School board members are entrusted by taxpayers to establish and maintain quality in their school systems. Unfortunately, most board members lack the experience or training necessary to face a wide range of new and daunting challenges. This book was designed to help school administrators and board members understand the principles of Total Quality Education and their relationship to school governance. It provides a research-based body of information on board roles in key areas related to successful school governance, grounded in principles of system quality improvement. Chapter 1 describes school board characteristics, functions, and the need for educational change. Chapter 2 presents the ideas and precepts of Total Quality Education (TQE) with a flavor relevant to boards and governance functions. The third and fourth chapters offer guidelines for using policy to implement a bold vision and for designing board policy for quality improvement. Long-range planning processes and strategies are described in chapter 5. Chapters 6-8 offer suggestions for achieving quality leadership and teamwork, exercising board oversight responsibilities, and implementing TQE in the school board structure and processes. Key terms and concepts end each chapter. Forty-nine figures are included. (LMI)