NSBA President: Local board members deserve our gratitude
By Norman D. Wooten
02/08 -- Being a school board member isn’t easy. You spend hours a week attending meetings, poring over budget details, and researching school issues.
Family dinners are often interrupted, and constituents call at all hours of the day and night. And when there’s a controversial issue on the table -- a boundary change or budget cuts, for example -- you’re often subject to personal attacks.
So it’s important for NSBA and the state school boards associations that make up the NSBA Federation to show appreciation for school board members’ hard work and dedication to public education and their communities.
I encourage state associations to take advantage of NSBA’s School Board Member National Recognition Program, which awards certificates to about 10 to 15 school board members annually in each state.
The state associations submit nominees to NSBA. To be nominated, a local board member must:
• be certified by their state association as having met or exceeded eligibility criteria established by that state;
• have made significant contributions to the advancement of education as evidenced by their leadership at and beyond the local level; and
• have regularly attended state, regional, and national conferences, including a minimum of three NSBA-sponsored workshops or conferences over a four-year period.
NSBA provides certificates and pins to the honored board members, which are usually presented at the state associations’ annual conferences. So far this year, four state associations have nominated a total of 28 local school board members.
School board members dedicate their lives to public services and often don’t get much appreciation, says one of this year’s nominees, Diane R. Sandifer, a member of the Harris County, Ga., school board, past president of the Georgia School Boards Association, and a member of the NSBA Board of Directors.
“It’s a special honor to receive recognition for a positive contribution,” Sandifer says.
“It’s especially important to have an award for school board members who are making an effort to contribute, for those who go beyond the normal expectations,” says Michael D. Johnson, executive director of the Illinois Association of School Boards, which nominated three local board members this year.
The award is particularly meaningful in Illinois, where local board members aren’t paid and many serve solely out of a commitment to their communities and “really believe in giving back,” says Johnson, who is also the chair of the Federation Member Executive Directors’ NSBA Liaison Committee.
All the state associations should consider submitting nominees for this award and also take other opportunities to recognize local school board members who are doing an outstanding job of promoting policies to raise student achievement, improve their schools, and engage their local communities.
Being a local school board member can be a thankless job. Many of us are motivated by our beliefs in public service and that we can make a difference. Sometimes a little gratitude and encouragement go a long way toward helping us see that our efforts are appreciated.
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