The Elements of a High Functioning Public Charter School Board

The Elements of a High Functioning Public Charter School Board

Public charter schools are a unique entity within the realm of public education. They are tuition-free, tax-supported public schools that rely on production-based outcomes. In exchange for autonomy over their own governance and academic plans, public charter schools face a strict accountability model which can lead to the revocation of a charter in less than a three year time span. One main difference between public charter schools and traditional public schools can be found in the governance structure. A charter school is a hybrid model within the public education sector because they are taxpayer funded schools. However, unlike traditional public schools, they are governed and operated by the board of a private non-profit corporation. Gary Gruber (1999), a nationally known consultant for public charter schools, said, No other singular variable is more important for the health and vitality of a school than the way it is governed. Every failure of a charter school can be traced back, in some form or fashion, to the board that governs the school. Charter school boards have many responsibilities and fiscal oversight of the school is a major charge of each charter s governing board. Since financial oversight is a critical responsibility of charter school board members, the failure of schools due to financial deficiency is directly related to governance as well. The Center for Education Reform, a charter school advocacy organization, found that 41 percent of U.S. charter schools closed as a result of financial deficiencies, 27 percent closed because of mismanagement, and 14 percent closed because of students' poor academic performance (Allen et al., 2009). Overall, charter schools are closed significantly more frequently due to board actions or misacting than because of a lack of student performance. The information included in this article is not meant to represent legal advice or lessen the need for charter school leaders to seek legal counsel. The purpose is to simply improve the governance practices of charter school boards by disseminating effective elements and features of a high functioning public charter school board. Strong Governance Structure Charter school board members are recruited or elected volunteers that are responsible for governing multi-million dollar public enterprises and the education of public school children.

Recruiting highly engaged board members with specific skill-sets and professional backgrounds are vital to the success of the public charter school. To build a highly functioning and sustainable organization, charter school board members must be effective in communicating the school s mission and vision; planning for the future; setting sound policy; modeling professionalism; overseeing finances, program evaluation, building sustainable relationships with the community; amongst other key operational aspects (NACSA, 2007). Before a public charter school opens, the founding members should define how the initial members of the founding board will be selected, how subsequent members will be added, and the length of term, board size, and expectations for conduct. Boards should also delineate in writing any conflict of interest guidelines, individual roles and responsibilities, emergency protocols, procedures for meetings, workshops, committees or subcommittees, and board evaluation. Founding board members should also establish policies for handling conflict and working with board members who are no longer productive or are struggling to keep their commitment. Board member agreements contain these types of expectations and are signed by all seated board members on an annual basis. These decisions should be written into the bylaws of the school and/or board policy manual. Board members should also develop orientation and professional development plans to warrant the board s professional growth. Diversity is the hallmark of an effective charter school board. Effective boards benefit from having members with varied expertise in areas such as education, human resource management, personnel management, finance, law, facility management, marketing, strategic planning, or fundraising. The board should also demonstrate diversity in the members age, perspective, ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic background. An additional benefit is the recruitment of individuals with connections to the community, local businesses, and political leaders. A board should be large enough to provide good oversight for school committees; however, a very large board can be counterproductive. The board should establish policies for managing school emergencies before they occur. These policies should at minimum meet state and federal laws and focus on school operations, finance and business, school governance, human resources, student safety, student discipline, admissions, and student records. Policies should indicate what should be done, whereas procedures indicate how something should be done. In general, the board writes and adopts policies and the lead administrator or the leadership team of the public charter school creates procedures that provide direction to the staff in implementing the school s goals. These policies should be reviewed at least annually by the board members and school leadership team.

