Has Anyone Ever Served on Their School Board (1 Viewer)

[glvsav37]

Has anyone ever served on their local school board?

I got an offer to apply for a seat as one member is stepping down for family reasons and a spot is opening up.

For those who may have served, I'm interested in hearing about the typical time commitment, good/bad stories, etc.

Some background: My wife is a teacher in the district, my youngest is in high school (oldest graduated last year). I am very concerned about our state of public schools and education right now. I also have concerns about where money is spent. TBH I've never even been to a school board meeting b/c I get all the insider info from my wife

Concerns: We are in the middle of contract negotiations for the teachers and I hear they are pretty far apart. Obv I would be advocating for the teachers, but its a larger issue then just me.

Anyone have any experience on school boards?

 

[matttyl]

In pretty much the words of the late, great Mitch Hedberg - “you can’t please all the people all the time, and last night all those people were at the school board meeting.”

At least where I live, you don’t join the school board to make friends.

 

[dino259]

Our school board held kids out of school for almost an extra year for Covid. I only watched meetings during Covid but there is a lot of stuff most wouldn't really classify as school related in addition to the budget and curriculum items that never have enough funding.

 

[dutch]

According to my local Facebook page all the school board members around here are ideologically brainwashed or are in it to further their career and most should be hunted down and driven from office. They are stupid and don't care about students or parents. Overall, sounds like a fun gig that I would never volunteer to be in.

 

[Harry Frogfish]

I've always pictured a glvslav37 nameplate at a school board meeting. Throw a Dr in front, no one will know. Congrats!

Very nice of you to even consider it. Opening this felt like walking into an Improv. We'll see what the weekend brings.

 

[glvsav37]

I've always pictured a glvslav37 nameplate at a school board meeting. Throw a Dr in front, no one will know. Congrats!

Very nice of you to even consider it. Opening this felt like walking into an Improv. We'll see what the weekend brings.

lol I'm an art school schlub with a BFA in graphic design....my wife (an elementary school teacher) has more masters degrees and is as close to a Doctorate as you can get.

I got the opportunity to adjunct teach graphic design classes at my local community college a while back. When my wife would ask me a question I would intentionally correct her, "Ummm...it's Professor...." which was usually met with a middle finger salute lol

 

[Yambag]

As a former educator and union rep, I got to know the inner workings of the board at my district. I also had a very good friend serve on another town's board. In both experiences, the board was mostly made up of two types of people: 1) people who where there to try to help improve the district, fight for the staff and help the students and 2) people who where there to push their political beliefs. It was frustrating to hear of all the backdoor handshakes, maneuvering and arguments over just about everything. These are my only two data sets and perhaps not all boards are like this, but I doubt it. However, if you feel strongly enough that you want to support the staff and students to provide the best possible education, I suggest you do it. Boards need more people like this as opposed to those with personal agendas.

 

[BlackCrowes]

I’ve thought about it. I don’t mind being yelled at

 

[shuke]

How politically charged is your school board and district? Do you have any skeletons in your closet?

 

[drummer]

shuke always provided me comfort here. Since 2006. Which means by not I should had produced 2.5 shuke's by now. But the Eat Offs. I love the Eat Offs. That's what we lost here.

 

[GroveDiesel]

Serving on a Board where your wife is a teacher sounds not ideal.

 

[Gally]

Get on the board so you can vote in your Lemonade stand to be the only beverage choice of all schools in the district and then buy more stands to cover all the schools and get a monopoly on the sugary drink corner. Rake in money hand over fist.

 

[McBokonon]

If you want maniacs to scream at you while digging up your past, real and imaginary, all for a salary of $0, then this is definitely the opportunity for you.

 

[Mookie]

My wife was on the school board for 5 years. It was brutal for her. She is a pleaser and struggled with the constant barrage of complaints from all sides of an issue, including staff and administration. When she'd make a decision, people were always unhappy. Some of the criticism was personal and she lost a few friendships during this period.

I was always amazed by the lack of boundaries people set, like we are at a memorial service and people would approach her with questions/comments/opinions/gripes. People would search her out at our kids' soccer games, phone calls all night long, stacks of emails demanding an immediate response, etc.. It was such a thankless and miserable job for her - I'm surprised she lasted five years.

 

[Zow]

My wife was on the school board for 5 years. It was brutal for her. She is a pleaser and struggled with the constant barrage of complaints from all sides of an issue, including staff and administration. When she'd make a decision, people were always unhappy. Some of the criticism was personal and she lost a few friendships during this period.

I was always amazed by the lack of boundaries people set, like we are at a memorial service and people would approach her with questions/comments/opinions/gripes. People would search her out at our kids' soccer games, phone calls all night long, stacks of emails demanding an immediate response, etc.. It was such a thankless and miserable job for her - I'm surprised she lasted five years.

Unfortunately the bold matches my experience being on boards.

 

[shuke]

shuke always provided me comfort here. Since 2006. Which means by not I should had produced 2.5 shuke's by now. But the Eat Offs. I love the Eat Offs. That's what we lost here.

What's all this now?

