Legal-Ease: School Law Notes: For general legal advice, turn to your state association

When I began this job, I mistakenly expected the majority of my phone calls to be scholarly discussions of state education laws, how the courts have interpreted those laws, and their impact on school districts on a day-to-day basis.

Boy, was I wrong! I soon learned that my phone calls and e-mails were not only difficult to categorize, they sometimes even defied belief. Being a lawyer was often my least useful skill. I found myself drawing on my life experiences and skills outside the legal field. When answering questions from board members, I more often filled the role of politician, cop, mediator, mind-reader, and even advice columnist. (Dear Abby, watch out!)

One of the more pressing issues is the interpersonal relationships among board members and how they can have an adverse impact on a board’s operation.

A question from a board member such as “how do I change a board policy?” might on its face seem innocuous and relatively straightforward. From a purely legal standpoint, it is a question to which I can give a quick and definite answer.

But what if I get similar but slightly different questions from several members of a board? Then it’s time to step back and ask questions to try and gain insight into what’s really happening with this board.

The quick and easy approach is tempting, but as an association counsel who is also a former school board member, I feel obligated to dig deeper.

So many factors potentially influence both the question asked and the advice ultimately given. Did the last election significantly change the make-up of this board? Were there new members elected on a “reform” platform? Have problems developed between the board and superintendent? Is an activist group in the community pushing for some unreasonable policy change?

What I may discover is that the board is in real trouble and this innocent policy question is just the tip of a threatening iceberg. Sure, I can choose to give the quick answer, but to truly serve our members, I must dig deeply enough into the underlying problems to find what actually caused them to ask the question in the first place.

Once fully informed, I’m ready to answer the question and make helpful suggestions that could improve a board’s working relationship. The solution could be as simple as suggesting the board consider using our association’s policy maintenance service.

More than likely, though, if there are relationship problems, I will suggest that the board and superintendent consider a self-evaluation retreat. This retreat is generally facilitated by the Tennessee School Boards Association, and the goal is to get to the root of issues that are hampering the effective management of the school system.

TSBA uses a self-evaluation instrument that asks board members to rate the board on its effectiveness on a number of indicators in 10 categories, including team building, decision making, and management. We also ask them to rate the importance of each indicator.

Armed with the results, we lead a moderated, impartial discussion that usually brings problems into the open and helps board members begin the process of mending damaged relationships.

So what’s my point? There is no such thing as a simple question, much less an easy answer. Advising school boards takes time, patience, and understanding. But it is one of our most important functions. To truly serve our members, we can afford to do nothing less.