You have the power to turn on the wisdom of your parochial school board.
If your parochial school is like most, its board meetings occur in the evening. It is probably the only time available and even so, it is difficult to have everyone there.
A profile of your typical board member walking into the meeting probably looks something like this:
Has already worked a full day
Has yet to go home or was only home for a short while
May not have eaten
May have work related issues on his or her mind
May have personal issues on his or her mind
Spent limited time preparing for the board meeting
Wants the meeting to be short
Without a little help from you, it is doubtful they are going to be able to make the high quality decisions the mission, students, families, and you want. Without your help, it is unlikely they will be able to fulfill the high expectations their personal and professional accomplishments have created.
What they need from you is a short agenda with only 2 or 3 items on it. Here is the magic that makes that possible:
Open with a mission minute (read the mission statement and provide a short story that reinforces the success of the mission in one student’s life). – This brings everyone’s head and heart into the room and inspires them.
Require all committee and staff reports be in writing and circulated in advance of the meeting. During the meeting, ask if anyone has any questions about the committee reports. If no one has any questions ask for a motion to accept the reports as presented. – This saves 10 – 30 minutes by eliminating storytelling, rambling reports, and long discussions of minor issues.
Pick the items (3 at most) that the board must act on. Provide the board with a description of each issue, the board’s options, and the pros and cons of each option (objectively stated without bias) in advance of the meeting. The pros and cons should include mission impact, budget impact, impact on the staff and students, and how the families might be affected. Ask the board to discuss each item but limit the discussion to 15 minutes. At the end of the time, ask for a vote. If the board is unable to vote, table the issue for the next meeting. – If an item needs more than 15 minutes, the implication is that the board needs more information. Tabling the item will provide time to gather the needed information and enable the board to act wisely.
Include the treasurer’s report in the other committee reports. Ask the treasurer to identify the 3 – 5 critical numbers that determine the health and health trend of your school and highlight those numbers and their trending in each report. The balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow report should also be included. – This process makes it possible for the non-financial people on the board to understand immediately if the school is strong and becoming stronger. If members have questions, exclude the financial report from the report acceptance vote and added it to the discussion list.
When the discussion drifts, stop the discussion and remind everyone that good quality discussions lead to good quality decisions. – One of the reasons boards make suboptimal decisions is because members become tired of the discussion and are willing to vote just to move the meeting along.
Expect it to take 3 – 6 months before the process becomes smooth and efficient. However, it will be obvious after the first meeting that the process will increase board effectiveness.
Next Step:
Try this process for at least 3 and preferably 6 meetings
Take time, before implementing the process, to educate the board about how the process will affect their way of doing things
Take a moment before closing each meeting to collect feedback
Board members are busy people, implementing this process will make the best use of their time. In addition, it will increase board engagement and increase the quality of discussions, and decision-making will improve.
Better decision making will increase the sustainability of your Christian school and reduce the number of crises you have to deal with.
