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The publication of a guidebook for school board members was originally undertaken by the Delaware School Boards Association to provide board members with information compiled expressly for this State. The original handbook was received enthusiastically and has proved to be a useful source of information to Delaware board members. The 1963 revision retained most of the material in the original handbook. Changes were made in the interest of clarification or to reflect modifications of school laws or changes in educational statistics. This 1979-80 revision retains some of the material in the 1963 handbook; however, due to changes in district reorganization and federal funds, many changes have been made. The basic purpose of this handbook remains the same - to present principles and general procedures for guidance and information for board members.
It is our hope that Delaware school board members will find this guidebook interesting and helpful. We also hope that they will contribute suggestions for future changes and improvements in this booklet.
"So you're a member of our Board of Education! Well, then, tell me . . ."
If you are an old hand at this business of serving on a local board of Education, those words will have a familiar ring. If you are a new member, or about to become one, they will become familiar.
Or the phone will ring and a resident of your district will begin asking (or complaining) about some matter or other.
As you already know (or will find out), there are a myriad of things a school board member is expected to know. Someone has said that all one needs to do to become an expert in every field is to become a school board member.
This being the case, your State School Boards Association has undertaken to compile facts and principles which give you some of the answers or, at least, give you some help in finding the answers.
In the following pages, we tell you something about how school boards get started, who serves on them, how they get there, what they do, and how they do it along with background information on a number of crucial topics that affect your school district operation. As the size of this book indicates, it is not a compendium but an outline. The bibliography is fairly complete, however, and should help you find additional information. Your local superintendent, the State Department of Education, or your School Boards Association will help you locate material you do not have yourself.
Public education is a partnership - one in which federal, state and local entities have a vested interest and make a unique contribution. Nowhere else in the world, except perhaps Canada, is education a federal concern, a state responsibility, and a local operation. Public education must be a cooperative effort in which federal, state, and local governing officials, the school employees, and the taxpayers or owners must work together harmoniously for the good of the pupils and the public whom they represent and serve.
Public school education in the United States had its beginning in the pauper schools of Massachusetts and other New England colonies in the first half of the seventeenth century. These common schools in the beginning had as their chief purpose the teaching of reading as a means to salvation. Frequently, they were taught by ministers; and even though other branches of learning were added, they continued under the domination of the churches. With independence as a new country came a sharp separation from the church and a new emphasis on common learning that would prepare the pupils for work and self-government.
As life in the United States became more complex, public education became a proliferation of many branches, and teaching passed into the hands of professionals trained specifically for teaching. As we know it today, it has as its principal purposes: learning the best of our common heritage (culture); training for work, for homemaking, and for citizenship. Ideally, the school strives to develop each pupil to the fullest extent in order that he might serve the best interests of society.
Rev.: 7/03
Very early education in Delaware, as in other states, was local and organized by the churches. The first State Constitution of 1776, however, directed the legislature "as soon as conveniently may be" to provide by law for the establishment of schools. Fifty-three years later in 1829, the first public school law gave each district the authority to determine the character of its own school. Some chose to have none at all.
In 1875, the Legislature created the State Board of Education for "the general administration and supervision of the free public schools and of the educational interests of the State".
Article X of the State Constitution of 1897 made the following provision for free public schools:
The General Assembly shall provide for the establishment and maintenance of a general and efficient system of free public schools, and may require by law that every child, not physically or mentally disabled, shall attend the public school, unless educated by other means.
In addition to the income of the investments of the Public School Fund, the General Assembly shall make provision for the annual payment of not less than one hundred thousand dollars for the benefit of the free public schools which, with the income of the investments of the Public School Fund, shall be equitably apportioned among the school districts of the State as the General Assembly shall provide; and the money so apportioned shall be used exclusively for the payment of teachers' salaries and for furnishing free textbooks; provided, however, that in such apportionment, no distinction shall be made on account of race or color, and separate schools for white and colored children shall be maintained. All other expenses connected with the maintenance of free public schools, and all expenses connected with the erection or repair of free public school buildings shall be defrayed in such manner as shall be provided by law.
No portion of any fund now existing, or which may hereafter be appropriated, or raised by tax, for educational purposes, shall be appropriated to, or used by, or in aid of any sectarian, church or denominational school; provided, that all real or personal property used for school purposes, where the tuition is free, shall be exempt from taxation and assessment for public purposes.
No part of the principal or income of the Public School Fund, now or hereafter existing, shall be used for any other purpose than the support of free public schools.
The General Assembly, notwithstanding any other provision of this Constitution, may provide by an Act of the General Assembly, passed with the concurrence of a majority of all the members elected to each House, for the transportation of students of nonpublic, nonprofit Elementary and High Schools. (56 Del. Laws, c. 30)
No property tax receipts received by a public school district as a result of a property tax levied for a particular purpose shall be used for any other purpose except upon the favorable vote a majority of the eligible voters in the district voting on the question.
In 1997 the Department of Public Education was changed by statute to become a cabinet department headed by a Secretary appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the State Senate.
