According to the California School Board Association, the role of the school board is to ensure that school districts are responsive to the values, beliefs, and priorities of their communities. Even though board members have a complex list of roles and responsibilities, CSBA assigns five primary major responsibilities: setting direction,…

Turnover of public school superintendents can be both costly and counterproductive for school districts. For those who are successful, who remain in one district as superintendent, and receive contract renewals from their school boards, it is important to uncover what may impact that success. Measures of personality have been applied to the fields…

Purpose: The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed methods study was to identify the political styles of exemplary suburban elementary school district superintendents and school board members in Southern California as perceived by superintendents. In addition, it was the purpose of this study to identify and explain the political strategies…

In this paper, we study the role of expertise and independence on governing boards in the context of education. In particular, we examine the causal influence of professional educators elected to local school boards on education production. Educators may bring valuable human capital or experience to school district leadership, thereby improving…

Counties, districts, and schools have had to respond to ever-shifting issues related to COVID-19. This brief describes the complex challenges that district superintendents faced, which often required expertise in areas beyond traditional expectations for the role, particularly in public health. The brief gives examples of crisis management…

This study utilized a qualitative approach to focus on three essential elements: how superintendents are prepared to serve in their role as school district leaders, how they are recruited, and what support is available to help them succeed and remain in their position. The study explored these essential elements from the perspective of currently…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the preparation, recruitment, and retention of California school superintendents of schools. The efforts of this study focused on obtaining information and insight from current superintendents, school board members, and executive search firm consultants in order to obtain precise insight into…

The purpose of this study was to identify successful strategies for the preparation, recruitment, and retention of women of color superintendents. The superintendents selected for this study were women of color who worked in urban districts in California, and had had the traditional experience of being a teacher, site administrator, and district…

The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown on July 1, 2013, represents the first comprehensive change in California's education funding system in 40 years. The LCFF eliminates nearly all categorical funding streams, shifts control of most education dollars from the state to local school districts, and…

The purpose of the study was to determine how the California School Board Association's (CSBA) Masters in Governance (MIG) training program leads to more effective school board leadership and governance. This study employed the framework of authors Lee Bolman and Terrence Deal, the CSBA, and the Lighthouse Inquiry of the Iowa Association of School…

In fall 2018, the Local Control Funding Formula Research Collaborative (LCFFRC) conducted surveys of stratified random samples of California superintendents and principals. Superintendent results were published in June 2018 in "Superintendents Speak: Implementing the Local Control Funding Formula." This report, "Principals'…

Public education today faces a troubling set of challenges, including declining enrollment, staffing shortages, and polarized communities, with school boards at the center of broader political debates. How did we arrive at this current state? This study--described here and, in more detail, in a related report--of seven California school districts…

School districts face enormous challenges with recent reductions in fiscal resources due to cuts in California's state budget and an average tenure for a school superintendent of only 3 years. School boards are challenged to find a leader who can address the needs of the school district during these difficult times. As numerous school…

Adopted in 2013, the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) provides all districts with base funding plus supplemental and concentration grants for low-income students, English learners, and foster youth. The law eliminated most categorical programs, giving local school systems resource allocation authority and requiring Local Control and…

Almost daily, media headlines draw attention to students struggling academically and emotionally from interrupted learning, high student absenteeism, declining enrollment, teacher and leader burnout, staffing shortages, polarized communities, and school boards at the center of broader political debates. How did we arrive at this current state of…