seven principles of good governance final on 3-13-07

8/6/2019 Seven Principles of Good Governance Final on 3-13-07

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2007 National Charter Schools Institute 1 March 2007

As a consultant, I sat silently for most of the boardmeeting, observing and taking notes. As the meetingneared the end of its third hour, I slipped my hand intothe air. The board chair nodded in my direction. In thebest professional voice I could muster considering thelate hour, I asked, Is the length of this meeting normalfor you? Most of the board nodded in exhaustedagreement. Apparently, this was for them, just anothernight spent arguing, alternating between approving andsuggesting management actions, and discussing minu-tiae. Less than a tenth of their time that evening was

devoted to discussing the thing that actually matters forcharter schools: student performance.

But the low point of the boards dysfunction was itsfailure to connect its poor governance with the lousyperformance of the school. (Notice that we dontblame lousy school performance on the students.)

Id like to tell you that the example is an anomaly,but I can affirm, after more than 20 years of service onboardsas CEO on some and trustee on othersthemeeting Ive described is more the rule than the excep-tion. This observation is certainly not limited to char-

tered schools,* but it seems to me that with the chargeof preparing children for their future, we could be do-ing much more to govern well.

We need to build capacity. Let me illustrate by ask-ing this question. Why is it that we expect our author-izers and sponsors to be knowledgeable, our charterschool leaders to be innovative, and our teachershighly qualified, but when it comes to boards and gov-ernance, very little, if anything at all, is required? No

charter school board would hire a CEO who regardedhis or her own professional development as optional.Yet how many charter school board members acrossthe country have read any books or articles on govern-ance, attended any governance training seminars, or setaside any time in their own board meetings expresslyfor developing their own governance capacity?

The result is observable in many places: charter schoolboards that interfere with management, waste taxpayerdollars, and fail to ensure that their schools educate chil-dren to worldclass standards. The purpose of this mono-

graph is to articulate a framework for charter school gov-ernance that will reverse this unacceptable trend.

Introduction

TheSevenAbsolutelyUniversal,NonNegotiable,Unchanging

PrinciplesofGoodCharterSchoolGovernance

by

BrianL.CarpenterCEO

NationalCharterSchoolsInstitute

*Note to my readers: Ted Kolderie, one of the charteringmovements primogenitors, proposes that we can help peo-ple understand the unique opportunities offered by charterschools by using the word charter as a verb rather than asa noun or adjective.

Why parse words in this way? According to the 38th AnnualPhi Delta Kappan/Gallup Poll, half or more of the publicthinks that charter schools are free to teach religion, chargetuition, and selectively admit students (Hess, 2006).

Modifying the word charter to its past tense verb formshould help us dispel these false notions. Thus, throughoutthis monograph, I alternate between the words charterschool and chartered school as a way of working the verbform into our collective vocabulary.

For further reading on the charter misunderstanding, see:

Hess, F. M. (2006). Charter school confusion: What theyknow just ain't so. Retrieved 3/12/07, from www.aei.org/publications/pubID.24933,filter.all/pub_detail.asp


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second-grade parents to get theirchildren promoted into one of thepreferred two sections. Yet theschool leader has just renewed thedisliked teachers contract for the

fourth consecutive year. At this,the second- and third-grade parentscollaborate and successfully getone of their own appointed to theboard. The parent board memberarrives for her first board meeting,politely announcing that she isthere to represent the parents of thesecond and third grades.

Assuming the presence of lead-ership in the board, a board that

fails to refute such an assertion is aboard that does not yet understandthe first tenet of good governance:The board governs on behalf of the

owners. Although the ownershipgroup of SCS includes the parentsof second- and third-grade stu-dents, it is actually much broader.How broad? Well, chartered schoolsare public schools without usual dis-trict boundaries, so I make the case

to boards that they exist to serve theinterests of the public of the entirestate in which the school operates.

Thus, the new board member,along with every other SCS boardmember, needs to understand thatthe boards first obligation is to thepublicnot a particular group ofstakeholders. This clarity is impor-tant because in some instances, aboard may actually find that what

the public wants is in conflict withwhat particular stakeholders want(think lawsuits against the Pledgeof Allegiance).

When a charter school boardproperly views its role as one ofstewardship in which the very rea-son for its existence is to representthe owners, it begins to lay thefoundation for true governance.

Principle 1: Govern asStewards Rather than as

Stakeholders

The starting point for under-

standing effective governance is torealize that charter schoolboardslike most boardsgovernon behalf of someone else. In otherwords, boards dont usually existto represent their own interests, butthe interests of an owner. In itssimplest terms, this is the conceptof stewardship (Carver, 2006).Thus, the principle of stewardshipdemands that a charter school

board grapple with two questions:Who are the schools owners?and What do the owners expect oftheirschool?

