"Education is the relationship business," says Steve Schroeder, senior board member of the Sun Prairie Area School District in Wisconsin. He recommends applying this principle to school board leadership. In part one of this series, Schroeder and Superintendent Brad Saron shared their school board's governance model and how the framework has helped them achieve unity in creating equitable opportunities for students. Now it's time to address an issue that impacts school board relations nationwide: civility within the board. "Board members have to work just as hard at building the rapport with each other," Schroeder contends. It's also not a country club, he adds. Schroeder says he didn't join the board to make friends, but to commit to the mission of the district to "move the needle for kids."

Addressing controversial topics

Too often, school boards discuss every issue except the needs of their students. For instance, they can get sidetracked by the disagreements they have with each other. "At the end of the day, it's about kids," says Schroeder. "How do we continue to stay grounded?" Nearly a decade ago, Saron called for a "paradigm shift," arguing that the board needed to focus less on adult problems and more on student-oriented issues. For example, in recent years, political disagreements have become talking points among board members and their communities. "More than ever before, the board's responsibility is to be the best functioning team in the district," says Saron. "That allows us to see past the day-to-day controversies that might be obstacles for us to focus on what kids need in order to unlock their potential."

Discussing issues unrelated to kids also takes away the time and energy needed to tackle barriers to academic success, Schroeder adds. But in Sun Prairie, the superintendent holds himself accountable for the academic trajectories of every student.

When the school board relies on policy

If you refer to part one of this series, you'll recall that Sun Prairie's governance model reads, "He or she who makes the decision is accountable for the result." In many districts, however, controversial decisions are often approached like a game of hot potato, says Schroeder. "The framework that we have makes it very clear whose decision it is," adds Schroeder. "There's no second guessing." For example, during the pandemic, the board never voted on masking, virtual schooling or when students and staff should return. Why? Because the board's policy states that day-to-day decisions should be made by the superintendent. At a time when ideological passions were running high, the board remained true to its governance model. "We were able to go to our policies and figure out who makes the decision," says Schroeder. "It would've been easier for Brad to pass those decisions along to the board, but he didn't because we had very clear policies delineating what his role was versus ours." Ultimately, board relations rely on trust and learning to disagree without being disagreeable, Schroeder contends. "We should be debating topics and the future of public education in our school district, but that doesn't mean that we can't do it without civility," says Schroeder. "There's a human connection piece to all of this that I think school board members might sometimes forget."

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How to sync success with your school board, part two

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