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Revised (Dec 15 2009)
School trustees
As a school trustee, you represent the citizens who voted for you, the ones who voted against you, and even those who didn’t bother or were not eligible to vote. Your concern is for all students in the district. You may have to make difficult decisions. Never lose sight of your primary purpose, even when there’s a chance it will alienate friends and supporters in the short term.
Three realities:
- You campaign as an individual but serve as a member of a team.
- You do not have the authority as an individual to fix the problems you campaigned to fix.
- Your success as a board member is closely tied to the success of your board.
School trustees come from all walks of life and represent a wide range of community, provincial and national interests. However, all trustees care deeply about students and public education.
Trustees as individuals have no authority. However, they can influence board decisions through the power of persuasion and voting. Individual trustees bring different talents, interests and professional expertise to their role as a board member.
Effective trustees recognize and respect differences of perspective and style on the board and among staff, students, parents and the community.
In your role as advocate for students and the public education system, you must pro-actively seek out contact with provincial and municipal politicians, community leaders and organizations, parents’ groups, educators’ professional organizations and student groups. This will help you learn about their interests and give them an understanding of the board’s district-wide perspective. Understanding how the school system works gives an individual trustee considerable power to shape board policy and decisions and engage in effective planning and problem-solving.
It’s a balancing act: serving all children, working effectively with the governing board team, representing your constituency and remaining true to your own beliefs and values.
Trustees and senior staff can be subject to a wide range of public expectations — transparency, confidentiality, freedom of information, protection of privacy, a demonstrated code of ethics and avoidance of conflict of interest.
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The board of education
