This paper discusses the school board's responsibility for curriculum matters and attacks the traditional view that the school board should only decide policy matters, while the superintendent should administer that policy. The author defines curriculum as everything that goes on in the schools and argues that it is the board's responsibility to ensure the reliability and validity of the curriculum. This requires active board involvement in so-called administrative matters; otherwise, the board is limited to simply ratifying decisions of the district's administrators. In conclusion, the author discusses the process of needs assessment and suggests that needs assessment should be an important part of the school board's duties. Included as an appendix is a copy of a "Community Survey of Educational Goals" that was part of a needs assessment effort in a New York school district. (JG)