Cinfici’s Letter to the Editor on the Role of School Boards in Pennsylvania

A letter I wrote to the editor of the Reading Eagle was published verbatim December 5.  I reprint the manuscript below, as it does not contain his capitalization or punctuation errors or interpositions of trendy examples of style, although, thankfully, these did not compromise the point of the letter. 

One of the main reasons I launched this blog, which I am grateful to have, is not to be subject to 200-word limits, liberally-biased and ignorant editors with poor writing styles, or transcription errors.  Nevertheless, I do appreciate the letter’s publication.  Numerous letters of mine have been published over the years, but I have been content to post on my blog over the last five years instead.  This particular subject, given my recent public service, necessitated an exception.

My letter was in response to an editorial that essentially repeated the same point the editors and other critics who do not understand the role of School Boards of Directors in Pennsylvania have been making in accusing the Reading School Board of Directors, on which I recently completed a temporary term, of micromanaging or overstepping bounds.  I note here they had failed to make such criticisms during my previous term of service when the Superintendent was effectively controlled by a small number of School Directors in a true example of micromanaging and overstepping the bounds, but now criticize the current Board for fulfilling its fiduciary responsibility by seeking information from the School District Administration.  Because those micromanaging School Directors falsely accused those of us who sought information to expose the District to openness and transparency – in part to counter their micromanaging – of “micromanaging” ourselves, I have been steadfast in protecting the legal rights of all School Directors to govern effectively in the face of continued similar false allegations. 

Here is a transcript of my manuscript:

Your statement that the duties of school directors are “to establish goals for the district while allowing the superintendent and other administrators to chart the course on how to attain those goals” reflects a common misconception about the role of school boards of directors in Pennsylvania.

            In addition to adopting policies and budgets, school boards are required to do more than set goals, but also to consider whether or not to vote for every expenditure, textbook, major personnel and real estate matter.  

           Moreover, it is the oversight responsibility of school directors to follow up and determine whether or not their policies have been carried out or whether the procedures the administration implements have been effective in achieving these goals, and, if not, to respond accordingly.  A school board of directors is thus not like a corporate board of directors because, as the Auditor General notes, once school directors take their oaths of office, they have a fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers and are not to be rubber stamps for unelected superintendents.  Therefore, it is the duty of school directors – and not overstepping their bounds or micromanaging – to obtain information to inform their votes and in order to hold administrations accountable.