To contemplate these two ques-tions, lets examine the distinctionbetween the owners of a charterschool and its stakeholders, sinceits commonplace for boards to actas though they exist to representthe interests of the latter (Carver,

2001). As a group, charter schoolstakeholders include, but are notlimited to parents, students, teach-ers, management, vendors, and theimmediate community. And whilestakeholder interests and concernsare important, they are not neces-sarily the same as the owners in-terests.

Lets consider a realistic exam-ple. Successville Charter School

has three sections of third grade.Teachers liked by parents teachtwo of the sections. But manythird-grade parents dont like theteacher of the third section. Parentgrapevines at schools are moreproficient than my teenage daugh-ters text messaging abilities, andthe grapevine at SCS is no excep-tion. The third-grade parents warn

Throughout thismonograph,

wherever you seethe books and

coffee symbol, I recommendfurther resources,

beginning with these two:

Carver, J. (2006).Boardsthat make a difference: a

new design for leadership innonprofit and public organi-

zations (3rd ed.). San Fran-cisco, CA: Jossey-Bass A

Wiley Imprint.

Carver, J. (2002).JohnCarver on board leader-

ship: Selected writings from

the creator of the world's

most provocative and sys-

tematic governance model.San Francisco, Calif.:

Jossey-Bass, A Wiley Co.


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For boards thatare interested inimplementingPolicy Govern-ance (not to be confusedwith merely adhering to theprinciples stated in thismonograph), the followingresource is invaluable:

Carver, J., & Carver, M. M.(2006).Reinventing yourboard: a step-by-step guide

to implementing policy gov-

ernance (Rev. ed.). San Fran-cisco, CA: John Wiley &Sons, Inc.

basic idea behind value-added as-sessment) at a cost not to exceedthe schools annual state revenues.

Everything else, such as peda-gogical methods, curriculum,amount of homework, teachers,length of school day or year, gradua-tion requirements, assessment, class-room ratio, accreditation, etc., is ameans to an end. Someone willthen ask, Who decides the means,the board or the school leader?Actually, a means policy is not de-fined by who decides it (Carver,2006). The short answer is theboard adopts means policies thatpertain only to matters of prudenceand ethics. (See Principle 4 for amore thorough answer to this im-portant question.)

At first blush, it may seem tosome that Im merely quibblingover semantics. Far from it. Theambiguity arising from the boardsfailure to clearly define the schoolsends will result in misdirected re-sources, lack of board andstaff fo-cus, and endless turf battles over thepurpose of the school. Perhaps themost onerous consequence though,is that the absence of defined pur-poses will leave the board with fewindicators as to how to evaluate theperformance of the school.

A charter school doesnt existto teach, it exists thatstudents de-rive some benefit or result: ends.As matter of good governance, theboards role is to establish those

primary ends.

Principle 3: ExerciseFiduciary Responsibility

A basic principle of charterschool governance is to safeguardthe school from harm. The boardaccomplishes this as it exercises

Principle 2: EstablishOrganizational Purpose

Once a charter school boardrealizes that it exists to represent

the interests of its public owners,its next primary responsibility is toestablish the purposes for whichthe school exists. This might soundeasy. You say, Oh, weve donethat. The purpose of our school is tooffer a college prep program, orThe mission of our academy is toprovide at-risk kids with marketablevocational skills. Would you besurprised if I said that your schooldoesnt exist for either of those pur-poses, or anything like them?

John Carver has written exten-sively about organizational pur-poses which he calls ends. In hismodel, Policy Governance, endspolicies address a threefold con-cept: your organizations results,recipients, and cost of re-sults (2006, p. 152). While it isnot the purpose of this monographto explain everything there is toknow about defining ends, I wantto emphasize a key concept withrespect to the governance principleof establishing a charter schoolspurpose. Most charter schools de-fine their purpose as existing to dosomething (for example, to teachimpoverished children living inurban areas). In the two examples Igave above, youll notice thewords to offer and to provide.Carvers approach does not definesuch statements as ends at all, butrather, as means (Carver, 2006). Agenuine end for a charter schooloperating in an impoverished ur-ban area might be that all studentsenrolled gain at least a yearsworth of growth as a result of ayears worth of instruction (the


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I recommend thebook, Governanceas Leadership, asa good primer for

boards that need to think

about their purpose.

Chait, R. P., Ryan, W. P., &Taylor, B. E. (2005).

