What reporters should be alert to as they cover school boards “Because I said so….” A Lightning Talk on board governance by Ann Meyer What reporters should be alert to as they cover school boards

What’s wrong with this scene? By Ann Meyer, EWA May 2019 Baltimore What’s wrong with this scene? A teacher is the board chair and uses “because I said so” to answer questions from staff, the board and even parents The vice chair is a parent of a student the board chair teaches The admissions director attends board meetings and has the ear of the board chair The admissions director is the executive director of a related charity that solicits donations from parents at the school The charity’s board chair is the wife of the school’s board vice chair The treasurer of the school board is also treasurer of the charity

Did somebody say ‘soap opera’? By Ann Meyer, EWA May 2019 Baltimore Did somebody say ‘soap opera’? True life is stranger than fiction Board politics can be the story in and of itself This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

Board politics start with relationships and personalities By Ann Meyer, EWA May 2019 Baltimore Board politics start with relationships and personalities Show me a board where politics don’t exist and I’ll show you a board you don’t understand It’s important to be aware of relationships and the conflicts they can cause This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

Spotting conflicts of interest By Ann Meyer, EWA May 2019 Baltimore Spotting conflicts of interest What happens when a school board member is also: a professional services provider, such as a lawyer, business consultant, technology company executive, school bus owner, owner of a custodial or landscape company, educational consultant, etc. And the board member offers to provide the service to the district? What could possibly go wrong? This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

What’s wrong with this scene? By Ann Meyer, EWA May 2019 Baltimore What’s wrong with this scene? A private school has a board of four people One is the paid administrator One is the paid administrator’s father One is leaving the board One is a dentist, possibly the paid administrator’s family dentist

Parents as School Board members By Ann Meyer, EWA May 2019 Baltimore Parents as School Board members Is it a conflict when parents serve on the board? Parents can be effective board members because they understand the system in the present day But conflicts can occur when they put the interest of their children or their friends’ children above the interest of the school district as a whole This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC

Red flag No. 1 Parents fearful of retaliation By Ann Meyer, EWA May 2019 Baltimore Red flag No. 1 Parents fearful of retaliation When a board chair or a superintendent wields too much power, the chair can shut down other board members or parents Board members with children in the school fear retaliation and therefore might be less likely to speak against the board chair Can these parent board members carry out their fiduciary responsibility? This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-ND

Red flag No. 2 Prior relationships and allegiances By Ann Meyer, EWA May 2019 Baltimore Watch for relationships among board members and those they work with Are members teaming up and voting their allegiance to their pal or the board chair instead of doing what’s in the best interest of the organization? Report on this! This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

Telltale signs of dysfunction Red flag No. 3 “because I said so” By Ann Meyer, EWA May 2019 Baltimore Telltale signs of dysfunction Red flag No. 3 “because I said so” Listen for a board chair or superintendent who when asked “Why!?” Replies: “because I said so” or a variation “because we said we would do this at the last meeting” “because we agreed to this” “because this is the way we do it” “because this is the way it’s always been done” This Photo by Unknown Author is under CC BY

Red flag No. 4 Chairs protecting themselves By Ann Meyer, EWA May 2019 Baltimore Red flag No. 4 Chairs protecting themselves You know there’s a problem when a board chair says: “We have to protect our superintendent” because he or she is also protecting himself “I only want people on the committee who will support me” “I don’t know if I can trust him on this committee” This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

Red flag No. 5 Canceled meetings By Ann Meyer, EWA May 2019 Baltimore Red flag No. 5 Canceled meetings It’s a problem when boards: Fail to notify the public of meetings Cancel meetings and fail to provide notice of the new meeting Hold longer or more frequent executive sessions This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

Red flag No. 6 Meeting informally before meetings By Ann Meyer, EWA May 2019 Baltimore Meetings of the board are supposed to be public, including phone call meetings How can you tell if the board met ahead of time? Board meetings will be short with no discussion Red flag No. 6 Meeting informally before meetings This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

Red flag No. 7 Demanding consensus or unanimity By Ann Meyer, EWA May 2019 Baltimore Red flag No. 7 Demanding consensus or unanimity It’s a problem when the board chair says “we’re all going to vote unanimously” It’s an even larger problem when no one disagrees with this

Where these conflicts can occur By Ann Meyer, EWA May 2019 Baltimore Where these conflicts can occur Elected or appointed school boards Nonprofit or charter school boards Committees Other educational organizations, such as dance or music institutes, sports education clubs, charities that provide mentoring, etc! Anywhere and everywhere! This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

Questions? Contact me at: Ann Meyer, education reporter, By Ann Meyer, EWA May 2019 Baltimore Questions? Contact me at: Ann Meyer, education reporter, Savannah Morning News ameyer@savannahnow.com 912-652-0448