Love kids? Have skills? Run for school board

There is no more impactful and accessible place for you to be a good citizen than on your local board of education

More than a decade ago I made an impromptu decision to run for a seat on my local school board, and all these years later I see it as a turning point. I learned so much about how America cares for its young during their growing years, how policies and procedures help or hurt children, and how politics are often our biggest problem.

It wasn’t easy work to do well. I spent so much time studying in preparation for board meetings and/or major decisions. Many nights and weekends were devoted to engaging with constituents. And, so much of the job set me up to be revered by some and hated by others.

That’s the bad part. I’m honest about it because I want to encourage you to stand up for kids by taking your skills to your local board, but I don’t want to soft-pedal the challenges.

Now, there is a good side too. It was incredibly rewarding to be a public voice for children and families who needed their schools to be more responsive. Solving problems for people and passing policies that made schooling work better for students always made me feel like God had dropped me at the right place, at the right time. It was a privilege to be in that role even if it was difficult at times.

Diversity needed

Back in October of 2019, I wrote a piece encouraging readers to run for school board, so maybe this is my ministry because here I am doing it again.

Part of my pitch is that school boards need a wider array of views and backgrounds because often they are not representative of the student body they oversee.

Here’s what I wrote about that in 2019:

The typical American school board member is a White male with advanced degrees and a six-figure income. Nearly two-thirds of school board members do not have children in schools, and a whopping 40% are retired. One study of Ohio’s school boards notes that members are “more likely to come from wealthier, Whiter and better-educated neighborhoods” that also happen to be Republican.

In schools, that representational imbalance continues. Among public school principals, 63% are White and 52% are women. The average teacher is a 42-year-old, college-educated White woman. 

But, the majority of public school students are racial minorities, and more than half are in schools receiving Title I supplementary assistance to address concentrations of poverty.

This scan of the demographics hasn’t changed in the past few years. You are still needed.

Reasons to run

You may ask yourself, “why me?"

“Why should I run for school board?”

Well, I don’t know you personally. Even so, I believe in you.

Here are a few reasons you might be right for the job:

1. You truly believe young people in your city deserve a better education than they’re getting

2. You want to make a lasting impact on your community

3. You have personal or professional skills that you are willing to share (i.e. community organizing, accounting, communications, strategic planning)

4. You have a unique social, cultural, or political perspective that isn’t represented on the board

5. You know how to listen and collaborate

6. You understand how to develop organizational strategies

How to run

Ok, let’s say you’ve decided to throw your hat into the ring. You want to run.

Cool, let’s go.

Here are a few simple steps to getting going with a good campaign.

1. Soul search. You have to know your WHY? - why do you want to run? What do you want to accomplish? What’s your vision for the local schools?

2. Do your homework. Get clear on all of the important details that will make you a good candidate.

   1. Learn the role of a school board member, and be able to articulate it to potential voters.

   2. Learn all you can about the school board member election cycle

      1. Appointed or elected

      2. Filing period

      3. Eligibility requirements

      4. Campaign finance

   3. Study the key facts about the district: demographics, budget, teachers, etc.

   4. Attend school board meetings to learn how they are organized and how they flow.

   5. Look for and meet parents/advocates who are active and knowledgeable.

   6. Read the district’s policies on the most important issues (i.e. curriculum, testing, and student discipline)

3. Get people, ask for help. You need to find your tribe. You need like-minded supporters who believe in your vision.

4. Organize. Put together your team and your plan. You need…

   1. A campaign manager.

   2. A tight stump speech with a thoughtful core message.

   3. A campaign plan that explains where you will get the votes you need to win

   4. A strategy for being seen and heard - often.

Looking at this list, it looks like a lot, but believe me, it will be a lot of fun if you’re all in.

How to lead

Finally, if you are fortunate enough to gain the support of voters, you need to have something that few new board members seem to have. That’s a plan for how you will show up for the job as a good leader during your term. How will you govern?

Like many first-time board members, I had an imperfect go at it. I stumbled and bumbled but eventually learned how to be the representative families at the margins deserved.

My advice here comes with a pinch of salt and a pint of ale.

1. Focus! Pick one or two big rocks you want to move (mine was establishing an Office of New Schools to be an R&D area of the district), and push hard. You can’t be all things to all people and you won’t be effective if you’re all over the map.

2. Stay engaged with your community and the superintendent. Losing touch with constituents will make you ineffective as their representative, and losing touch with the district’s leader will marginalize you from the rest of your board.

3. Continuously study and seek outside/knowledgeable (local/national) advisors. There is a lot of groupthink in districts. Outside experts often prepare you to ask better questions and pursue better policies.

4. Show up to meetings prepared. Poorly prepared board members waste time with inane questions, and they make life hard on everyone.

5. Internalize the best advice for board governance protocols and boundaries.

6. Remember: It’s children first, always. Ask yourself often if the priorities of children are getting lost in the politics of adults. Often the answer to that question will be “yes.”

7. Govern like you aren’t running for re-election, and be prepared to be unpopular

So, there you have it. My case for you joining running for and winning a seat on your local board of education.

If you decide to run, I’m here for you. Shoot me a message and let’s talk.