The Board of Education - The Simple Truth

By Pat Raffel

The Sycamore Board of Education, like every other local board of education, has three basic duties. They hire the Superintendent, the Treasurer, and develop district policy.

That certainly sounds simple but the truth is that the development of board policy considers input obtained from the superintendent, treasurer, administration, staff, parents, students, and taxpayers. The process of understanding the needs of the district are further defined by internal staff and administrative meetings, strategic plans involving individuals from the community, the Planning Commission and information provided by individuals bringing concerns directly to the board during our monthly meetings.

Information from all of these groups form the basis for any new or reevaluated board policy. The board understands the need for communication between all of the groups. The board considers any communication as important but has to balance some demands with the needs of the whole district. Policy development will be based on two primary criteria. Will the changes in district policy positively effect the quality of education and at what cost?

The board operates in a delicate balance between all of the parties interested in the education of our children. The main duty of the board of education is to be responsive to the needs of all of our children. Those needs will then provide the policies which are given to the superintendent and the treasurer for implemention. The ultimate responsibility of the board is to make sure that the most effective, cost efficient, and timely implementation of board policies occur. That is the simple truth concerning the board of education.