should I run for school board?

Parent Cafe
1

<p>I admit I already know the answer to this. No or should I say * hellno*.( with a southern accent like the federal prosecutor
in * Bones*. ;)</p>

<p>A couple people who have been regularly involved as community advocates had approached me recently- even offering to help with funds ( filing date is today) but while I had briefly thought about it in the past- I really hadn’t this time.</p>

<p>Usually people who run have other money- they are attorneys or investment advisors , retired or just plain nuts. So far, I don’t fit into any of those categories.</p>

<p>Since the board meeting I attended earlier this week ran late ( after starting at 6pm) and still had at least 5 or six items on the agenda when I left at 11 pm, it did not make it an attractive proposition.</p>

<p>However, I admit I am committed to community involvement ( I just prefer to see results from my work), and I have a different perspective than some- but I hate photographs, I don’t quote well & tend to forget journalist acquaintances are * journalists* </p>

<p>But considering the choices for our upcoming mayoral race- I wish perhaps I had elected to throw my hat in that ring.</p>

<p>Has anyone ever run for an office ( however small) ?
How did you feel about it afterwards?</p>

2

<p>You didn’t mention if this is a big or small town and how functional/dysfunctional the school district is. I’d consider it if I was in a small town that supported schools and wasn’t regularly in the news for one atrocity or another. If I had to regularly attend school board meetings in my city, let alone, serve on the board, I’d start wondering if life was worth living.</p>

3

<p>I wish you would emeraldkity4.</p>

<p>You would be a good advocate for better schools.</p>

4

<p>My sister has served on her school board and found it to be a rewarding experience. She worked full-time and still managed to serve on committees, as was expected. It is a time-consuming job and you do get lots of phone calls from ‘concerned’ parents; but she, after serving 2 four-year terms, believes that she grew personally and contributed to her community in a positive manner. Advocating for strong schools became a passion for her.</p>

<p>She found that some colleagues on her board worked for companies/businesses that had no problem granting employees time to participate in various community service ventures. Those people were able to visit schools, etc during the school day. That was not an option for her, so most of her volunteer time was done after work hours.</p>

<p>It was important to her that she not be viewed as having a personal agenda. So, she waited until her kids were out of school to do her thing. In her community, it’s commonplace to serve on the board while one’s kids are still students and try to manipulate things to one’s advantage! She felt that her kids needed to make it on their own, if you know what I mean~ </p>

<p>I am confident that she would encourage you to run for the school board and, if elected, enjoy your term of office.</p>

5

<p>In Pa. the school board is a very political beast. You are put up to run by the party in charge and if you win they expect you to be their puppet. It is extremely time consuming. It is also very polarizing. You will make new “friends” and new enemies.</p>

<p>If it is like this in your town be sure you are emotionally up to the task. It is always refreshing when someone new gets in and then acts independently of the party. They have a very difficult time of it though.</p>

6

<p>*You didn’t mention if this is a big or small town and how functional/dysfunctional the school district is.</p>

<p>If I had to regularly attend school board meetings in my city, let alone, serve on the board, I’d start wondering if life was worth living.*</p>

<p>I can see that :wink: Im in Seattle
dysfunctional.
but I suppose it could always be worse.
I am not really interested in running now- especially since the guy in my district is also president of the board and isn’t really doing that bad of a job IMO. I would be running against him-
I have a feeling that by the end of his next term he will be pretty done ( and we should have a new superintendent by then- we go through them about every three years- each one makes the last one look good, but we still pay them about $100,000 more than the governor- )</p>

7

<p>Sounds like you should wait until he retires.</p>

<p>I’ve worked closely with members of our school board on school-related issues. They take a lot of abuse, even in a small town. You have to have a thick skin. You would not believe what some people will say, especially those who seem to think that the norms of right wing talk radio model how we should treat each other.</p>

8

<p>My husband served on school boards in 2 different towns in which we lived. He also served as VP and President at various times on both those boards.</p>

<p>The first town was very political as Sax was saying. He was supposed to be their puppet and when he refused they were not happy and there were repercussions. The second town was really not political, but there are always different factions. Contract negotiations started to become contentious and could result in some “snubbing”. Some personnel matters created some animosity, but the board cannot state their reasons for doing what they did because it is a “personnel matter” which is confidential. (The best explanation I ever heard to an audience was when a board member explained “if you knew what we knew, you would have done the same thing.”) Budgets became a problem with residents supporting the teachers and their requests in negotiations, but blasting the board for raising their taxes. Sorry, guys, you can’t have it both ways! My husband has been screamed at over the telephone and called a racist (by an Italian that they had not selected to fill an empty board seat. Mind you the superintendant they had just hired was Italian, and I never knew Italian was a race!) </p>

