The first school board meeting I ever attended was in Searcy, Ark., in the summer of 2011.
Having recently graduated college and attended some city council meetings, I was excited to see what kind of news school boards would offer to an up-and-coming journalist.
I cannot even begin to count the number of school board meetings I have sat through in the last dozen years. Some go quickly, with little on the agenda and all things going as well as planned. Others, however can take hours and hours, especially if personnel are involved.
My longest meeting has topped 6 hours after the closed session and new hire interview. That’s atypical, but you never know what surprises may come at any given board meeting.
Just as different as meetings’ lengths are the board members who sit through them. Of all ages and walks of life, elected school board members are charged with one of the more formidable tasks of our society — making sure their school children are learning, safe and prepared for their futures.
So, what makes a good school board member? I think I have known at least 50 school board members throughout my career, and the qualities of those individuals vary as much as their personalities.
So, what qualities best suit the leaders of a school district?
The first necessary quality is a basic one: intelligence.
School boards handle every aspect of a district, from finances to facilities, curriculum to discipline, athletics to staffing. The list can go on, and on, and on.
Deciphering a budget, understanding policy jargon and legalese, and understanding the impacts of curriculum changes are all significant skills board members need have.
Another important quality, and greatly reliant on the first one: vision.
Personally, I’ve never been one to have a specific answer to the question, “Where do you see things in 5 years or 10 years?” If someone seeing a school board seat can’t tell you what the next step is — in the classroom or in capital projects — what kind of future would a district under that lack of leadership see?
Some projects are easy, like a building remodel or HVAC upgrade, but others require more, like building a new performing arts center or (surprisingly) replacing a playground after a pandemic.
This brings me to the next quality: adaptability. It will hopefully be another 100 years — or never — that a pandemic the size of COVID-19 is brought on. That was at least two years of all school board members putting in extra time on policies never before considered. In just a few months, districts had to decide on things like masking and virtual instruction, and they didn’t all agree.
Adapting to needs of students to help them meet goals and be prepared for life after graduation is paramount.
The final quality a school board member should have is my favorite: gumption.
New programs and new facilities don’t just evaporate out of thin air. They come from the minds and efforts of people who look to push the envelope, maximize resources and capitalize on opportunities.
On Tuesday, voters in the Cassville and Southwest school districts will each have five candidates vying for three positions. All but one found the time to answer eight questions from me, via email, with their answers printed verbatim in this issue.
If you are a Cassville or Southwest voter, I encourage you to take the time to read those answers. Look for those qualities you’d like to find in a school board member and vote accordingly.
I plan to do the same. See you at the polls on Tuesday!
Kyle Troutman has served as the editor of the Cassville Democrat since 2014. In 2017, he was named William E. James/Missouri Outstanding Young Journalist for daily newspapers, and in 2022, he won a Golden Dozen Award from ISWINE. He may be reached at 417-847-2610 or ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com.
“The final quality a school board member should have is my favorite: gumption. New programs and new facilities don’t just evaporate out of thin air. They come from the minds and efforts of people who look to push the envelope, maximize resources and capitalize on opportunities.”
