COLD SPRING – Historically, most local school board meetings are long, boring, routine events. Members of the board, and school administrators, discuss operating expenses and personnel. They listen to reports, policies, and possibly a comment from the public.
However, recent school board meetings across the nation have been anything but routine.
School board members have been listening to contentious public comments over a variety of topics. With the Covid pandemic mandates, learning loss, and vaccination debates, parents are now getting more involved in their children’s schools.
Controversies over sexual health standards, critical race theory (CRT), and students’ mental health, along with school shootings, have energized school board meetings, and encouraged more candidates to run for a seat on their local school board.
Lower Township Elementary School District
At Lower Township Elementary School Board of Education’s meeting July 26, the board listened to a presentation by Michelle Kennedy, a field services representative from the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA).
She discussed the roles and responsibilities of school boards and how their actions and inactions directly impact student achievement.
Board member Patricia Smith stated, “Student achievement is a main focus for our school district. Having a NJSBA rep(resentative) make a presentation to our members is one more way to bring awareness regarding the roles of all the stakeholders in the district.”
Kennedy’s PowerPoint presentation focused on standards, curriculum, and instruction, explaining in depth how boards should be involved.
For example, the New Jersey Student Learning Standards (NJSLS) are the learning expectations/learning goals and are mandated by the state. The curriculum includes materials, texts, lessons, activities, and assessments to use to instruct and assess the students in meeting those standards.
Curriculum is written at the local level by teachers and school administrators and should be evaluated as part of the process. Curriculum guides/frameworks should be updated every five years and must be aligned with state standards.
Textbooks and curriculum guides/frameworks are approved or not approved by school board members.
Kennedy stated, “School boards must have a cohesive set of policies, programs, and practices that ensure high expectations, positive achievement patterns and equal access to educational opportunities for all learners.”
How Boards Can Help Lead the Way
The NJSBA acknowledges that school boards must: Establish district goals on student achievement, be aware of federal and state laws and standards, make student achievement a focus in the district, and commit adequate resources for curriculum development and professional development for teachers.
Jeff Samaniego, superintendent, Lower Township Elementary School District, stated, “Our school board is diligent in supporting our staff to meet the needs of our students. Each year poses a new fiscal challenge, as we are expected to lose another $1.5 million in state aid funding, but despite these challenges, our district administration and school board strive to make decisions that will continue to support student achievement.”
Throughout the presentation, noted Samaniego, the NJSBA representative complimented the district on their mission and vision statements, noticing that they focused on students and are tied to the district goal of having a positive impact on student achievement. Kennedy also added that the district’s website is very informative and transparent.
The NJSBA promotes the idea that building good relationships with parents begins with good communication. As stated on its website, “The ideal type of parent participation involves parents who are informed and engaged in their children’s education, and who are supportive of the district and board.”
Not every parent always agrees with all board decisions, but parents should have an understanding of how their local school board operates and how decisions are made.
Ray Pinney, director of county activities and member engagement, NJSBA, explained in an article published on NJSBA’s website, “…it helps to have a plan for the board to reach out to the public. That plan begins with solid communication between the board and the public, and proactively engaging the parent community.”
Where Do Board Members Go from Here?
School board members are nonpartisan and volunteer their time.
They receive no pay or benefits for their service. Members must live in the community and are elected by voters. They are charged with representing the concerns of the community and creating educational policies to ensure the needs of the students are being met.
The Covid pandemic has challenged the educational environment in a variety of ways. Frustrated parents have been pushing back at school board meetings on several different topics. Board members are now placed in difficult positions, as fiery public comments about school safety, curriculum, budgets/school taxes, and pandemic mandates that affected children are at the forefront of parent concerns.
According to a brookings.edu article, “This turbulence has created immediate challenges, and will have a long-term effect on school boards.
This will change who runs for local school boards and who wins those seats. This will be happening right as board members are poised to make high-stakes decisions about how schools respond to the pandemic’s impacts.”
Some New Jersey parent groups believe that Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration is overstepping and indoctrinating students with liberal ideas. Some school board candidates are now running on a “parental rights” platform, demanding that schools teach what parents want their children to learn.
Educational leaders are pleading with candidates to focus on academics and school issues instead of getting sidelined by controversies. It is being seen across the nation that some overly politicized boards and contentious public comments from parents have led to some incumbents deciding not to seek reelection.
According to Arise NJ, a nonprofit organization providing support to New Jersey residents interested in running for local board of education seats, “There has been a new focus on school boards and their members. We would like to see districts and communities gain more of a say over their children’s government schooling. We also would like to see communities grow together with engaged citizens.”
As Pinney stated in his NJSBA article, “School boards are grappling with complex issues. Planning how to engage and inform a community and its parents is no longer optional, it is a necessity.”
Lower Elementary School Board member Patricia Smith consistently uses the district’s mantra: “Together, we can make a difference.”
Have any thoughts and/or information on this story? Email srenninger@cmcherald.com.
