Because of their local influence, school boards sometimes become a hotbed where national and social issues play out.
“Growing demands on schools, rapid advancements in technology, political extremism, and well-coordinated attacks on public education are now further testing the capacity, legitimacy, and purpose of these democratic institutions,” according to a September report published by the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education. “An increase in recall elections, uncontested races, and board turnover are all manifestations of the current strains on boards.”
California School Boards: Navigating Democracy in Divided Times provides a glimpse at how trustees see their role, how they are handling recent and ongoing periods of contention as well as what is needed to “ensure the promise of robust, locally governed public education systems.”
The report is based on a study of 10 diverse California-based school board members who served in 2023–24.
Per CSBA’s governance resources which are cited in the report, some of the primary responsibilities of trustees include setting direction for the community’s schools, establishing an effective and efficient structure for the school district, creating a supportive environment, ensuring accountability to the public and providing community leadership as advocates for children, the school district and public schools.
Study participants’ answers about the role of school boards aligned with the aforementioned duties with additions including community engagement (mostly via board meetings), hiring and firing superintendents, supporting superintendents and district staff, fiduciary duties, labor relations and curricular and academic decisions.
“A majority of board members also discussed the growing importance of managing crises and public relations, insulating the district from outside political pressures, following the law to avoid litigation, and implementing non-academic state legislation,” the report states. “Although none of these are completely outside of the historical purview of school boards, participants explained that these newer board responsibilities often overshadowed other components of the board’s role, and in some cases, became the primary role.”
However, newer expectations such as setting high goals for the district and supporting students and families by hearing their concerns and bringing them to staff are more welcome additions.
Trustees are expected to have an understanding of required functions associated with the job, but as individuals, some mentioned the benefits of having board members with different areas of expertise “and how they often took on informal roles related to their professional expertise (e.g., an accountant reviewing the budget or a lawyer focusing on the legal responsibilities),” according to the report.
The four main ways study participants described their role on the board were as a changemaker, champion, rule follower and/or representative — labels that are not mutually exclusive.
Challenges and change
Seven primary challenges that board members are facing emerged during the study and include:
- Navigating complex relationships
- Extensive time burdens
- Training and capacity
- Data use and evaluation
- Shifting technologies
- Politics
- Policy and structural constraints
Further explanation and strategies to address these hardships are included in the report, which also has suggestions for improving school board governance related to supports for board members, investing in superintendents and leadership teams, and state policies and incentives.
Some recommendations for supporting trustees included developing political and civic leadership skills, relationship-building, engaging with technology, using data and promoting resilience and well-being.
“The needs of school board members (SBMs) vary greatly based on their context and background,” according to the report. “Many SBMs in smaller and rural districts, for example, lacked the same access to support as those from larger districts. Further, SBM with backgrounds in education faced a very different set of challenges than those who did not. As our research showed, SBMs come to this position with varying understandings of their role and purpose … We do not suggest a one-size-fits-all approach, but instead recommend supports tailored to the specific needs and orientations of SBMs.”
Learn more in the report.
CSBA Senior Director of Research and Education Policy Development Mary Gardner Briggs is recognized in the report for providing feedback on prior drafts.