<p>So all in all, he was glad he served, but was very glad when he chose to be done. It can be rewarding, or it can be thankless. He experienced both. He definitely made a difference, but it was tough going at times.</p>

<p>Good luck if you decide to run - we need more good people on boards of education!</p>

9

<p>Such a thankless job! Taking a lot of abuse, late night meetings etc. Do you want to do that to yourself? Around here people are always resigning from the School Board who represent their town, an elected position, of course. Then they have to find a replacement, always an issue. I think they find out what it is like after they get elected & then they just want out! Life is too short!</p>

10

<p>Talk to the president of the board…tell him that you are considering it. Get his take on the situation. If he’s thinking about not running again, you could get his endorsement and he could be your mentor. He may want to leave now but only if he finds someone he could support. </p>

<p>Having non-political people on a school board is vital to having responsive, intelligent government. Remember also what Plato said. “One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.”</p>

11

<p>I’ve thought about it. In my small school district I know most of the members of the school board and have attended many school board meetings. The best members are ones that listen and question and don’t just rubber stamp everything. I also like it when there are members that have had a few kids go through so their experience is a little broader. That is, instead of having just a band student, or just a special needs child, they have experienced the highlights and problems of different students. </p>

<p>If you think you can make a difference, go for it!</p>

12

<p>You would not believe what some people will say, especially those who seem to think that the norms of right wing talk radio model how we should treat each other.</p>

<p>This is why I want to wait.
My youngest will be starting college in the fall ( once she returns from her current global adventure)</p>

<p>Since I have a feeling the four years attending college in the US ( if that is her plan), will be the longest she will be within 1000 miles of me , I want to have the flexibility to see her and her sister while she is also in the general area.</p>

<p>I’m also still in school & have been starting to take some small jobs ( landscaping type things) which are flexible- but I want to continue to do that- we need the money , plus I like it. ( sitting in meetings is why I didn’t last too long in the business world- lol)</p>

<p>The people that are supporting me- are concerned if no one runs against him, that certain issues will not be raised, but I wouldn’t want to make anything but a serious effort & past experience has taught me that when you do something just for " the experience", to be prepared if you actually land the position. :o </p>

<p>I would be interesting I suppose. I have alot of aspergery tendencies & don’t make small talk, take most things literally and don’t mince words.
I care about people- I am stubborn & I am not blinded by Bull****.
But I can’t stand Powerpoints, I lose focus quickly in long discussions of financial details :stuck_out_tongue: & since I don’t have any hidden agendas, I find it hard to keep track of those that do.</p>

<p>We are starting to get some good effective people on the board. A close acquaintance is the longest standing member of the board ( although I don’t think she ever sleeps and that is not a life I am interested in), and while she had formerly been a minority in resisting backroom decisions, now she often has support from at least a few other members.
But in Seattle the district is so frustrating that I cannot stand it.
For instance they recently eliminated the alternative school that D attended for 6 years.
It has been around for about 25 years, and in the current building for two decades.
However the district has had their eye on the building for a while ( which the parent group had raised money to improve) and they needed the seats in that area of the city.</p>

<p>Before registration for next year- the district promised to put a bright shiny K-8 program in the building. Now, after parents have already made their choices, the district has changed their story- and it isn’t clear what sort of program will be started, what grades will be served or how many students will be assigned there.
The only thing that is sure ( for now) , is the assigned principal ( who has a good reputation).</p>

<p>I would be afraid I would ask the superintendent during a public meeting , why she treats the public like they are idiots ( in other words does she think being a hardass is going to get us to think she is effective? )</p>

<p>However- this has gotten me to think about this seriously- while the filing date for this election is this afternoon, I may start talking to others in the community who would support me in the future. I have been volunteering in the schools for a while, and although I am caucasian, I have some supporters in the minority communities who I know would be interested to help. I am not a political person- but I know some education journalists & others who are more involved in politics ( one who was on the board himself after he retired) & they should be able to give me nasty details that could convince me one way or the other.
( not that I see this as a stepping stone in any way- that may be true in some areas- but in Seattle there isn’t any crossover between school board and other local positions, that I am aware of- and interestingly, past school board members- rarely even attend local meetings- I guess they got burned out)</p>

