Retiring Colorado superintendent Mary Barter makes a persuasive case for strong board-superintendent relationships in her farewell to the community in a Durango Herald Op-Ed, June 29, 2008

DURANGO, Colo. — Monday, I end my 42-year career as a public educator. I have been a teacher, principal, university professor and, finally, superintendent of three school districts in economically and culturally diverse parts of the country. I can say without reservation that my nine years in Durango have been the best years of my professional life. I have been blessed with and leave a strong, talented and committed staff of teachers, support personnel and administrators.

The District 9-R School Board has selected Keith Owen, a talented administrator, as its next superintendent. His energy, fresh ideas and commitment to the education of all children will serve Durango well. He and the district will prosper if we as a community are willing to respect the roles that a board and superintendent play; to understand that conflicts between them provide the fertile dialogue that leads to better decision making; and to commit to acting with grace and civility with the best interests of all children in mind.

In Colorado, voters elect board members to represent the community's values. The board hires the superintendent to operate the district and to inform the board about shifting community interests, changing legislation and other factors that affect their decisions. Because the superintendent understands the district's complexity, the superintendent must explain how the board's decisions will affect the district.

When complex issues arise, conflicting values often emerge as board and superintendent determine a course of action. They must be able to talk with each other openly and honestly to understand the consequences of a particular decision, so that the final outcome will best serve students and the district's mission. That's easier said than done, especially in today's media-saturated society where we too often portray vigorous debate in simple win-lose dichotomies. The board and superintendent need the public and media's patience to explore complex issues without political pressure to favor one value over another. Our children's education is too important to characterize the discourse as a win-lose proposition.

The district's continuing discussion about career and technical education illustrates the dilemma that competing values pose. The district's historical agricultural community has given way over the years to ex-urbanites who enjoy Southwest Colorado's rural setting. These changes have forced the district to consider whether it should continue traditional programs that primarily have served the needs of the agricultural community or whether resources should be used for different programs.

On the one hand, we value our rural heritage and want to protect programs that traditionally served agriculture. On the other, the board and superintendent have a responsibility to explore whether preserving tradition will negatively affect the district's ability to prepare students for work in the global marketplace. The superintendent clarifies the conflict in values and the financial, social and institutional ramifications of either course of action. The board seeks community opinion, weighs it against the information provided and makes a decision that it thinks will best align with the district's mission and serve its students.

When all parties focus on student success, when board and superintendent trust and respect each other and the information they provide, they create a healthy decision making system that results in sustainable change and that can withstand conflict. Board and superintendent do not focus on "winning" or who will be "right;" rather, they seek to improve the system of information-gathering, debate and deliberation to make the best decisions.

Finally, we must remember that board members are elected to represent all constituencies in our community, not only those who appear before them or those with special interests. We must have respect for the difficult dialogue that must occur without calling the board a rubber stamp or without accusing the superintendent of pandering to the board. When we resort to power politics to influence the outcome through name-calling or malicious blogging, we undermine the trust that sustains a productive board-superintendent relationship, and we disrupt the difficult process of decision making. And while the community will be asked — and rightly expects — to participate in the deliberations, ultimately, the board or superintendent must make the decision and live with the consequences.

I have learned in my years of working with board members that they must be capable of setting aside personal agendas. Board members who bring personal issues to the table lack the objectivity necessary to good decision making and can create confrontations that prohibit the board from gathering the information it needs. Furthermore, good boardsmanship calls upon individual members to speak their minds during discussions preceding their decision. Healthy disagreement makes for good information. But once the board decides, the majority rules, and board members — if they truly wish to work in the community's best interests — must support the decision.

District 9-R is blessed with a strong staff and administrative team, a system of continuous improvement that's working well and community support for its schools. The board has appointed a strong educator with excellent experience in education who has great potential to lead this district to the next level of excellence.  The board and community will have a lot to do with his success.  The community must elect board members without personal agendas, with the strength of character to withstand power politics, and with a commitment to serve the bests interests of the entire community and its children.

And when the community elects those board members, it must create an environment of respect and civility to allow the board and its appointed superintendent to create positive change for our students. We must understand and respect the inherent and necessary conflicts that arise between board and superintendent — conflicts that grow out of vigorous and enlightened debate about issues that have neither right nor wrong solutions. We teach our students to aspire to this level of discourse over the important issues of our times. Now, more than ever, it's time to practice what we teach. 

Mary Barter is retiring as superintendent of Durango School District 9-R.

Source: The Durango Herald, Op-Ed, June 29, 2008