UVA Dean Dr. Billy Cannaday on Board-Savvy Superintendents

On October 1, 2008, Dr. Billy Cannaday became Dean of the School of Continuing & Professional Studies at the University of Virginia. The school provides undergraduate and graduate degrees, professional development certification, personal enrichment courses and travel programs, serving the surrounding communities and more than 15,000 adult students annually at seven regional academic centers around the state. Prior to joining the UVA executive ranks, Billy was Virginia’s Superintendent of Public Instruction under Governor Tim Kaine and superintendent of the Chesterfield County Public Schools, where I served as Billy’s governance consultant. Billy and I spent a stimulating couple of hours together recently, discussing “board-savvy” superintendents.

Doug: Billy, what steps have you seen “board-savvy” superintendents take to build real solid partnerships with their school boards?

Billy: Over the course of my 34-year career in public education, I’ve seen five steps make a real difference in terms of the board-superintendent working relationship. First and probably most important, the board savviest superintendents I’ve observed over the years bring a very positive attitude toward working with their boards. They see their board as a critical partner in leading their school district, and they really want the board to play a strong leadership role. No really board-savvy superintendent would ever see their board as an adversary, or focus on keeping the board under control and out of their business. A second key partnership building step I’ve seen work very well is for the superintendent to make sure the board is actively involved in setting strategic directions for their district, especially establishing a clear vision for where the district is headed. I learned early in my career that the great majority of school board members want to do high-level leadership work; they don’t for the most part want to micromanage, and they won’t – provided that their superintendent makes an effort to get them meaningfully involved in dealing with the truly high-stakes issues that make a big difference. Three other important steps that I’ve seen board-savvy superintendents take to ensure close, positive, and really productive partnerships with their boards are: (1) to made sure their board members are always well-informed about important developments in their districts and never, ever caught off guard and put on the defensive; (2) to interact informally, frequently with board members individually, getting to know them well in terms of their leadership styles and the educational issues they feel most strongly about; and (3) to find practical ways to help their board members visibly succeed as leaders. When I was a superintendent, I made a point of going out of my way to keep any of my board members from looking bad in public. Keeping board members well-briefed on issues is probably the best way of making them look knowledgeable and in-command of their governing role.

Doug: We’ve got thousands of highly qualified school board members around the country – bringing a tremendous amount of knowledge, experience, expertise, and community connections to the boardroom – but many school boards appear to fall far short of their potential as governing bodies. Why do you think that’s the case?

Billy: My three decades in the public education “business” have taught me that board members tend to arrive at the district boardroom with only a vague understanding of the school board’s governing role and detailed governing functions, and, to make things even worse, they tend not to receive the in-depth governing education and training needed to get them up to speed. It’s really ironic when you think about it: school boards have awesome responsibilities and tremendous power – hiring and firing superintendents; approving strategic and operational plans; adopting the annual budget – but they tend to get far less training for this complex and demanding role than the average faculty member or administrator. It’s great that most school members are bright and well-intentioned, but if they don’t have a firm grasp of what they should be doing as a governing body and how to do it, they won’t come close to reaching their potential in terms of governing. Another problem I’ve seen is that we’ve not paid enough attention to helping school board members understand the importance of transparency in their deliberations, and because the public is all too often left in the dark about how complex decisions have gotten made, too many school districts have lost public trust and support.

Doug: A final question, Billy: What are some things you’ve seen erode board-superintendent working relationships?

Billy: Perhaps the most damaging thing I’ve seen really un-board-savvy superintendents do is fail to keep their board members well-briefed on the issues, so that they don’t look prepared in board meetings or, even worse, get blind-sided in public and thrown on the defensive. I’ve also seen superintendents who are oblivious to the special constituency concerns of their board members, so that they needlessly put their board members in awkward situations. Not paying close enough attention to each of their board members’ special needs and concerns is a cardinal sin that too many superintendents commit, I’m sorry to say. And a third problem that I’ve seen is superintendents who actually bad mouth board members in meetings with their senior administrators, which, of course, always gets back to the board and isn’t soon forgotten or easily forgiven. Even giving senior administrators the impression that the work of the board isn’t a top priority can damage a superintendent’s partnership with the board.