13

<p>As mimk6 and sax astutely observed, if the school district is either dysfunctional or political then the experience will be stressful. Ours is both dysfunctional AND political. Perhaps a quarter of school board members join with the hope of improving public education. Half are political choices, and the remainder join to get special consideration for their children. (The latter invariably vote with the politically-selected members.)</p>

14

<p>EK, It sounds like your heart is in the right place but being able to speak without putting people on the defensive is a needed skill for a school board member. If you asked the Superintendent, why she treats the public like they are idiots, how do you think she would answer? If you can’t pay attention in long discussions, how well would you be able to form an educated vote? There was one member of our school board that I think had an attention problem and would ask very basic (sometimes embarrassingly basic) questions about an agenda item after it had been discussed ad nauseam. I found it irritating - I didn’t really think of it as a learning problem, I just wanted the discussion to move on.</p>

<p>Sometimes just asking the questions as an attendee can effect policy or at least have the board members question their stance or belief in public support.</p>

<p>I don’t want to discourage you to run for the school board if you want to, but I’m not sure if you wouldn’t be more effective in another capacity.</p>

15

<p>Those are the same questions I have kathie- without much short term memory it is hard to keep all the facts at hand, which would be critical for a vote.
However- the board members do have a written copy of the presentations- ( which the public doesn’t always get to see) & that would help- because I am good at skimming for content.</p>

<p>I don’t really think I would get into a screaming match with the supe- but my eyes glaze over the third time I hear " pedagogy" in a sentence.</p>

<p>I think less time and money should be spent on outside consultants and teacher training and more time on actually talking to the teachers in the classrooms.
I think they should spend more time getting veteran teachers to pair up with new teachers. I really worry what is going to happen next year.
This year they had to lay off hundreds of young teachers, because the expected retirements didn’t happen.
Last year about 400 teachers retired- this year only 40 did. The suggested reason is the economy and also that the teachers received a large raise last year. (their pension is based on their highest two years of salary) So if next year- a large group retires , we will have to go out and rehire teachers to replace them. Unfortunately, I expect the really good ones, will have found other work in the meantime.</p>

<p>I would hope to work with the union- to develop some sort of retention program that relys on performance, not only seniority. ( I worry about the upcoming teacher negotiations- the supe comes from a district that didn’t have teacher unions & she has already sent registered letters to teachers that are illegal according to their current contract)</p>

<p>Not the time to be on the board- thats for sure.
( but maybe I can get the ear of a few with the Gates foundation-although I might tell Melinda that it seems petty not to let her kids have an ipod like their friends)</p>

<p>What I would really like to push for is opportunities like my D had at school- the year long course she had that used technology as a bridge to other countries/cultures changed her life. ( it was canceled by the district)</p>

<p>Listening to long excuses to how they are " aligning" high school science curriculum across the district- but that it is in " flux" because state standards are still being set and they don’t have clear goals but will have them by 2012 ( and why they feel it is more important that all schools are equally in the dark rather than allowing the ones who had been successful with their own science curriculums to continue until the district figures out what to do), makes me want to throw an Eloise style tantrum.</p>

<p>One of the biggest issues I feel in the district is that there is economic and racial disparity in achievement especially in science and math. However- I do not see that as having a foundation completely in the classroom, but when parents can afford to either help their children at home or find tutors, those kids do better. More teacher workshops to make the curriculum more " inclusive" are not showing results.
Teachers or parents who supplement the district curriculum are what makes the difference IMO.
That is partially cultural- many parents aren’t prepared or expect that if their child goes to school everyday- that they are still going to need have the gaps filled at home & often teachers also aren’t prepared to supplement the curriculum. That takes time, resources and experience to even see that it is needed.</p>

<p>However- a member of the Polynesian community who is a recently retiring teacher is planning on running & I may try and work with her on establishing more supports for families to network and share resources ( more than she has already has been , I mean)</p>

16

<p>The biggest change in our school system each year are the banners that hang over the main entrance doors of each school. This year’s slogan is “Believing is Achieving.”</p>

17

<p>Yes, EK, you should run.</p>

18

<p>I see it’s too late, but yes, EK, you should run for the school board. They need you.</p>

19

<p>I only read the title but my first reaction was - Yes! I think you should run!</p>