Intelligent Influence

There are more than 14,000 public school districts and 70,000 school board members in the United States. Most school board members and administrators try to do everything that they can to improve the quality of education provided to students in their district. They are focused on setting effective policy, approving an appropriate budget and hiring the best superintendent possible. However, some school boards are handicapped by conflict. They suffer from public and private disagreements, constant bickering, holding grudges and arguing frequently. Research suggests that public school boards in conflict ignore many of the needs of the district they are supposed to be leading. Unhealthy school board relationships lead to ineffective policies, mediocre administrative leadership, inadequate teaching and poor student academic performance. School board and administrator conflict comes about because of the inability or reluctance of members to reach an agreement about controversial issues...