Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Owner Vs Customer topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Coaches train trustees on 'owner' versus 'customer' roles
Summary
Coaches guided the board through scenarios that distinguish community 'owner' responsibilities (vision, values, goals) from 'customer' service matters (individual student/family issues) and advised clear documentation of interims and initiatives.
Megan Segler of the Council of Great City Schools led a training segment distinguishing owner responsibilities from customer-service issues, using everyday analogies to illustrate when the board should act on vision and values and when the superintendent should address operational problems.
Segler defined "owners" as community members, taxpayers and voters and "customers" as students, families and employees, saying that an individual complaint about a teacher or schedule is typically a customer-service issue for the superintendent to resolve while questions about progress toward district goals are owner concerns the board should own. "The customers in the school system are the students, the families, and the employees," Segler said.
Board members practiced categorizing hypothetical scenarios — for example, whether recurring policy noncompliance should be elevated from customer service to an owner-level review — and coaches recommended writing interim measures and aligned initiatives so the board can monitor effectiveness rather than issuing ad hoc operational directives.
Trustees and staff discussed strategies to educate the public about the distinction and to design predictable community engagement so residents understand when to contact the board versus district administrators.
