September 10, 2008

Commission for School Board Excellence Recommends Changes to State Law To Make School Boards Stronger

From left: Commission for School Board Excellence co-chair Phil Jacobs, retired president of AT&T (formerly BellSouth) in Georgia; Mark Elgart, president and CEO of AdvancED; and co-chair Gary Price, managing partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The Commission for School Board Excellence today issued its final recommendations for strengthening school boards across Georgia.

The commission recommended changes to state law that would: allow the State Board of Education to intervene when board members fail to perform, create uniform conflict-of-interest and ethics policies, clarify the roles of board members and the superintendent, require school board candidates to meet minimum qualifications to run and receive capacity-building training once elected, create nonpartisan elections, and set a minimum and maximum board size.

The commission also recommended actions that would not require state funding or changes to state law.

"The comprehensive reform measures outlined in the final recommendations will position Georgia as a model state for school governance," said Mark Elgart, president and CEO of AdvancED, the parent organization of the K-12 division of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. SACS accredits more than 90 percent of the schools in Georgia.

The commission, formed at the request of the State Board of Education, includes a diverse group of business leaders, educators and school board experts. The group, which has completed a 90-day task force charged with recommending ways to strengthen school boards across Georgia, presented its final recommendations to the State Board of Education today at 3 p.m.

"Currently, there is very little accountability for school board members," said John Rice, vice chairman of GE and president & CEO of GE Technology Infrastructure, former chair of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, former chair of the regional education policy committee for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, and co-chair of the Commission for School Board Excellence.

"The only course of action for board members that engage in unethical conduct is a recall vote by voters, which is virtually impossible. We recommend a mechanism that allows boards to self-govern, but if this is unsuccessful, we recommend a process to allow the State Board of Education to intervene."

"In addition, the commission found that many boards do not have conflict-of-interest policies," said Gary Price, managing partner for PricewaterhouseCoopers, chair of the regional education policy committee for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, and co-chair of the Commission for School Board Excellence.

"Where there are policies, they are all different and, therefore, difficult to monitor. The commission recommends a statewide uniform conflict-of-interest policy and a code of ethics that meet the unique roles that school boards undertake -- and a requirement that all candidates sign off on these policies before qualifying for election."

"The Georgia statute on local board governance does not clearly outline the roles and responsibilities of the board and superintendent," said Phil Jacobs, retired president of AT&T (formerly BellSouth) in Georgia, past chairman of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, and co-chair of the Commission for School Board Excellence.

"There needs to be clarity in the law and in training."

The commission recommended the following key areas that would require state legislation:

Accountability

Hold boards accountable for student success and school performance
Allow boards to self-govern; but if this is unsuccessful -- board members fail to perform, meet standards or comply with code of ethics -- allow the State Board of Education to intervene

Ethics

Create a code of ethics and conflict-of-interest policy for all school boards
Require candidates to agree to a code of ethics and conflict-of-interest policy in order to qualify for election

Roles and Responsibilities

Clarify the law relating to board and superintendent roles and responsibilities

Candidacy and Elections

Require minimum qualifications for candidates
Call for non-partisan, staggered elections for four-year terms
Require board size limited to five to seven members

Training and Proficiency

Require capacity-building education and training for board members
Require whole-board training for board members

Additional recommendations by the commission that would not require state legislation:

Decisions made by school boards and superintendents should focus on student success
School boards should have a strategic plan
School systems and boards should plan succession for superintendents and board members
School boards should have a policy for public comment and input at public board meetings
Superintendents and board members should create a system for handling citizen requests/problems, and responses should be communicated to all board members
Entire-board training and board-superintendent training should be required
The business community and others should engage to recruit candidates for boards

The commission's key partners include the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education and AdvancED. A comprehensive list of task force members is attached.

For more information on the Commission for School Board Excellence, or to obtain a copy of the final report, click here.

Commission for School Board Excellence Comprehensive Member List

Co-Chair John Rice
Vice Chairman of GE
President & CEO of GE Technology Infrastructure
Former Chair of the Metro Atlanta Chamber and its Regional Education Policy Committee
Co-Chair of the Commission for School Board Excellence

Co-Chair Gary Price
Managing Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers
Chair of the Regional Education Policy Committee for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce
Co-Chair of the Commission for School Board Excellence

Co-Chair Phil Jacobs
Retired President of AT&T (formerly BellSouth) in Georgia
Past Chairman of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce
Co-Chair of the Commission for School Board Excellence

Albert J. Abrams
Vice President, External Affairs
Macon State College

Vance D. Bell
CEO
Shaw Industries Group, Inc.

Brooks Coleman
Representative, District 97
Georgia House of Representatives

Richard Dorfman
President & CEO
Federal Home Loan Bank

Buster Evans
Superintendent
Forsyth County Schools

Jeff Firestone
Vice President, Legal Department
UPS Foundation

Ed Heys
Atlanta Deputy Managing Partner
Deloitte

Cathy Hill
Region Manager - Metro South Region
Georgia Power

Albert Hodge
Eleventh Congressional District
Georgia State Board of Education
President and CEO
Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce

Audrey Hollingsworth
SVP, Director Financial Services HR
Synovus

Art Hopkins
President
Macquarium Intelligent Communications

Milton Little
President
United Way of Metro Atlanta