It is difficult to imagine a position in the public sector that has a more profound impact on the future, or that is a better example of true volunteer citizen service, than that of school director. However, it is not easy work. Public education is complex, highly regulated, and the demands upon public schools continue to grow. School directors have an important responsibility to ensure that all perspectives are heard and that the policies enacted, budgets adopted and other decisions school boards make properly balance the needs of many constituencies while fulfilling the constitutional mandate to provide an education to all children.

 

Serving on a school board provides a unique opportunity to make a real difference in our community – not only for the students now in school but also for many others who will follow. Strong public schools are essential to a strong Pennsylvania! Research has shown that when boards of school directors demonstrate effective governance practices it has a positive effect on the academic performance of the students in their school systems. Governing effectively requires that school directors commit themselves to learning as much as they can about what can be a very complex and varied job.

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UD United Candidates are truly interested in devoting their time and talents to meeting this challenge!

 

 

What is a School Board?

A school board is a legislative body of citizens called school directors, who are elected locally by their fellow citizens and who serve as the governing body of each public school district. School districts in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are governmental units considered “political subdivisions.” Because school districts are created by statute, they and their governing bodies are regarded as “creatures of the General Assembly” (our state legislature), and as such they function in a sense as agents of the Commonwealth. Each board consists of nine members who serve four-year terms of office. Unlike most other elected officials, school directors receive no compensation for their work even though the position can require them to dedicate many hours to it.

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What is a School Board's Constitutional Mandate?

Public education is fundamentally a state responsibility. Public education enjoys special status under the state constitution, in which Article II, Section 14 states: “The General Assembly shall provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public education . . .” Article IX, Section 10 expressly recognizes that school districts have the status of a “unit of local government.”

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What is a School Board's Legislative Authority?

To carry out this mandate, the General Assembly first enacted laws creating a system of free public schools, organized into school districts governed by school boards, in 1834. These laws delegated broad powers to local school boards, conferring a great degree of autonomy in many aspects of their responsibilities. Over time, the General Assembly also enacted laws creating the State Board of Education, the Department of Education, the intermediate unit structure and other state agencies. These agencies administer the state laws and regulations that control various aspects of the state's public education system.

 

Pennsylvania’s school laws have evolved greatly since 1834, in a series of codifications known as the Common School Laws of 1854, replaced by the Public School Code of 1911 and later by the Public School Code of 1949. Amended hundreds of times since 1949, the Public School Code of 1949 currently is the primary compilation of statutes enacted by the legislature focused on public education, its programs, its operation, its staffing and its management. In addition, there are numerous state and federal statutes outside the School Code, rules and regulations of the State Board of Education, standards and guidelines of the Department of Education, regulations of the U.S. Department of Education, opinions and interpretations of the state attorney general and decisions of the state and federal courts that also regulate the operation of public schools.

 

Despite the broad powers delegated to school boards, the work of governing a public school system still must happen in a highly regulated environment, involving numerous mandates, restrictions and technicalities with which school boards must comply.

 

What are the School Board's Responsibilities?

School boards must deal with a wide array of issues involving taxes, labor, administration and general education policy. Key functions of school boards include that of employer, strategic planner, policymaker and tax levying authority.

 

The fiscal year for the majority of public school districts is July 1-June 30. Districts of the first class, first class A and second class may, by majority vote of the board, establish a fiscal year to coincide with the calendar year.

A school board's authority is exercised through the collective decisions of the entire board acting as a governing body. The law does not convey any power or authority upon individual school board members acting on their own merely by virtue of their office as a school director.

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As with other local government units, school boards are subject to the Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Act, which requires school boards to deliberate and make their decisions at meetings that are open to the public and advertised in advance. The Sunshine Act also mandates that in those meetings, school boards must allow citizens a reasonable opportunity to speak to the board about the matters the board is deciding.

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School boards are most effective when they concentrate their time and energy on using the authority delegated to them to govern at the strategic level, determining what it is the community’s schools should accomplish, enacting policies that implement those goals, hiring professional staff to accomplish them and allocating the resources necessary to make all of that happen.

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Working with the superintendent of schools to form the district’s leadership team of ten, a school board’s most important responsibilities for deliberation and decision-making are closely linked, forming a critical governance loop.

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• Planning – The board develops, approves and updates plans for the future of the district in a comprehensive planning process, studying enrollment projections, determining the need for facilities construction and renovation, reviewing educational programs, providing for proper staffing, developing and adopting budgets, setting standards, and obtaining the necessary financial or other resources, as well as engaging the community in that process. Through planning, the board determines the vision, mission and goals that determine the strategic direction of the school district.

