To assess the public image of the school board role, 1,794 randomly selected citizens in 12 Wisconsin school districts were interviewed concerning their perceptions of the school board and expectations for its operation. Questions covered (1) the relative importance of the school board role, (2) motivation for seeking the office, (3) expected qualifications for school board members, (4) accomplishments and shortcomings of the board, (5) operating procedures of the board, (6) school board response to pressure groups, (7) public involvement in school policy making, and (8) fiscal responsibility of the board. Results show that the public's image of the school board role is quite respectable, with school boards being viewed as important bodies which are fiscally responsible and whose members are altruistically motivated. In general, boards are felt to function openly and to be resistant to external pressures. Citizens were found to be rather naive in some respects and poorly informed in others. Expectations for several aspects of the school board role exhibit considerable variation from one school district to another, pointing out the need for additional study of the underlying social, economic, and demographic variables which influence response patterns. (TT)