Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Governance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
What school board candidates should know about governance, roles and officers
Summary
PSBA presenter Will Smeltzer outlines the school board’s collective authority under the Public School Code, the superintendent’s nonvoting role, the duties of board officers and PSBA’s voluntary governance principles to guide new directors.
Will Smeltzer, the webinar moderator, opened the session by defining a school board as the elected governing authority responsible for district oversight under state law and the Public School Code of 1949. He emphasized that authority is exercised collectively: "this law does not bestow any power or authority upon individual School Board director to act independently" and that boards are more effective when they "collaborate as a governance team."
Smeltzer described the superintendent as the district’s day-to-day manager and noted the superintendent serves as a nonvoting "10th" member of the board who provides recommendations and implements board directives. "The board's job is to govern," he said, while the superintendent manages operations and executes the board's decisions.
The presentation then summarized officer duties: the president presides over meetings, sets tone and helps plan agendas; the vice president chairs in the president's absence; treasurers now primarily provide financial oversight rather than handling deposits or payments; and the secretary supervises board records and business affairs pursuant to board direction. Smeltzer cautioned that state law limits individual officer authority and recommended clear role delineation between governance and administration.
Smeltzer also introduced PSBA’s voluntary "Principles for Governance and Leadership" as a framework for ethical, strategic board conduct and encouraged prospective candidates to review their district’s publicly posted policy manual. He closed by advising candidates to study the board’s local procedures and recommended resources on PSBA’s site.
