The Role of School Board, A Letter to the Gazette

An Open Letter to the Croton Community,

Last Thursday night was my first open candidate’s discussion at the Croton Colonial Diner. I had the pleasure to be joined by two ladies with equal passion for the school district, but with very different levels of experience. One was an educator who was the wife of a former board member, the other a singer-song writer who just moved to the district partly for our schools.

Discussion topics included educational priorities, how the district could best meet the educational needs of all children, the importance of providing a wealth of diverse activities as enrichment for children, funding, and what we’d like to see in a new superintendent. We also focused on what was is the actual role of a school board member.

Through my years of working with not-for-profits (the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Museum of Modern Art and the Croton Cortlandt Center for the Arts) I am well versed with the relationship of boards to staff, but a school board is its own unique animal. I think it is very important to have a good understanding of the role as you decide which candidates to support.

The New York State School Board Association printed the following in a pamphlet for prospective members: “What does a board member do? With children always their ultimate focus, school board members act officially only at the board table, working with other board members to accomplish the following: Create a shared vision; set student performance standards; oversee development of assessment programs based on those standards; account for student achievement results; adopt the annual budget, aligning district resources to improve achievement; create a healthy environment for work and learning; build strategic partnerships; sustain the district’s progress through continuous improvement; adopt and maintain current policies in written format; hire and evaluate the superintendent; ratify collective bargaining agreements; maintain strong ethical standards.”

In truth the board is an oversight committee of elected community representatives that exists to make sure the superintendent has what is needed to efficiently run schools in support of the district’s children and in synch with the community’s vision. It is the superintendent who develops the curriculum and the staff and is responsible for day-to-day operations.

While it is interesting to know the personal visions of school board candidates in regard to curriculum – they are not applicable to the job. It also must be remembered that no individual board member wields personal power. Each must work in concert with the full board to achieve any goal – majority rules -- so it is counterproductive to support a particular agenda that does not support the big picture for all children. A strong board member is one who can build consensus in support of the overall community goals for the schools.

I will be meeting again at the Croton Colonial Diner from 7:30 – 8:30 and hope you will join me. As someone who seeks to represent the community, I would like to hear as many perspectives a possible. It is my understanding that some of the other candidates may be attending as well. If you have any questions or comments please e-mail me at andreafurey@msn.com, call me at 914-271-7640 or visit my blog: andreafureyforschoolboard.blogspot.com.

Sincerely, Andrea Furey