8 Great Tips for Effective School Boards

Most private schools and even a few public ones, have some form of shared governance to assist principals and pastors with complex responsibility of leading their respective communities.  Typically school boards and parish councils provide valuable expertise and counsel in matter of mission statement formation, financial development, and strategic planning,  But sometimes these experts get off track and loose their sense of purpose and direction.  The following eight tips come from our experience working with boards and councils over the past several years.

1	Be Prepared Most board and council activity takes place at meetings, whether sub- committees or whole group.  A well-run meeting which has an agenda and meaningful reports gives focus and direction to members.  They quickly see their time is a valued and advice needed.  The agenda should be based on issues/ activities which are within the jurisdiction of the board/council's domain.
2	Keep Focused Refer to you board charter or constitution to determine its proper role.  First and foremost, boards are advisory, not legislative. Their advisory role should focus on several key areas including: development of a strategic plan, review of financial status, development of long term financial security and the recommendation of policies and programs that serve to fulfill the mission of the school and /or parish.  Each meeting agenda should focus on one or more of these responsibilities.
3	Lead with Action Working with hundreds of board and council members over the years, we have learned that they both want and need direction.   It is the responsibility of administration to provide these "volunteer experts" with appropriate board activities such as: creating or clarifying the mission statement, formation of the strategic plan, developing objectives to achieve the goals and the long range plan, and evaluating the performance of the board/council.
4	Follow-Through One of the more common problems with boards and councils is a failure to follow-through This occurs when members or staff consider a meeting and end to itself.  Before you adjourn, make sure everybody knows who is to take the next step for action and projects.   This information is recorded in the minutes and becomes the reference point for future discussion. G&A has found that mailing board minutes and agenda to member two weeks in advance of the meeting will prompt action in preparation for the upcoming meeting.
5	Be Realistic Often blind ambition gets in the way of realistic outcomes. Board members are typically very busy people and have many demands on their time.  Begin each year with realistic goals for your board.  Resist the temptation to try to do too much.  It is far better to finish a few worthwhile projects , than to experience the letdown that comes from unmet goals.
6	Swim Together The board/council, pastor and principal must swim together if they are to be effective.  This will create a win-win relationship where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.  Fundamental to swimming together is decision-making by consensus.   Consensus means keeping the conversation on an issue alive until each person has had the opportunity to understand the issue and the consequences of the  proposed decision.  The presider at meeting must respect all opinions and facilitate mutual acceptance of the final outcome.
7	Develop Your Board Pre-service new members to make sure your board/council has the necessary skills to participate in shared governance.  Each meeting agenda should include fifteen minutes of in-service to provide on-going formation.  At the beginning of each academic year set aside an extended period of time for the renewal of purpose of shared governance.   There should be a new member orientation process, and new members should be given a grace period before thy are given any "heavy assuagements".
8	Return to Mission Have your hear the expression: "He climbed the ladder of success only to find it was leaning against the wrong wall." Put another way unless your plan of action is based on your mission you may end up at the wrong place.  All decision-making should be mission-driven.  Whether recommending policy, setting goals and objectives or developing a financial plan, board and council members need to return to the mission statement for direction.  Policy and action planning must be in concert with the mission.