Understanding the Role and Responsibilities of a School Board

A school board—also known as the board of education—is a unit of local government that determines the policy, budget, leadership, and administration within a certain district's public schools. The members of a school board are elected or appointed citizens, which enables people who are passionate about education to participate in the public education process. The role of the school board—or board of education—is to make decisions about curriculum, school buildings and maintenance, annual budgets and more by consulting with parents, teachers, and the superintendent. In the US, school boards control roughly $600 billion of the national budget annually.

Individual board members are elected or appointed citizens of the local community, and are not required to have any prior experience in public service to run. They may be parents with an interest in their public school district, or citizens who are passionate about public education. Beyond that, there are a series of basic requirements that a person must meet in order to run for a position within their local school board:

• Voting registration: The candidate must be a registered voter.
• Residency: The candidate must be a resident of the district that the school board oversees.
• Education: The candidate must have at least a high school diploma or a certificate of equivalency.
• Criminal record: The candidate must not be a convicted felon.
• Employment: The candidate must not be a current government employee in that district or be related to a current employee.

An effective school board has a number of important responsibilities—from policymaking to leadership decisions—to ensure that their school is the best that it can be. Some of these responsibilities include:

• Policymaking: It is the school board’s responsibility to design and implement policy for their school district, such as creating performance markers for student achievement, and making sure a school’s procedures comply with federal laws and state laws. This is done in collaboration with their local communities, with the school board hosting regular board meetings that are open to the public where citizens can attend to ask questions.
  
• Hiring the Superintendent: A school’s Superintendent is the chief executive officer of the school board and oversees the implementation of the board's vision for district schools. The school board also hires the Assistant Superintendent, who supports the Superintendent in their role of managing educators and other school staff members.
• Approving budgets: The school board controls the annual budget allocated to their district from the state government and decides how to spend that money. They’re responsible for compiling and approving the annual budget and delegating funds towards school day operations.
• Approving curriculums: The school board is responsible for approving a school's curriculum, as well as deciding the textbooks that the district will use.
• Assessing compliance with policy standards: A school board is expected to monitor local school’s performance, measured against the board's performance markers, and report when schools fail to adhere to district policies.
• Setting the school calendar: The school board of a given district sets the calendar for the school year, including beginning and end dates. They also decide school closures in the event of inclement weather or other extenuating circumstances.
• Community advocacy: The school board is considered a leader in their community, and should advocate for the community's educational needs. To do that, the school board should engage with the staff, students, and parents from local elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as from the wider community.

If you meet the requirements for running for your local school board, you can choose to campaign for the position through a local election. Some states require prospective new board members to file a petition and gather signatures before running for election, but many do not. Here are a few tips if you’re considering running for your local school board:

1. 1. Research your local school district. Start by getting to know your school district inside and out. Gather information about the student population, the community, and its schools.
2. 2. Engage with the community. As a school board member, you’re serving the local community—specifically, the parents and students of your school district. Engage with them to get a sense of what’s working and not working for them in the local school system.
3. 3. Identify the changes you want to make. The cornerstone of your campaign for the school board might be the various ways that you can positively impact the students’ lives with your policy-making decisions and leadership. Develop a campaign platform with clear goals that you plan to achieve if you’re elected to the school board.
4. 4. Motivate people to vote. Make sure people sense your passion for making positive change within your local school system. Engage with people, host events, and find ways to stand out from the other candidates.

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