High functioning charter school boards habitually evaluate their success. Examples of evaluations include self-assessment, assessment from parents, staff, administration, and even students regarding the board s progress in meeting the goals of the adopted strategic plan. Some boards may wish to include individual board member self-evaluations regarding their contribution and expectations. The board should also evaluate the effectiveness of its standing committees and subcommittees. Notable Best Practice: Recruitment of board members possessing various skill-sets and backgrounds and large enough to oversee multiple committees and bring public credibility. School Mission Concentrated When recruiting board members it is critical that the members share an unwavering belief in the school s mission. A highly functioning charter school board is committed to promoting the mission and vision of the school as these statements define the institution s goals and philosophy and are foundational to the school s culture and direction. Every decision made by the board must be directly tied to furthering and advancing the school s approved mission. Board members should be able to clearly communicate in public the mission and vision of the school, have a thorough understanding of the education plan, and be able to describe how the school is working toward meeting set objectives. They should also regularly use the school s mission and vision as guiding documents in regards to planning, budgeting, marketing, evaluation, and other operational planning. By clearly communicating the mission and vision and conscientiously using it to guide decision making, board members provide a model for teachers and school leaders as they incorporate the school s philosophy and goals into their classrooms. Notable Best Practice: Every board member has clear understanding of the charter promises through periodic review to ensure alignment in all organizational decisions regarding planning and operations. Focused on Results Highly functioning charter school boards have a firm understanding of the school s shortand long-term goals as well as a clear, consistent way to measure them (Dehoff, 2008). These boards develop a strategic long-term plan with short-term benchmarks to ensure the school stays on a path toward fulfilling its mission and vision. While it is the responsibility of the administrator to manage the day-to-day operations, the board establishes the school s direction in its long-term

strategic plan. School goals should cover, at minimum, student achievement, professional development for the board, administration and staff, facility development or improvements, financial stability, as well as external (parents, authorizer, community) and internal (staff and board) relationships (Dehoff, 2008). The strategic planning process articulates the mission and vision into clear goals and procedures that can be followed by the board, staff, parents, and other stakeholders. Public charter schools are production-based organizations that rely on academic results as a strong marketing tool. High functioning boards take ultimate responsibility for the learning of all students. This does not mean board members teach classes, or evaluate teachers. Effective boards recruit and supervise a lead administrator who can meet the school s mission and develop and define the roadmap for academic rigor. In addition, high functioning boards ask for regular progress reports on current student academic measures, education program effectiveness, teacher and staff development, and systems and procedures to ensure academic growth. Strong academic results can lead to an overwhelming demand for student enrollment in a public charter school. Likewise, poor student performance can lead to attrition. Since public charter schools are funded per pupil, enrollment growth or decline has obvious implications for the financial management of the school. The full board is responsible for financial oversight of the public charter school. It is their fiduciary responsibility of all board members to understand and approve the annual budget, review monthly financial statements, assure adequate financial resources, and encourage the finance committee to educate fully all board members with respect to the organizations budget (Cornell-Feist, 2006). The board should create a finance committee, led by the treasurer, to coordinate the board s role in finances. This includes recommending policies to the board and monitoring their implementation. Notable Best Practice: Develop a clear plan that includes a schedule for board review to conduct oversight of the academic programs, strategic plan and fiscal vitality. Clear Roles and Responsibilities Whether the board is comprised of parents, educators, community volunteers, or other individuals, proper delineation of roles is essential. Board members who do not have a clearly definable role may, on their own, create a personal role that may not fit the best interest of the school. This confusion over roles can create resentment amongst members; encourage mediocrity, lead to frustration, loss of trust, and poor governance. To help board members focus on long- term planning and resist the tendency to micromanage, charter school boards should develop clear governing roles and responsibilities for all charter school board members and review them annually.

The amount of time it takes to be an effective charter school board member is often underestimated. Typically a charter school board member needs to be able to devote eight to ten hours a month to the school when it is up and running and even more during the founding phase (Carpenter, 2011). Additional roles and responsibilities include ensuring the school abides by the State Board of Education approved charter application. The charter school s original application is binding due to the charter agreement. The board must hire, supervise, and evaluate the charter school lead administrator. The lead administrator is the only employee that is directly supervised and evaluated by the board. However, the board formally approves every personnel decision through majority vote and records in its minutes the decisions to hire or terminate staff members. While the personnel discussions typically occur in closed session, the vote must occur in public even for negative personnel actions. High functioning charter school boards make sure that the public charter school abides by the state laws for Charter Schools through strong governance practices. The laws include specific requirements for: teacher licensure, student admissions, charter renewal, background checks for employees, and criminal history checks through the State Bureau for Investigation for all personnel and board members responsible for fiscal management. In addition, charter school board meetings are subject to the Open Meetings Laws. All gatherings to take action, hold a hearing, deliberate or otherwise transact the business of the body must be open to the public (Lawrence, 2006). Most importantly, the board members should continue to strive for and do everything possible to maintain a relationship of trust between the board and the lead administrator. No trust and no unity can lead to little or no organizational progress. If you are not moving forward, then you are moving backwards in this ever-changing and fast-paced global society. Notable Best Practice: Board developed descriptions of roles and responsibilities for all board members, lead administrator, teachers, staff, students and stakeholders that are clear, thorough, and analyzed annually. Purposeful Board Meetings Every board member is responsible for purposeful and efficient board meetings, regular attendance, being prepared, and directing the conversation on governance, not management. Purposeful board meetings are focused on strategic issues, not just reporting, and should follow parliamentary procedures.