Governance as leadership:

Reframing the work of

nonprofit boards.John Wiley & Sons.

federal school code (and nonprofitlaw in certain states).

The boards governance role isto exercise fiduciary responsibilityin adopting sound policy, followedby compliance monitoringone ofthe most critical governance rolesrarely practiced by boards.

To see how this works, lets turnback to our two examples, bullyingand AHERA. In Policy Governance,the board might adopt a means pol-icy that says something like, Theschool leader shall not cause or al-low any condition in the school thatis illegal or unsafe (Carver, 2006).(Notice how the policy is a matter ofprudence and ethics.)

How would the board monitorcompliance with that policy?(After all, it might not reasonablyknow that such things as anti-bullying statutes or AHERA exist.)Quite easily, actually. At intervalsprescribed by the board, the boardsimply directs the school leader toreport (in writing) compliance ornoncompliance with the policy,along with a rationale for his or herdetermination.

But, you say, what if theleader misleads the board, or isuninformed himself or herself?Couldnt we still be fined or sued?Yes. No model of governance canprevent human error or deception.But if I had to face a court or agovernment agency, Id ratherhave as a defensible argument that

(1) the board had a policy intendedto safeguard the school, and that(2) the board had a monitoringschedule in place that it was fol-lowing. This at least, shows thatyou attempted to exercise properfiduciary responsibility. Even so,you may lose, but thats a lot betterthan defending yourself by saying,

fiduciary responsibility (Chait,Ryan & Taylor, 2005). For pur-poses of simplicity, I propose thatcharter school boards think of thisresponsibility as falling into one of

two broad categories. The boardhas a fiduciary responsibility tosafeguard:

every stakeholders right to physi-cal and emotional safety in theschool, and

the schools finances and property.

But how can a board do this?After all, for example, board mem-bers cant possibly spend every

day at the school monitoring class-rooms, playgrounds, and restroomsto prevent bullying (and even ifthey can, they shouldnt!). Butdont mistake your inability to be atthe school in person as a suitabledefense if someone sues your boardfor failing to prevent bullying fromoccurring. The same could be said ofprivacy rights, sexual harassment,discrimination, and so on.

And then what about safeguard-ing property and finances? Thesheaves of regulations generatedby government agencies these daysare enough to swamp a dingy.How can a board member, for ex-ample, be expected to know therequirements for schools under theAsbestos Hazard Emergency Re-sponse Act (AHERA)? Yet non-compliance can get a school in big

trouble. Just ask the Vermont Cen-ter for the Deaf and Hard of Hear-ing. In 2001, the EPA fined it$20,000 for AHERA violations.

Thankfully, the principles ofgood governance provide a wayfor the board to exercise its fiduci-ary responsibilities without becom-ing expert in volumes of state and

See the details on EPA storyby pointing your browser to:www.epa.gov/region1/pr/2001/mar/010320.html


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The board must establish a singlepoint of accountability for theschools performance

Proper delegation does notmean that the board is reduced to

being a cheerleading squad for thestaff. It does mean, however, thatwhere management decisions areconcerned, the boards role is tolimit those decisions only throughpolicies of prudence and ethics(see Principles 2 and 3, above).

Lets take this straight to wheremost charter school boards live bylisting a few things that the boardshould properly delegate to the

school leader:

Annual calendar Teacher-to-student classroom ratio Hiring and discharge authority

for all school faculty and staff Curriculum and assessment Extracurricular activities Professional development Spending authority within

approved budget and policy

Disciplinary matters Pedagogical methods Decision-making authority in

response to parent complaints

Many boards fail to delegate au-thority to their school leader on theseissues simply because they want todecide the matters for themselves.(We do live in a nation, after all,where self-determination is one ofour hallmarks.) Theres a big gov-

ernance problem, however, with theboard failing to delegate authorityfor these decisions (apart from thelikelihood of being unable to sustainschool excellence in the face of ex-cessive turnover in the schoolleaders position): Whoever makesthe decision is responsible for the

results.

We didnt know, or We had apolicy, but we never checked to en-sure management complied with it.

Remember, too, that the boardcan, and sometimes should, take

steps to have an outside expert de-termine whether the school is incompliance with some of theboards policies. In the examplesprovided above, the board couldpay its attorney at some interval toconduct a legal audit to reportwhether the school is in compli-ance with all pertinent laws.(Concerning finances, boards hireindependent auditors in the samespirit and for the same reason.)

