On November 4, 2014 voters in seven Michigan public school districts successfully passed ballot proposals for school construction or renovation. The proposals ranged from $2.1 million to $62.3 million with the median amount $10 million (School Elections for State Qualified Bonds 1996-Present website). School board leadership managing such large amounts can be challenging.
Most school board members have little or no experience managing such large amounts. District administrators, instructional and support staff, parents, students, and citizens usually do not have experience with such large amounts as well. Therefore, when there is an opportunity to spend a large amount of money, some people may believe anything is possible.
The school board may make promises to stakeholders during the bond campaign in an effort to gain their support for the passage of the ballot proposal. Those promises may be vague or even unrealistic because usually a detailed architectural design is not available for campaign material. However, stakeholders have long memories and will recall promises made during the campaign. They will not hesitate to remind the board of those promises once the project is underway.
The possibility of unusually high expectations either based upon the availability of substantial funds or over-zealous promises exists. These expectations have the potential to impact the school board’s decisions.
The school board must make decisions based upon facts. Will the board’s decisions be impacted by funding (or the lack thereof); planned or unplanned changes that are either necessary or optional; competing interests; or the demands of a vocal few? Stakeholders will request what they want, and the board must consider and respond to their requests. At some point, as leaders, the board likely will need to say “no.” How can the board say “no” and not alienate the stakeholders? The board must insure that the project is properly planned, clearly explained, and effectively executed. In other words, the board must demonstrate leadership and the ability to oversee the school construction project to its successful conclusion.
A school board that has no experience in leading a school construction project should seek training. This training should come from a source different than the architect or construction firm the board hires to design and execute the construction project. The architect or construction firm has a vested interest in the project and may consciously or unconsciously introduce bias into its board leadership training. Therefore, the board should seek training from either its State School Board Association or an independent consultant with experience in school construction leadership training.
School construction is one of the most important projects the school board will encounter. Because a construction project should be inclusive, the board will likely encounter many different perspectives. How the board addresses those perspectives could impact whether the stakeholders have confidence in the board’s leadership or lack confidence and criticize the board throughout the project.