 

[JohnnyU]

Seems like a stressful pile of

 

[MAC_32]

I'm a public school kid that now works in a lead role of a private school network of ~40,000. We need more people like you in roles like this at the public level, so there is less of a need for roles like I have now in future generations.

 

[Rustoleum]

Has anyone ever served on their local school board?

I got an offer to apply for a seat as one member is stepping down for family reasons and a spot is opening up.

For those who may have served, I'm interested in hearing about the typical time commitment, good/bad stories, etc.

Some background: My wife is a teacher in the district, my youngest is in high school (oldest graduated last year). I am very concerned about our state of public schools and education right now. I also have concerns about where money is spent. TBH I've never even been to a school board meeting b/c I get all the insider info from my wife

Concerns: We are in the middle of contract negotiations for the teachers and I hear they are pretty far apart. Obv I would be advocating for the teachers, but its a larger issue then just me.

Anyone have any experience on school boards?

Are you even allowed to be on the board and have your wife be employed by the district at the same time? I think here you can’t, or there’s a grandfather-clause where since she’s already employed you can become a board member, but not vice versa. Anyway, depending where you are that could be complicated.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

some college friends of mine were friends with kids who’s dad was on the school board of the city I grew up in

I remember one time I mentioned it and they were like how the hell did you know that?

I probably wouldn’t do it

 

[glvsav37]

Has anyone ever served on their local school board?

I got an offer to apply for a seat as one member is stepping down for family reasons and a spot is opening up.

For those who may have served, I'm interested in hearing about the typical time commitment, good/bad stories, etc.

Some background: My wife is a teacher in the district, my youngest is in high school (oldest graduated last year). I am very concerned about our state of public schools and education right now. I also have concerns about where money is spent. TBH I've never even been to a school board meeting b/c I get all the insider info from my wife

Concerns: We are in the middle of contract negotiations for the teachers and I hear they are pretty far apart. Obv I would be advocating for the teachers, but its a larger issue then just me.

Anyone have any experience on school boards?

Are you even allowed to be on the board and have your wife be employed by the district at the same time? I think here you can’t, or there’s a grandfather-clause where since she’s already employed you can become a board member, but not vice versa. Anyway, depending where you are that could be complicated.

thought the same thing, but many people who know both of us, encouraged me to apply for it....including a current board member. So while I 100% see the conflict of interest, and 100% wonder how that would effect the seat and voting on policy....so far no one has said, "No...since she is a current teacher...."

 

[Rustoleum]

Has anyone ever served on their local school board?

I got an offer to apply for a seat as one member is stepping down for family reasons and a spot is opening up.

For those who may have served, I'm interested in hearing about the typical time commitment, good/bad stories, etc.

Some background: My wife is a teacher in the district, my youngest is in high school (oldest graduated last year). I am very concerned about our state of public schools and education right now. I also have concerns about where money is spent. TBH I've never even been to a school board meeting b/c I get all the insider info from my wife

Concerns: We are in the middle of contract negotiations for the teachers and I hear they are pretty far apart. Obv I would be advocating for the teachers, but its a larger issue then just me.

Anyone have any experience on school boards?

Are you even allowed to be on the board and have your wife be employed by the district at the same time? I think here you can’t, or there’s a grandfather-clause where since she’s already employed you can become a board member, but not vice versa. Anyway, depending where you are that could be complicated.

thought the same thing, but many people who know both of us, encouraged me to apply for it....including a current board member. So while I 100% see the conflict of interest, and 100% wonder how that would effect the seat and voting on policy....so far no one has said, "No...since she is a current teacher...."

It would be prohibited here because of anti-nepotism laws but I’ve seen some creative stuff to get around it.

Not recently, but for example, I remember a case where a board member’s spouse who worked for the district landed a job with a state or government agency that happened to provide services within the district.

 

[TLEF316]

Can't imagine a worse experience. People are awful and when it comes to issues regarding their kids, they become even less rational.

Thoughts and prayers. I admire the willingness to help

 

[playin4beer]

My wife has been teaching for 30 years.. I remember back in the beginning we were out to eat and her Union President was there.. She told me, "You need to get on the School Board so you can help fight for your wife!".

I regret many things I did or did not do in my life.. Not joining the school board is a decision I don't regret... at all.

 

[MAC_32]

The sentiment being shared in this thread is a big reason, if not the primary one, I got into private ed admin.

 

[glvsav37]

The sentiment being shared in this thread is a big reason, if not the primary one, I got into private ed admin.

I hear you and TBH I'm torn. I think public education is a staple and foundation of this country, however it is also massively broken and inefficient. I walk a fine line as a spouse to a NYS public school teacher as her pay and life time benefits are pretty off the charts vs others in the profession nationally.

that said, as a small business owner, I find my wife and her colleagues wildly out of touch with the current working reality most others are dealing with and every missing paperclip becomes a top line travesty in her school. On the flip side, the students are getting harder and harder to control and the parental support is just not there anymore, making it 10x harder to educate.

I'm sure its a debate we can go round and round on.

