WHAT DOES A SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER DO?

Good question! I think a good way to break down the school board, superintendent and school principal dynamic is to compare it to something a bit relatable. Pretend the schools in the district are like the states in our country. The principal would be the equivalent of a state governor. They are incredibly important as they are in charge of their individual school. Then the School Board is like Congress and the Superintendent is like the President. The School Board works with and negotiates with the Superintendent. Board Members are elected by voters (you) and the Superintendent in hired by the Board. The Board works for free (volunteer position) and the Superintendent is paid. The only thing more powerful than the Board is the Superintendent. The Superintendent has veto power over the Board; similar to the President having veto power over Congress. This dynamic is actually a conflict of interest because the Board hires/fires, determines a Superintendents salary and, depending on the contract, their retirement bonus. So…Superintendents really, really do not like vetoing Board decisions. This can lead to all kinds of conflict and even illegal activity if either the Board or Superintendent are out of integrity.

School Board Members determine the school curriculum, what schools are closed, torn down, remodeled and built. They choose the books students read in their classes (with input from teachers), they negotiate with the teachers union and bussing union. School Boards determine pretty much everything. They also handle the district budget which in Seattle is $1 billion.

The unfortunate thing about the Seattle School Board is that the position is unpaid which means board members tend to have 9-5 jobs and are unable to give this powerful and powerfully important job the attention it needs.