How to pick school board members

When voters look at the school board races on their ballots, they often resort to eeny, meeny, miny, moe. Many just don’t know enough about candidates to make an educated choice.

So, voters take their best guess, skip the category or go with the people who already hold the seat, figuring incumbents can’t be that bad if voters elected them before.

Well, Clayton County proves veteran office holders can be pretty bad.

The county’s loss of accreditation last month is testament to how a handful of sorry board members with little sense and fewer ethics can sink a school system and send a whole county reeling.

Voters across the state, including in DeKalb, Gwinnett, Fulton, Cobb and Clayton, are being asked to fill school board seats when they go to the polls on Nov. 4.

While the contests don’t provide the drama of the presidential race, school board members oversee annual budgets that can top a billion dollars and set policies that can determine the quality of your child’s education.

Unfortunately, it’s not just voters who regard school board races as ho-hum. School boards have never garnered the media attention that county commissions or city councils draw. And it’s hard to get TV crews interested in school news, unless a school is on fire.

To their credit, more communities and homeowner associations are sponsoring candidate forums where voters can come and quiz aspiring school board members. Many candidates now have Web sites where voters can pose questions.

At AJC.com, readers can check out candidates via the voter’s guide (a2.thevoterguide.org/a-ajc08/index.do?sfr.)

In evaluating school board candidates, here are some points to consider:

• What’s been their historic involvement with the schools? Can they name the schools in their districts and the principals? As surprising as it may seem, some candidates can’t list the schools in the areas they want to represent.

• Have they attended school board meetings on a regular basis? Potential board members don’t have to show up at every meeting, but they have to attend enough to understand what the board does.

• What are their plans to improve student achievement? At some forums, candidates never address student achievement except to complain that it’s not high enough. But they offer no ideas about how to raise it.

• Beware the candidates running because of a private gripe with the school district over how their child was treated. Such candidates may be great advocates for their own kids, but lack a broader interest in the success of all students.

• Can the candidates work as part of a team? Everyone loves a rebel, but at some point board members have to work together to pass policy, hire superintendents and create goals for students. A board overrun with mavericks may be a hoot to watch in action, but it will likely accomplish very little.

• Can the candidates put forth any proposals to improve student learning that don’t require piles of cash? Because there won’t be piles. Anywhere. Every school district in the state will have less money next year.

• Listen carefully when candidates talk about their goals. Are they compliance-driven — do they talk about meeting the mandates set by the state Department of Education? Or are they performance-driven — do they focus on how to get students achieving not only to the state bar, but to national and international levels? You don’t want schools that just comply; you want schools that perform.

• What is their broader vision for the schools? And how will they hold the superintendent accountable for acting on the vision? Candidates ought to spell out specific sets of measures they’d use to assess whether superintendents are doing a good job.

• What do they know about the range of programs offered to students? For instance, are they aware of the state’s Virtual High School? If so, can they tell you how many high schoolers in the district are taking Advanced Placement courses online? Can they report how many kids are taking AP classes, period? Do they know why it’s important for high school students to not only take AP classes, but to take and score high on AP tests?

• Do they have other sources of income or are they regarding the school board stipend as their livelihood? As a rule, people with dire money problems — houses in foreclosure, no clear source of income, collection agencies at their heels — don’t make strong board members. They ought to straighten out their own finances before they manage a school district’s finances. (One tip: If a candidate’s phone has been disconnected, he or she is not a good bet.)

• Is the candidate a current or retired school employee? A blue-ribbon task force has recommended a ban on working educators on boards. In concept, boards are supposed to give parents a hand in their local schools, but they’ve come to be dominated by educators. That skews the focus of boards from student concerns to teacher concerns. Look for candidates without financial ties to the school system, either their own or family members.

• Watch for the perennial candidates who envision a career in politics and are looking for any foothold. School boards require people willing to slog through reports, scrutinize budgets and read the fine print. Don’t waste a vote on someone who sees the school board as way to get their name in the paper on their way to the Legislature.

• On the other hand, be wary of lifetime school board members. After two decades on a board, a member ought to step down and make room for new voices and ideas.

— Maureen Downey, for the editorial board (mdowney@ajc.com)