School Boards are different from what we usually see as community members and parents in Chicago. They are bigger and broader than a school principal, Local School Council (LSC) or even Alderman.

The Illinois Association of School Boards created a detailed report in 2024 (this year) to explain the unique role of a School Board. Here is a link to the full pdf paper with a summary of key points below.

Two Critical Definition Points

• The board of education, also called the school board, is a unit of local government that establishes direction, goals, and priorities for a school district and determines policy, budget, leadership, and administration.

• While school board meetings are held in public, they are not meetings of the public. Outside of regularly convened meetings, effective boards engage in an ongoing two-way conversation through the use of public forums, surveys, citizens committees, and other engagement tools to determine the community’s aspirations for its schools and students.

Effective school boards

A good school board

• Knows the difference between governance (which is its job) and management (which is the administration’s job).

• Makes every effort to operate openly by encouraging public attendance at its meetings and keeping constituents informed of the district’s progress.

• Enacts policies after study and consultation with all persons or groups affected.

• Attempts to reach decisions that all members can support.

• Maintains efficient procedures to conduct business.

• Monitors district goals using data.

• Works to provide quality education opportunities for all students of the district

IASB Board of Directors Ethics Code:

• The board clarifies the district’s purpose.

• The board connects with the community.

• The board employs a superintendent.

• The board delegates authority.

• The board monitors performance.

• The board takes responsibility for itself.

A good school board member has …

• The abilities to work as a member of a team with an open mind and to engage in give-and-take to arrive at a group consensus.

• The willingness to spend the time required to become informed and do the homework needed to take part in effective school board meetings.

• The desire to serve children and the community and a strong belief in the values of public schools and educational success.

• The recognition that the school district is a large operation and that the board is responsible for seeing that the district is run by highly skilled professionals.