Op-Ed
Pasadena Unified School District Boardroom (Photo – Jennifer Lee)
When he announced that he would not run again for election as a school district trustee, Scott Phelps referred to the “moderate center” and that intrigued me. What is the moderate center, anyway?
By Jennifer Hall Lee
For me, this is where we come together (with our differences) to find common ground in order to build a better future for all of us. Common ground, the center, is flexible and it is essential on school boards. The alternative is intractability.
In his recent statement about his decision not to run for reelection Phelps brought up many good points about the future of the school board. I’d like to focus on two:
- A stable public school district is essential for children’s education.
- Political ideology to advance political goals does not belong on a school board.
Board and Superintendent relationship
I like to recognize systems that are working as stable. Stability is not calcification. In fact, it’s a necessary element for the education of children. Mr. Phelps’ reference to reversing the trend of short-term superintendent tenures as a positive accomplishment is correct.
According to the California School Boards Association “While the superintendent is not an elected member of the board, as a professional educator hired by the board, s/he plays a unique and critical role in setting the direction for the district. When that leadership changes, it can have a destabilizing effect on the school system.”
Retaining a good superintendent is essential for any changes or reforms the Board wants to achieve.
Nationally, the current anti-democratic forces making inroads to destabilize us are challenging and unnerving. Public schools occupy a foundational place in our democracy. As some might criticize our public schools and say that education can be handled more efficiently in the private sector, the role of the board and superintendent as a working team is crucial in the maintenance of a free public school system.
Politics
In our Code of Ethics: “A Governing Board Member should honor the high responsibility which Board members demand, by: Thinking always in terms of “Children First.”
School board members, once elected, are on a team of people with varying institutional knowledge, and finding common ground among us makes us effective. This is not an easy task; the trustees are elected and do not necessarily have to be public school educators, in fact the differences between us can be substantial.
Knowing that the superintendent and the senior staff are experienced at managing districts is a key fact that a trustee must keep in mind if good relationships are to be maintained.
Phelps’ points about the school board are a result of seventeen years of institutional knowledge as a trustee and that has been a wellspring for me. I will miss him.
There will be challenges ahead, but we can’t go wrong if we put children first in every decision we make.
Jennifer Hall Lee is a PUSD Trustee and is writing as an individual.
Good article.
Curious about Scott’s comment on difficulties of staying moderate and if Covid policies were relevant here? Now that we are at the Omicron phase of the pandemic – which is more contagious but also less virulent -how does the Code of Ethics apply (Children First) to this? To clarify…… a lot of Covid policies appear to be more political in nature and not following scientific data. For example, recommending boosters for young kids. Paul Offit, head of vaccine communications, an inventor of a vaccine, who is very pro-vax, has written in The Atlantic, he feels boosters are more dangerous for youth and the risk to benefit ratio is not on the side of needing boosters for this age group who attends K-12.
So what then is the plan of the board, when FDA also recommends no boosters for youth, but politicians like Newsom, and those in New York, continue to want boosters for students? Does the Pasadena Dept. of Public health just go along with this, and does the PUSD board and supt. just go along with this plan, even if science doesn’t warrant it? I support vaccines for those that need them, but we need to step back and do what is in the best interest of our children, not the politicians or the teacher’s unions, when it is based in fear and not science.
There are extremes on both sides of the political spectrum, and we need to be careful.