The board should create focused subcommittees to identify and research strategic issues on school improvement. The key topics for each meeting should be mapped out in a strategic board calendar at the beginning of each year and approved by the full board. The key topics will support the board when developing and approving an agenda for each board meeting. This agenda should be used to provide structure for the meeting. On the agenda, the board chair includes the action expected for each item such as consider for approval or up for discussion. He or she should consider time when drawing up the list of agenda items so as not to overload the meeting. Conflict or indecision often occurs when members avoid making unpopular or difficult decisions. The potential for conflict can increase when board members are unclear of their roles and responsibilities, fail to achieve set goals, or are under pressure from parents. Conflict or unproductive board meetings can also arise from poor communication, inadequate leadership, unaddressed issues, lack of information, or unmet expectations. However, when handled correctly, conflict can lead to greater clarity over the nature of the problem; better communication can lead to mutual understanding, and, ultimately, a wider range of potential solutions. Brian L. Carpenter (2011), a consultant for non-profit organizations, provided tips to ensure conflicts do not become unmanageable. Boards must: Establish a clear understanding of the difference between governance and management. Hire a school leader who has the knowledge to assist in the creation of effective governance. Nurture a strong partnership between the board and the school leader which is built on mutual trust and respect. Notable Best Practice: The development of a board calendar mapping the monthly topics focused on strategic improvement, program oversights, policy review, and personnel decisions. Summary Public charter schools are an innovation designed to provide quality choices for parents inside the spectrum of public schools. The ability to adapt and make real-time decisions on schoolwide curricular practices allows highly functioning public charter school boards the opportunity to provide the best learning environment for their population of students. All public charter schools should be focused on developing a highly effective production based model. Through the development of high achieving programs they can attract (and retain) more students, which will garner funding for them to survive and thrive. If they do not, they may be closed. The role of the charter school board is paramount to the future of the charter movement. Serving on a charter school board is no small task because every decision, in some manner, affects

children. High functioning charter school boards are prepared to govern for what really matters through their: Strong governance structure. Clarity of roles and responsibilities. Delineation of the school s mission to all stake holders. Focus on results. Purposeful meetings. Paul Meyer said, Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort. Charters are not independent entities left to map their own course. They are democratic institutions obliged to uphold the same academic, fiscal and professional standards of traditional public schools (Fischetti, 2012). Getting it right with charters is essential to protect innovations and creative options to serve all learners. Last but not least, high functioning charter school boards speak with one voice or not at all. As legendary collegiate basketball coach John Wooden stated, The key ingredient to stardom, is the team. No single board member has the authority to speak for the full board.

References Allen, J., Consoletti, A., & Kerwin, K., (2009). The Accountability Report: Charter Schools. Washington, DC. Carpenter, B., (2011). Five reasons why most charter school boards are ineffective--and what to do about it. Retrieved from: www.brianlcarpenter.com. The Center for Education Reform (2009). Retrieved from: http://www.edreform.com/download/cer_2009_ar_charter_schools.pdf. Cornell Feist, M., (2006). Charter Schools Trustees Guide: Building Excellent Schools. Dehoff, R., (2008). Charter school training handbook: Colorado Charter School Institute Retrieved from: http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdechart/download/bd_trng_hbk_051007.pdf. Fischetti, J., (2012). Southeastern Louisiana University: College of Education and Human Development. Personal communication October 2012. Gruber, G., (1999) Presentation, Governance of and for school. Meyer, P., Retrieved from: http://www.brainyquote.com. NACSA., (2007). Good to govern: Evaluating the capacity of charter school founding boards. Retrieved from: http://charterschooltools.org/tools/goodtogovern.pdf. North Carolina Department of Public Instruction NCDPI/Office of Charter Schools 301 N. Wilmington Street Raleigh NC 27601-2825 919-807-3491