In the news:
Originally published January 20, 2012 at 3:24 PM | Page modified January 20, 2012 at 5:31 PM
A smart proposal spells out board-superintendent relationship for Seattle Public Schools
The fundamental power of the Seattle School Board is its public forum. Better to use that visibility to articulate education issues and make policy, rather than to micromanage district operations.
Seattle Times Editorial
SEATTLE School Board President Michael DeBell should push hard for new policies more clearly spelling out the relationship between the board and the superintendent.
DeBell's governance proposals slated for board consideration on Wednesday do not diminish the board's authority. Board members will always have the right to ask probing questions and make policy. But clarification of roles and duties are important to avoid micromanaging, something this board appears dangerously close to doing.
The fundamental power of this citizen-based volunteer group is its public forum. Board members should use that visibility to articulate education issues and make policy, not nitpick daily district operations.
None of this is likely to avoid the departure of interim Superintendent Susan Enfield, but it can help Seattle find and keep her successor.
The newest members of the board, Marty McLaren and Sharon Peaslee, were elected last fall after pledging to be tough district critics in the wake of a small-business contracting scandal that cost the jobs of the former superintendent and the chief operating officer.
McLaren and Peaslee will find guidance in the policies. For board members Kay Smith-Blum and Betty Patu, the policies are a reminder of how an effective board operates.
Let's be clear, Enfield's abrupt decision to leave, just as the city's labor unions, business leaders and parent community had united in support of her, underscores a problem on the board. One board member reportedly ordered Enfield to fire some employees. At a recent retreat, another raised the idea of the board approving principal hires.
The board should not be able to hire and fire anyone other than the superintendent. It should not be able to order administrators about. These lines of demarcation are basic. Board members are policymakers, not administrators.
Similar restraint should guide board members requesting research and policy work from district staff. The board has its own staff, a lawyer hired last June.
An assertive board need not be a micromanaging one. DeBell's proposal deserves board approval.
