Naughty, Naughty!

Untitled Slide

Superintendent Jay Eitner

You've been elected or appointed. GOOD FOR YOU! You're going to change the whole system now, right?

Untitled Slide

What You're In Charge Of:

• Philosophy
• Policy
• Paychecks
• Hiring & Firing the Superintdent

Everything Else?


You're paying the Superintendent to do.

As elected officials, consider yourself Kings & Queens.

You are responsible for hiring a Captain to lead and steer the boat.

If you don't like the direction the boat it going, you fire the Captain.

You DON'T get on the boat.

PHILOSOPHY

• Mission Statement
• Vision
• District Goals
• CSA Goals
• Committees or Committee of the Whole via CSA recomendation

GET OFF MY BOAT!

POLICY

• Policy Committees
• Work Sessions
• INCIDENT = POLICY, POLICY = REGULATION
• Strict or Loose Interpretation
• Current Events

GET OFF MY BOAT

PAYCHECKS

• Paying your employees
• Paying your bills
• Paying your debt
• Tax Levies, Bonds & Referendums
• Creating a budget

GET OFF MY BOAT!

HIRING & FIRING THE CSA

• Recruit / Interview
• Set the job description
• Evaluate at least once a year
• Other state requirements*

Yes, you can make a CSA's life wonderful or a living hell.

YOU CAN'T GET ON THE BOAT!

HOW TO BE AN IDIOT

1) MICROMANAGEMENT

• Remember 'your 4'
• Meddling
• Small Town BS
• Big Town BS

2) NEWSPAPER / ONLINE COMMENTS

• Quotes to the paper
• Fake names in chatrooms
• Church bulletins

3) PUBLIC EMBARRASSMENT

• Dirty laundry gets cleaned behind closed doors
• Turning employee hires into a circus event
• "Disparaging Remarks"

4) CLAIMING TO REPRESENT THE WHOLE BOE

• 1-Member-Negotiations
• False Promises
• 'Calling Court'

5) SOLICITATING COMPLAINTS

• Complaint fishing expediations
• Secret meetings or "cups of coffee"
• Firing up the Mob

6) BUILDING NEGATIVE COALITIONS

• "Let's grab a drink after the meeting."
• Sticking around after a BOE meeting to chat with firestarters
• Not conducting BOE business in the public (no, a bar is not 'public')
• ALCOHOL = SOCIAL LUBRICATOR

7) GATHERING ONE-SIDED PUBLIC SUPPORT

• One-sided petitions, letters, or meetings
• FOX vs MSNBC
• The "Kitchen Cabinet"

When in doubt, talk to your CSA. She/he will be happy to help, that's their job.

Unless you already tried to get on their boat or are trying to sandbag.

...then you're D-O-A.

References

• Cookson, Peter. Sacred Trust. Corwin, 2012.
• Mayer, Richard E. How Not to Be a Terrible School Board Member. Corwin, 2011.
• Jackson, Robert. What They Don't Teach You in School Administration. Amazon, 2006.

More Stuff:

• Log into EitnerEducation.com under 'materials'
• Enter today's password for scenarios, stories, and recordings.
• Tweet or Vox me: @Jay_Eitner