The success of a country's education system depends to a large extent on the mutual trust and co-operation existing between all partners. However, numerous documented incidents in the media have confirmed that there is a field of tension between school governing bodies of public schools in South Africa and the Department of Education, which is of…

As representatives of their college and in working with the college community, community college trustees enter into numerous relationships, each of which has associated roles and responsibilities. Responsibilities of the board chairperson, for example, include working with the president to set meeting agenda, appointing committee members, serving…

Due to inertia within organizational cultures, relations between the boards and chief executive officers (CEO's) at community colleges tend to remain the same at each institution through time. The time has come to look at the separate roles of the CEO and trustee and then to decide how best at each institution to fashion a relationship between…

This booklet for trustees of institutions of higher education offers guidelines to enable trustees to fulfill their fundamental responsibility of ensuring the financial health of the institution. Introductory sections address: challenges of the financial environment in which trustees must make decisions; specific responsibilities of the…

This document presents findings of a 1992 study of New York State school superintendents. Questionnaires sent by the New York State Council of School Superintendents (NYSCOSS) to 766 NYSCOSS members yielded 480 returns, a 63 percent response rate. The questionnaire examined demographics, contractual issues, retirement plans, and perceptions of…

Conflict between school board members and superintndents that impacts the school district climate is discussed in this overview of related research. A review of recent studies points to a national trend in increased administrator turnover, strained administrator-school board relations, and a shrinking pool of job applicants. A conclusion is that…

In order to develop and improve a school-community relations program, the school board must have written policies and a written program. (Published by California School Boards Association, 800 9th Street, Suite 201, Sacramento, California 95814) (Author/WM)

This document is a brief discussion, in outline form, regarding the legal representation of the school board and the superintendent. Specifically, the school lawyer ordinarily represents the board rather than an individual employee such as the district superintendent. Exceptions to this rule, conflicts of interest, and disclosure matters are…

The extent of agreement expressed by college presidents and governing board chairpersons concerning the relative importance of 20 selected presidential roles was assessed. The variables of institution size and type were also examined as they related to perceived presidential role importance. Based on role theory, attention was directed to whether…

After defining morale and satisfaction and briefly examining writings on school superintendent job satisfaction and morale, the author describes the School Superintendent Morale Measure (SSMM), an objective measure of superintendent morale and satisfaction. From an initial 148 items and 14 factors included on the basis of presumed ability to…

This brief summarizes the findings of significant research studies dealing with school district governance and the political processes of local school districts. The bulk of the discussion focuses on the research of Harmon Zeigler and his colleagues, particularly on the study described in "Governing American Schools," by Zeigler, Jennings, and…

Highlighting the planning role of the junior college board of trustees, the author discusses board structure and membership, college president selection, lay advisory groups and faculty input, the setting of institutional goals, the board-president relationship, future issues the board will face, and needs for interinstitutional cooperation and…

To function effectively, a college board of trustees should act as a single body rather than as a group of individuals, should attempt to work on the basis of consensus, and should avoid the development of factional activity. Perhaps the most important method of ensuring that a board of trustees is operating effectively, both as individuals and as…

The effectiveness of boards of education depends on many factors. Significant among these are maintenance of the board's group identity, proper conduct of meetings, development of community respect through dignified and courteous behavior, establishment of good listening habits by board members, united follow-through on majority decisions, and…

Although there is general agreement on the roles and responsibilities of college presidents and boards of trustees, problems that can impede the effective development and implementation of college policy may arise if either party encroaches into areas for which it is not responsible or if personality conflicts emerge between the president and…