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How Not to Be a Terrible School Board Member
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How Not to Be a Terrible School Board Member
Lessons for School Administrators and Board Members



July 2011 | 160 pages | Corwin

Build a successful board by knowing where the land mines are

Veteran school board member, Richard E. Mayer, takes a humorous but substantive approach to the serious relationship between school administrators and board members. While the overwhelming majority of school board members have good motives, even people who mean well can make bad moves. This book shows how to prevent good intentions from creating bad outcomes. Each chapter presents a negative school board scenario, offers alternatives, and provides win-win solutions. Key features include

  • 28 brief case studies
  • Lessons learned for board members
  • Lessons learned for administrators

In addition to highlighting typical traps, the case studies light the path to positive collaboration and shared decision making between superintendents and school boards. Whether you are a school board member or an administrator who is trying to figure out what goes on in school board members' heads, How Not to Be a Terrible School Board Member provides clear direction in a realistic and memorable way.


 
Preface
 
About the Author
 
Acknowledgments
 
I. Terrible District teamwork
 
1. Humiliate a District Employee in Public
 
2. Negotiate in Public
 
3. Attack the Administration in Print
 
4. Micromanage the Superintendent
 
5. Never Question the Administration
 
6. Solicit Complaints from Teachers and Staff
 
7. Ask for Special Treatment
 
II. Terrible Board Teamwork
 
8. Disrespect a Fellow Board Member
 
9. Speak for the Board
 
10. Build Coalitions
 
11. Abstain on Tough Votes
 
12. Be Decisive, Don't Compromise
 
13. Come Unprepared to a Board Meeting
 
14. Do Too Much Homework
 
III. Terrible Public Relations
 
15. Represent Your Supporters
 
16. Minimize Public Input
 
17. Run Your Own District Survey
 
18. Argue with a Hostile Speaker
 
19. Confide in a Reporter
 
20. Garner Public Support
 
21. Sign a Petition
 
IV. Terrible Personal Style
 
22. Ignore Minor Conflicts of Interest
 
23. Take Political Stands
 
24. Use the District's Credit Card
 
25. Remember Your Political Party
 
26. Do a Favor
 
27. Accept Gifts
 
28. Radiate Negative Energy
 
Epilogue

“The author presents powerful vignettes that successfully describe the range of behaviors, decision making, language, thinking, and actions that often consciously and unconsciously undermine the superintendent, other school officials and employees, but worst of all other board members and the important work of the board members."

Douglas Gordon Hesbol, Superintendent
Laraway CCSD 70C, Joliet, IL

“All board members volunteer to serve because they want to be effective in providing students the best education the school district can provide. Richard Mayer addresses the broad range of mistakes he has seen made by board members during his years as a board member. This is a useful resource that board members and superintendents can use to ensure the successful governance of their school districts.”

Glen Ishiwata, Superintendent
Moreland School District, San Jose, CA

“I know of no other book that addresses this particular issue at this level of specificity and breadth. District and school administrators, as well as board members, will see it as useful.”

Robert Marzano, CEO
Marzano Research Laboratory, Englewood, CO

“I think the approach is brilliant. It’s a grabber that every insightful board member or administrator can identify with.”

Rene Townsend, Former Superintendent
Encinitas, CA

“Mayer writes in an authentic and respectful manner that provides the reader with a clear understanding of what it means to be an effective board member. This is a must-read for anyone who is a current board member, aspiring to become one, or an administrator who wants to develop solid professional relationships with their board members.”

Bonnie Tryon, Past President
School Administrators Association of New York, Cobleskill, NY

"This is the perfect book for board members and superintendents who already have busy lives but want to make sensible, reasoned choices in their work in today’s schools.”

Cindy Wilson, Associate Professor and Department Chair
University of Illinois, Springfield, IL
Key features

· The book consists of 28 short chapters, each analyzing a scenario reflecting terrible board member behavior, offering alternatives along with explanations, and closing with a clear statement of how to operate effectively as a school board member.

· Each chapter ends with a special "lessons learned" section for Superintendents, intended to help them understand the predicaments that school board members get themselves into. These show how Superintendents can help prevent board members from engaging in terrible boardsmanship, because helping the board look good and function properly is an unwritten part of each Superintendent's job description.

· In order to maximize applicability to practice, the book is written in a concrete and friendly—at times even humorous-- style that is familiar to school board members and school administrators.

Sample Materials & Chapters

Mayer_HowNotToBe_Preface

Mayer_HowNotToBe_Ch1


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ISBN: 9781452237138

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