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• Legislating – The policies adopted by a school board put planning into action, guiding not only the board’s own activities as well as the day-to-day operation of the school system, but also communicating standards and expectations for how the board’s vision will be achieved. This legislative role often is viewed as the most important aspect of how a school board governs.

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• Empowering professional staff – A board ensures that its policies and plans are implemented by recruiting and retaining a team of highly effective educators, administrators and supporting staff, empowering them with the proper resources and authority, and communicating standards and expectations.

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• Evaluating results – A school board must be continuously engaged in evaluating and analyzing the academic and operational performance of the district, including delivery of the educational program, student achievement, fiscal management, district facilities and staff and stakeholder feedback. Evaluating results drives further planning, which in turn drives policy.

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Although the law does not give individual powers to school directors beyond their voices and votes at school board meetings, they do have a number of important individual responsibilities in order to be effective in contributing to the board’s collective functions. These responsibilities are reflected in the Principles for Governance and Leadership that appear at the end of this Guide. Board members must be prepared to devote the time necessary to carry these out and to commit to ongoing learning about the issues and requirements involved.

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Some collective functions of school boards mandated by law:

• Adopt courses of study in consultation with the superintendent.

• Approve the school calendar.

• Adopt textbooks.

• Appoint a superintendent of schools and hire the necessary teachers and other employees.

• Engage in good faith collective bargaining with units of unionized employees.

• Adopt an annual budget.

• Levy taxes and appoint tax collectors under certain circumstances.

• Provide for the necessary school facilities.

• Adopt and enforce reasonable rules and regulations regarding school activities, publications and organizations.

• Ensure that specialized instruction and accommodations are provided for children with cognitive or physical disabilities.

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Some functions of school boards authorized by law but not mandated:

• Appoint assistant superintendents, upon recommendation of the superintendent.

• Purchase, receive or condemn land for school purposes as determined by the board.

• Sell unneeded lands and buildings.

• Make agreements with other schools or districts to provide for attendance and tuition of resident students in other schools or districts.

• Provide for food or milk for undernourished and economically disadvantaged children.

• Borrow funds within certain limitations.

• Authorize attendance of board members or of the superintendent or other employees at educational meetings, and pay necessary expenses.

• Provide for insurance relating to school buildings and property, personal liability for school employees, and accidents involving pupils or transportation.

• Suspend or expel pupils from school for misconduct, or refer them to the juvenile court system.

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Some actions prohibited by law:

• May not authorize construction of schools without prior approval of plans and specifications by the departments of Education and Labor and Industry.

• May not direct work to be done, purchase materials or enter into contracts that will cause sums budgeted for specific purposes to be exceeded.

• May not hire certain relatives of board members as a teacher, except by a majority vote of the board excluding the member who is related to the employer or applicant.

• Shall not demand, request or accept in any way a gift from a teacher or administrator.

• Shall not require religious or political tests of officers or employees.

• Shall not engage in illegal discrimination.

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What is the Pennsylvania School Boards Association?

 The Pennsylvania School Boards Association is a nonprofit statewide association of public school entities – school districts, intermediate units, career and technical centers and community colleges – pledged to the highest ideals of local lay leadership for the public schools of the commonwealth. Formed on the fundamental concept of local control of public education, PSBA is a strong advocate of the proposition that the local school board – where elected citizens make decisions that affect, influence and direct the education of the community’s youth – is the cornerstone of a free society.

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Founded in 1895, PSBA has a rich history as the first school boards association established in the United States. Membership is voluntary, but nearly 100% of eligible school entities renew their membership each year. To assist the boards of those entities in functioning at their best, PSBA offers members a wide array of educational and informational resources, as well policy, consulting and other services. When school board members take office in a member school district, they automatically become individual members of PSBA, with access to those resources and services.

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PSBA also advocates on behalf of school boards and the public interest in education in the General Assembly, the governor’s office, the State Board of Education, the Department of Education and other educational agencies and organizations. Strong school boards mean stronger schools and a stronger Pennsylvania!

 

What are a School Boards Principles of Governance and Leadership?

Among the most important resources created by PSBA are a model set of Principles for Governance and Leadership that are supplemented by benchmarks and self-evaluation resources. PSBA encourages the boards of all public school entities to adopt the Principles as a voluntary matter, tailoring them to local preferences if desired, and the vast majority of them have done so over the years.

However, while these standards have been written to reflect the goals, ideals and responsibilities inherent in the many laws and regulations with which school districts and their board must comply, the Principles themselves are not mandated by law. Nonetheless, they serve as a guide and roadmap that can lead a school board on the path to success in governing, and a standard against which school boards and their members should hold themselves accountable to each other and to the public.

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Source: www.psba.org