 

[Don Quixote]

I can’t imagine dealing with it either. My son’s school was built in the 1930s (still has fireplaces in the rooms), and they decided it was more cost effective to tear down and rebuild rather than renovate, and expanding the school’s footprint too to make more room for growing student population. There was a lot of public dialogue and they approved the new design plans about a year ago. Now a brouhaha because people are upset about the number of trees being cut down, saying that this information was hid from them during the public process. Even though they could have, you know, looked at the design plan pictures and seen the footprint of the new school extending where a number of trees were.

 

[Johnny Bing]

Currently serving a third term (4 years per term) on our school board I think you need to take some time and really think this one through especially if your wife is employed in the district. And I also urge her to really think this through because both of you will lose relationships over this decision. It is inevitable that you’re going to upset some people. Even if you think your not that kind of person, there are people today that don’t talk to me anymore because I made the right financial decision for our taxpayers. I have seen quite a bit in my time, everything from passing bond referendums, building new schools, COVID, budget cuts, etc.



When you say you “got an offer” to be a seat on the board, I am assuming due to the resignation of the previous board member the district is just going to appoint someone over holding an election. I’d assume your term will just be the remaining term of that person, you will want to know when that expires and when the new election will be for that seat. Is it worth it for 5 months if the term is up in November. That already is a slippery slope being handed the seat vs actually earning it in an election. Just be aware, they are already setting you up for some possible negative feedback.



The things I would consider or ask yourself:

1. Do you have thick skin? If you don’t, then I don’t think you should do this. Because you will lose friendships if you perform the job correctly. And what I mean by that is there is three buckets that I always look at in making decisions. You have the students, the staff, and the stakeholders (tax dollars). You need to weight all three of those buckets in your decisions. If you do that correctly, you will ultimately upset someone as it is near impossible to please everyone. And I will tell you right now, the expectations that teachers have is not always the right answer. I have seen firsthand the “wish list” in negotiations and it doesn’t make financial sense, but the response on why they should get it, is well it’s a nice carrot.
2. What is the board make up? Look at the last couple years minutes and is the board aligned in a path or vision or are you all over the place. Having a board that is aligned in a vision or path is important or it’s going to get frustrating spinning tires.
3. How is the district financially today and where is enrollment? Meaning is the district financially sound today or is enrollment decreasing and you are possibly looking at budget cuts on the horizon. How are the facilities and what is the vision of the district in the upcoming years? Do the buildings need maintenance and are the handling the size of your district or do you have a bond in the future? If you have a bond in the future you absolutely need to learn more about that? Can the district pass a bond without increasing the tax levy as property evaluations have increased, or will you have to increase the levy and what is that amount. Does your community support the district, or are you in an town where the school is viewed like an expense rather than an investment.
4. How is your Superintendent? And what I mean by that is, how are they to work with? Are they a hot head or the other extreme and a weak decision maker? Or are they in the middle. That will be critical in your success because believe it or not, the board isn’t involved in everything. The misconception in the community is the board apparently runs the district, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. So that day-to-day stuff that your Supt overseas will be reflective of the board in the public whether you like it or not. I’d also lump your Board President into this same line of thinking.
5. Remember, you only have one vote. If you want to get on and think you can be the Champion for the teachers and save the day, you have to realize if the majority of the board doesn’t support your idea, your looking at a long 4 years. Your name can be a Nay, but they are all going to lump you into the decisions the board makes.
6. If you do get on the board. Be active in the meetings. Don’t just rubber stamp everything the Supt and President put in front of you. Understand why we are doing something, or what process went into the recommendation. Don’t be afraid to ask that you table something if they were lazy.
7. Understand school finance. It will take you likely 2 to 3 years minimum to really understand school finance. Yes, that is years. Solvency ratio, spending authority, unspent balance, management fund, PPEL, SAVE, etc. There is a lot of laws and different “silos” of money and how it can be spent, but it is important for you to know all that to help explain your position in the community. Oddly enough, most of the school’s budget is decided by the State, the control of funds that you have is quite minimal if that helps you in any way.
8. The onboarding is short of horrible I would assume. Most people don’t have the time to teach you all this, you will need to learn and educate yourself. Don’t expect them to do this for you. You are looking at a lot of work to get you up to speed if you want to do the job correctly.
9. Lastly, I would say students, staff, and stakeholders need good people on boards. Don’t listen to the above comments about it’s a thankless job, or your crazy to do it, or what are you thinking. That is all obvious and one can say your daily work is a thankless job, but you still show up for a paycheck every day. Its easy to sit on the coach and just complain, anyone can do that. I look at it, as someone gave me an opportunity in education and there was someone in that board room that made decisions to allow me a building to learn. I look at it as a way to pay it forward if you can call it that. Those three buckets of people need good people on a board to help guide them through difficult decisions.

Sorry for the long response, the decision warrants some serious thought. Good luck in your decision and feel free to reach out if there is anything I can help with. You’re a good man for even considering it, but don’t just do it to feel good because they asked you. Think really hard about the above items. A board needs good people.

 

[glvsav37]

@Johnny Bing fantastic info. Great to hear from someone actually in a BOE seat. I want to digest this a few times...thank you.