The Secretary of Education has, among his/her assigned responsibilities, the following principal powers and duties as found in Title 14, §103, Delaware Code:
1. Supervision of the Department of Education, including the appointment and regulation of personnel;
2. In conjunction with the governor, the organization of the Department;
3. Enter into contracts, agreements, etc. which facilitates the performance functions of the Department;
4. In consultation with the State Board, prepare proposed operating budgets and capital budgets to be submitted to the Governor and General Assembly;
5. Appoint committees to assist in performing the duties of the office of Secretary;
6. Develop and implement policy for grades 1-12 to decrease social promotion.
The State Board of Education, likewise, has functions to perform. They are also reflected in Title 14, §104 , Delaware Code as follows:
1. Provide the Secretary with advice and guidance with respect to the development of policy in those areas of joint responsibility with the Secretary as well as with new initiatives that may be proposed by the Secretary;
2. The State Board may also recommend new initiatives to the Secretary;
3. Provide the Secretary of Education with guidance in preparation of annual report, including recommendations for additional legislation and changes to existing legislation;
4. Provide the Secretary with guidance concerning the implementation of student achievement and statewide assessment programs;
5. Decide controversies and disputes involving the administration of public schools, including those involving rules and regulations of local boards of education;
6. Fix and establish district boundaries;
7. Approve such Department policies and regulations as required by law;
8. Approve rules and regulations governing post secondary institutions.
The State Board of Education is comprised of seven members, appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. The President of the Board serves at the pleasure of the Governor. The remaining members serve for six years or until his/her successor qualifies.
Rev.: 7/03
The earliest colonial schools were largely church-originated and church-governed. As they became separated from the church, the municipal authorities or town meetings created school committees, which had as their duties, the overseeing of the schools. These duties consisted of maintaining a building, providing fuel, hiring a teacher, and examining the pupils. In the early history of our country, it was believed that, in order for a people to successfully govern themselves, the citizens must be able to read and write to make informed decisions.
As the various states created public school systems, the state school codes provided for school boards at the state's representatives in the districts, empowered to employ teachers and operate schools under provisions of the law, usually with a discretionary authority to act in all matters not specifically denied by law to them. They were also authorized to levy and collect taxes for the support of the schools.
Specifically, Delaware Code, Title 14, Subchapter III, beginning with §1041 provides for local school boards and delegates the responsibility and authority to administer and supervise public schools in the State, including determining educational policy; promulgating rules and regulations for the conduct and management of schools; adopting courses of study; selecting, purchasing, and distributing supplies; appointing personnel; and maintaining school buildings.
Rev.: 7/03
There are nineteen school districts in the State of Delaware. Sixteen school boards have elected board members, and the three vocational-technical districts consist of board members appointed by the Governor.
Elected boards are made up of five to ten members, with members elected for a term of five years. The exception to the length of terms is Indian River. They serve 3-year terms, beginning with the elections in 1996. The three appointed boards have seven members with seven-year terms.
Elections are held in accordance with the provisions of the Delaware Code, Title 14, Education.
While the election or appointment of board members is prescribed in the code, selection of candidates is a local matter and is done in various ways. An individual may decide that, because of his interest, he wishes to become a member of the local board; or an organization may feel that some person would make a good board member. In districts where positions are filled by election, a resident becomes a candidate by filing with the County Board of Elections, at least 60 days prior to the election. In the three vocational districts, where board members are appointed by the Governor, appointments are made on the basis of residence, experience, qualifications, and political affiliation, as well as the recommendations of interested community organizations.
Rev.: 7/03
The only legal qualifications for school board membership in Delaware are that a person must be an adult citizen of the State and that he must reside in the school district he services.
In addition to the bare legal requirements, one wishing to serve as a school board member should have certain basic qualities:
¥ He/she should possess a high standard of personal integrity.
¥ He/she should have the broad viewpoint to be able to represent impartially all the people of the community.
¥ He/she should have good physical energy, sound mental health, and social poise above the average.
¥ He/she must have a profound interest in the welfare of all the children in the community, not just a segment or a special group.
¥ He/she should have, or be willing to develop, a sympathetic understanding of the teaching and learning process as it involves the human relationships between teachers and pupils.
Above all, a school board member should be a person who holds universal public education in the highest esteem, who understands its vital importance to the survival of a free society, and who is willing to work unremittingly to provide and to support the highest quality of public education that his community can afford.
Rev.: 7/03
A school board member should be willing to accept the following responsibilities:
1. The school board member must recognize that he/she is entrusted with the educational development of the children and youth of the school district, and that he/she has a moral and civic obligation to the State and nation to assure that the public schools of the United States are kept free and strong.
2. The school board member should keep in mind, under all circumstances that the primary function of the Board is to establish the goals and policies by which the schools are to be administered, but that the administration of the educational program and the conduct of school business shall be left to the superintendent of schools and the staff.
3. He/she must recognize that the future welfare of the community, State, and nation depends in the largest measure upon the quality of education provided in the public schools.
4. The school board member must accept the fact that the public expects his/her concerns and actions shall be in the best interests of every student in the district.
5. He/she must be able to accept the principle of board unity and be able to subordinate self-interest. He/she should remember at all times that as an individual, he/she has no legal authority outside the meetings of the Board. The board member must base relationships with the school staff and the local citizenry and all media of communications on this fact.
6. A board member must resist every temptation and outside pressure to use the position as a school board member for personal benefit or to benefit any other individual or agency apart from the total interest of the school district.
7. The school board member should recognize that it is as important for the Board to understand and evaluate the educational program of the schools toward the improvement of student achievement as it is to plan for the business of school operation.
8. The school board member must take the initiative in public engagement for all the people of the district to have all the facts about their schools, to the end that the public will readily provide support for the finest possible school program, school staff, and school facilities.
9. The school board member must, by law, avoid any participation in activities where conflict of interest may be involved.
School board members should be familiar with the National School Boards Association's "Code of Ethics for School Board Members", portions of which have been included above.
Likewise, it is important to note that school board members come under the purview of the Code of Ethics and Conflict of Interest statutes in Chapter 58, Title 29, Delaware Code.
Rev.: 7/03
In general, the function of a local school board is to establish the direction and policies for the operation of the school system of the district. It is then the function of the administration to carry out these policies.
Policies are principles adopted to chart a course of action and to define for the administration the limits within which he shall