Thoughts on School Board Responsibilities

"Good schools are a necessity, not a luxury. All citizens in a community share the benefits of their school system as well as the effects of the failures of that system. Therefore, as citizens of the South Bend community, we all share a responsibility for the schools beyond that of merely paying taxes. The quality of a school system may depend on the quality and amount of interest invested in it by the public."

That quote is from the Introduction of "KNOW YOUR SCHOOLS", a booklet of information about the South Bend Community School Corporation prepared by League of Women Voters of the South Bend Area, November, 1974. It is just as true today, obviously.

I never like it when somebody running for public office tells us things that are obvious, like "Our children are our future", or any number of other truisms. So I will try NOT to tell you obvious things here.

Education, with me, has always been a "pay me now or pay me later" proposition… we can invest in our educational system now, and do everything we can to provide the good physical facilities, good educators, good administrators, or we can pay later by building grandiose juvenile detention facilities like that on South Michigan Street, or pay even later with massive multi-million dollar county jails. Which do you really prefer?

"How do you see the role of the school board as it relates to the role of the administration? What do you think is the role of the Superintendent?"

Public school boards in Indiana have specific powers conferred on them by the General School Powers Act. These powers include the following:

1. To manage the affairs of the school corporation and to establish, locate and equip schools, school libraries and other buildings.

2. To acquire real estate and to construct, erect, and maintain school buildings.

3. To acquire such personal property as deemed necessary for school purposes. Such property can include, but is not limited to, buses, motor vehicles, appliances, books, furniture and supplies.

4. To sell or exchange real or personal property.

5. To lease school property for any purposes which the governing body deems reasonable or to permit its free use for civic or public purposes.

6. To employ, contract for and discharge superintendents, teachers and other licensed and non-licensed school personnel and to fix the compensation and terms of employment of all school personnel.

7. To provide transportation for children to and from school; to provide a school lunch program; to purchase textbooks and to provide them on a rental basis for students.

8. To levy taxes, make budgets, appropriate, and disburse funds and to borrow money.

9. To defend any member of the governing body or employee of the school corporation against suit arising out of the performance of duties.

10. To make rules and regulations for the management of the schools.

This list is not intended to be all-inclusive.

The Superintendent also has duties that are promulgated by statute. These include, but are not limited to making recommendations to the school board concerning:

1. General administration of schools.

2. Employment and dismissal of personnel.

3. Purchase of supplies and equipment.

4. Construction of buildings.

5. Propose salary schedules.

6. Suggest in-service training of faculty.

And the Superintendent has the duties to carry out the policies as formulated by the board.

"I feel that my duties as a member of the Board of Trustees would be to provide guidance to the Superintendent in all of these and more areas, and I feel most sincerely that I have reached a level of maturity in my life to do exactly that."