What to expect from our school board (SFUSD)?
Every 6-7 months, Parents for Public Schools of San Francisco outlines six key expectations for a school board based on the California School Boards Association (CSBA).
Here's a summary of each area:
Values of the Community: The board should represent the community's values and ensure shared understanding of public education, governance, and student potential.
PPS-SF Says: It is essential for the school board to represent the community's values, ensuring a shared understanding of public education, governance, and student potential can be challenging in diverse communities with differing opinions and priorities. The board struggles to balance the needs of various stakeholders, including parents, educators, students, and policymakers, especially when those values conflict. Furthermore, at time the Board focused solely on community representation prioritizing popular opinions over evidence-based decisions that are in the best interest of student outcomes and long-term educational success. There is a risk of the board compromising on educational quality in an attempt to appease popular public sentiment, rather than making bold, transformative choices that serve the broader student population.
Community Leadership: The board is expected to communicate consistently with the public, update on progress, and foster relationships between board members and the community.
PPS-SF Says: Consistent communication and relationship-building between the board and the community are important. The Board risks that such efforts may become overly focused on public relations rather than meaningful action. Some board members appear engaged or responsive to public concerns, but without the board as a whole implementing substantial, long-term solutions to address community concerns community leadership remains weak. Additionally, fostering relationships with the community can be challenging when there are deeply entrenched differences in opinion, making it difficult to achieve true collaboration. Without concrete actions to back up communications, these efforts may create the illusion of progress rather than driving real improvements in educational outcomes. The Board’s excessive emphasis on maintaining a positive image might lead to prioritizing community approval over difficult but necessary decisions that could benefit the district in the long term.
Power of the Whole: Decision-making should be collective, with the board establishing clear guidelines and goals aligned with student achievement and long-term vision.
PPS-SF Says: Collective decision-making is intended to promote collaboration and shared responsibility, it can also lead to inefficiency, diluted accountability, and compromised outcomes. When every decision must reflect group consensus, the process can become slow and politicized, particularly if board members are more focused on appeasing their constituencies than on advancing student achievement. Additionally, the need for unanimity or majority agreement can result in watered-down goals that lack bold vision or urgency. In practice, collective power may obscure individual accountability, making it difficult to determine who is responsible when decisions fail or progress stalls. Without strong leadership and a clear focus, "power of the whole" can turn into "power of inertia."
Decisions Made in Front of the People: All decisions must be made in public meetings (under the Brown Act), with transparency and adherence to legal and regulatory obligations.
PPS-SF Says: Requiring that all decisions be made publicly under the Brown Act ensures transparency, accountability, and public trust in the board’s actions. This openness empowers community members to stay informed, participate in the democratic process, and hold leaders responsible for the outcomes of their decisions. By conducting business in the public eye and adhering to legal and regulatory standards, the board reinforces its commitment to ethical governance and equitable representation, ultimately strengthening the integrity of the school system.
Fiduciary Accountability: Board members are responsible for managing district finances to ensure stability and act in the best interest of the district, monitoring revenue and expenditures.
PPS-SF Says: Fiduciary accountability ensures that board members are responsible stewards of public funds, prioritizing financial stability and long-term sustainability for the district. By carefully monitoring revenue and expenditures, the board helps maximize the impact of every dollar spent—directing resources where they are most needed to support student success. This financial oversight builds public trust, safeguards educational programs, and allows the district to respond strategically to challenges while planning for future growth and improvement.
Effectiveness of Strategic Direction: The board should engage in continuous development, embracing systems thinking and ensuring that resources and policies align with strategic goals.
PPS-SF Says: The intention to align resources and policies with strategic goals is commendable, in practice, the board often struggles to maintain consistent focus amid shifting political pressures, leadership changes, and competing priorities. Continuous development and systems thinking require a deep commitment to long-term planning, yet the board falls into reactive decision-making driven by short-term issues or public opinion. Additionally, without clear metrics and consistent accountability structures, strategic plans risk becoming symbolic documents rather than actionable roadmaps. The effectiveness of strategic direction ultimately depends not just on vision, but on disciplined execution—something that can falter without strong governance and sustained leadership.
PPS-SF emphasizes transparency, community engagement, shared decision-making, legal accountability, and fiscal responsibility a critical standard for the Board of Education.