Thank a school board member today

Today marks "School Board Members Day" in Illinois, a day set aside by the state to honor, recognize and thank nearly 6,600 citizens who volunteer their time in service to 868 public school districts throughout the state.

School boards were first given responsibility in America more than 200 years ago in Massachusetts. Other states soon followed suit, recognizing that separating the governance of schools from rough-and-tumble political processes was desirable. Doing so also ensured a local voice in the structure, curriculum and operation of the schools that was often lacking, particularly in the states that attempted to govern education at the state level.

In the early part of the 20th century, school board work became less about school operations and hiring teachers and took on the characteristics of corporate boards. At that point, the work of school board members became more focused on governance and policy matters while the management of the schools was turned over to professional school administrators, typically with the title of superintendent of schools.

That model has largely moved forward intact; a school board member's job today is to provide governance to the public school system.

The best school boards engage their communities in periodic discussions about school objectives and the capabilities graduates should have. Board members also work with the only employee they have - the superintendent - to identify the steps that will be taken each year toward a district's overall goals or mission. School board members are thus the most local form of governance anywhere in the United States.

At the peak in 1945, Illinois had nearly 12,000 school districts - often just a single school per district. Consolidation has led to today's much smaller collection of school districts with schools that tend to be larger. And as society's challenges have grown, more has been expected of public schools. Institutions that once were concerned solely with teaching basic reading, writing and math skills now also find themselves providing college-level math and science to prepare the next generation to compete globally. They provide career and vocational training so important to the service sector of the nation's economy. They're providing breakfast and lunch to children that would otherwise go hungry and giving social and emotional support to fill the voids created by absent, incapable or unavailable parents. In some cases, our schools provide the only safe haven a child will experience each day.

School board members are responsible for overseeing all of this. They are responsible for making the all-too-frequent difficult calls about which programs will survive and which won't. They are responsible for building schools as well as closing them. Ultimately, they must exercise sound judgment to determine what's best for their community, even when they know that many decisions mean a disappointed contingent and the opportunity for someone to criticize their efforts.

School board members do what they do because they believe in public education. They believe in providing as bright a future as possible for the children under their care. And they take the time to study and consider issues because they know that someone must do so. They do so knowing they will hear more criticism than thanks; the happily unaffected have no reason to go out of their way to say so.

School Board Members Day is an annual opportunity and reminder to express appreciation for the work done by school boards throughout Illinois. Please take the time to thank your local members of the largest group of unpaid elected officials in the state.

They've earned it.

Mark C. Metzger is president of the Illinois Association of School Boards, a Springfield-based organization that supports excellence in local school governance.