and power in the areas of new program…

In the area of textbook selection, a school board should (1) establish a policy based on the feelings of the community, the law, and the board's views; (2) determine whether administrative guidelines reflect board policy; (3) check whether textbook choices are based on those guidelines; and (4) consider appeals in book complaint cases. Everyone…

Considering the issue of whether or not school boards should have separate staffs, three models are presented: a "two-hat" concept of metropolitan governance; a separate staff operating on a needs basis; and, the "federal model" with legislative, judicial, and administrative branches. These models raise two political questions: In routine,…

This paper explores the politics of various types of teacher compensation reforms, with a particular focus on pay for performance. It examines the political positions taken by the nations two teachers' unions, the extent to which these reflect the preferences of teachers, and how both influence the decisions by localities to implement reforms. New…

This document presents a speech delivered by Chancellor Bill Goertz at the meeting of the State Board of Higher Education last November 19, 2009. In his speech, Chancellor Goertz reports that: (1) according to a Delta Cost Project report, North Dakota ranked among the top five states in regard to market-based productivity; (2) the Midwest Higher…

This paper presents the findings of a single case study of a particular board of education's decision-making process in a crisis situation, and explores interpretation of those findings from two theoretical perspectives. The crisis resulted from the charges against and conviction of the superintendent for a sexual assault on a 17-year-old female…

Although serving on a school board is frequently a thankless and difficult task, good board members must be recruited, since the elected school board is a cornerstone of our representative form of government and is a central element of local control. A recent increase in board member turnover is assignable to the large amount of time it takes to…