WSBA Presents Educational Program for School Board Candidates

On Tuesday, Sept. 13, Brian Farmer, executive director of the Wyoming School Board Association presented a program. “Education Opportunities About being a School Board Trustee.” Shane Rader, SCSD#2 trustee and the WSBA area 7 director said he organized the program due in part to the large pool of school board candidates this year.

In Sheridan and Johnson Counties there are 33 candidates for running for the open seats on JCSD#1, and Sheridan County School Districts #1, 2, and 3. There are 15 candidates running for the four seats in SCSD#2; eight candidates running for the two seats in SCSD#1; three running for the two seats at SCSD#3; and seven running for the four seats in JCSD#1.

Of these candidates, 13 running for SCSD#2 seats; four from SCSD#1 and one from SCSD#3 attended Tuesday night’s program.

In his introduction Farmer said that one purpose of the school boards is to govern.

In his presentation, Farmer said that in America education is a civil right and the public education is American’s most vital institution.

School boards provide local control over public education. He added that the boards have a responsibility to all of the citizens in their community to “prepare young people to live productive lives.”

He talked about the key work of school boards, and making student achievement their primary focus. Key work of school boards is a data-drive framework that aims to help boards achieve excellence in school governance.

Effective school boards have a clear vision, with high exceptions for quality teaching and learning to support strong student outcomes. They establish clear and specific goals for the district.

There is also accountability, Farmer said. True accountability depends on open decision making, community engagement and support, and being receptive to new ideas and constructive criticism.

Some questions boards should ask are: How do we ensure our policy is data and researched base? How do we recognize and rewards students and teachers who meet expectations? How are achievement measures and results reported to parents, teachers and the public?

The school boards also set policy for the districts.

“Policy permeates and dominates all aspects of school operations. It also presents the most powerful lever for the exercise of leadership,” one of the slides stated. Through policy, school board establish a set of guidelines able to transform vision into reality.

Community leadership is what the school board offers to the school. Community leadership builds public support and that is vital to implementation of the boards vision. School board meetings are the communities window to the school system.

School boards work closely with superintendents of the schools. Effective school boards lead as a united team with the superintendent, each in their respective roles with strong collaboration and mutual trust. It is the most important relationship a school board must established.

Farmer said that candidates running for school board should acquire basic knowledge and understanding of the local district, including: Purpose, what is the district trying to accomplish? Organization, who does what?; Finance, the income and expenses in the district, where is the money being spent?; Governance, state law and local board policies, and Board Procedures, how business is conducted. He said that a candidate should also meet with the superintendents to learn about the district.

School board trustees receive no pay, they donate their time to the school district.

This program will be presented again on Sept. 28 at the Johnson County School District 1 office at 6 p.m. Everyone welcome.