Relationships Between Board of Education & Superintendents

It seems reasonable to suggest that educational objectives are maximized when school superintendents have good working relations with their respective Boards of Education. However, Grady and Bryant have noted that, "The superintendent's role may be difficult to manage simply because of the existence of a school board" (1-90).

In an effort to understand factors that interfere with effective working relationships between superintendents and their boards, Grady and Bryant mailed surveys to all superintendents of K-12 district schools in Nebraska (N=310 schools). The survey asked superintendents to identify critical incidents they had experienced with school board members. Superintendents were also asked if they would be willing to discuss these incidents in a telephone interview. Eighty of the superintendents agreed to be interviewed.

The single most frequently cited "critical incident" identified by supervisors was conflict between themselves and school board members over parental/relative/friends' reactions to students who had been banned from athletic competition. The second most frequently cited conflict was that scho

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eed to be very clear on six basic issues: (1) the question of who sets the goals and defines the limits for public education; (2) board/administration relationships in the area of allocating responsibilities; (3) the pressure for teacher professionalization and constraint; (4) the challenge of governing schools in an atmosphere of legal constraint; (5) the difficulty of shaping legislated reforms and categorical aid into effective change; and (6) the imperative of bridging the gap between schools and community. Talleriee has pointed out that the literature investigating working relationships between school board members and supervisors is sparse (215-89). As a result, she says, very little is known about the typical interactions of the two groups. In an effort to expand the existing research, Talleriee conducted structured interviews in six school districts located in major US cities. Interviews were structured to investigate board members' behavioral inclinations in working with superintendents. Talleriee found that board members behavioral intentions fell into one of three basic categories. They were included to typically acquiesce, or to generally support, or to be vigilantly watchful for error. Their intentions were found
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Approximate Word count = 1404
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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