Admittedly, adopting policiesand monitoring compliance withthem is not as exhilarating as say,debating classroom paint colors,but exercising fiduciary responsi-bility is an inescapable principle ofgood governance. Im continuouslyastounded by the number of boards Iencounter that dont practice it.

Principle 4: DelegateAuthority andEnsure Accountability

In order to accomplish the pur-poses of a chartered school, theboard must delegate some of itsauthority. This process beginswhen the board selects a schoolleader, whether this role is fulfilledby a management provider or

through the traditional approach ofhiring a principal or CEO. Thereare two basic reasons why it isnecessary for the board to delegatesome of its authority to a schoolleader:

Boards dont generally possess thequalifications to manage schools


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The principle of speaking and

acting as one, while largely self-

explanatory, does not mean thatevery board member is required to

agree with every other board mem-

ber 100 percent of the time. Infact, Id really wonder whether a

board was functioning effectively

if everyone got together and simply nodded in agreement wit

whatever other board members

happened to be saying. What it

does mean, however, is that once the board has spoken, either through

majority approval of written policy

or adopted resolution, all board

members are obligated to support it.The underlying principle here is

to recognize that individual boardmembers, contrary to popular prac-

tice, do not possess any authority

of the board as individualsa simple fact sometimes found right in

the schools bylaws.

In practice, the reason for this

governance principle is simple: itis impossible for any school CEO

to follow the suggestions, directions,

orders, or demands of nine individu-als (or however many comprise your

board). The board should state its

expectations through written policiesor resolutions and expect the CEO to

adhere to them.

Are members of your board hav-

ing trouble speaking and acting asone? Heres a simple remedy: Adopt

a written policy that says something

like, The board of ABC Charter

School hereby resolves that individ-

ual board members, including the

chair, shall not give any directives toany staff member, including the

CEO. Then if any board member

ignores it, he is not just transgressinga sound governance principle, he is

transgressing the boards policy and

should be dealt with accordingly.

For example, a board that makesfaculty hiring and discharge deci-

sions is responsible for faculty per-

formance. Thus, if a particularteacher fails to deliver the prescribed

ends, the board is acting without in-tegrity if it holds the school leader

accountable.Having delegated authority for

the management of the school, the

board then has the obligation of en-suring that the school leader is held

accountable for the schools per-formance. In part, this is accom-plished by establishing policies of eth-

ics and prudence that convey the

boards values throughout the school,then monitoring compliance (see Prin-ciple 3). The other piece of the ac-

countability puzzle is accomplished

when the board has established the basic purposes (ends) of the school

and identified some key indicators ofsuccess (Collins, 2005). In doingthese things, it is well positioned to

ensure school accountability by

evaluating the CEOs performance.

Principle 5: Speak and

Act as One

I can think of few things more

damaging to a chartered school thanwhen board members transgress the

governance principle that requires

the board to speak and act as one. Itcould be that errant members dont

understand the principle, though

more often than not, I encounterpeople who should or do know bet-

ter, but violate it anyway because it

suits their interests. A board that al-

lows individual members to continuedoing so is relegating the school to

management by an assortment of

individuals, which is a far cry fromgovernance.

One of my

favorite thinkerson the topic of

organizational

performance isJim Collins. Many people

have read his bestseller,

Good to Great: Why Some

Companies Make the Leapand Others Dont.

In a companion piece that

should be mandatory read-ing for charter school boards

and CEOs, Collins adapts

his principles to the non-

profit sector. It is splendidlyapplicable to charter schools

and authorizers.

Collins, J. (2005). Good to

great and the social sectors:

A monograph to accompanyGood to Great: Jim Collins.


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When it occurredto me that therearent many goodbooks available onthe topic of charter school

board governance, I decidedto write one myself. You

can purchase single copies onAmazon.com, or in bulkfrom the Institutes website.

Carpenter, B. L. (2006).Charter school board univer-

sity: An introductory course

to effective charter school

board governance (1st ed.).

Mount Pleasant, MI: Na-tional Charter Schools

Institute.

growth and achievement, the boardis squandering its time.

A good way to implement theprinciple of spending the boardstime only on the things that matter

occurs in the agenda adoption stageof the meeting. Assign time limitsto all discussion items, then addthem up and ensure that the boardplans to spend at least half of thattime learning about student growthand achievement. Exercise this dis-cipline on a regular basis and youmay find your school excelling.

Principle 7: Commit

Resources and Time toDeveloping

Good Governance

Like other skills, the principles ofgood governance have to be learnedand practiced. Mastering them re-quires self-discipline and account-ability on the part of the board, justas self-discipline and accountabilityare necessary for a CEO to excel atcharter school management.

Instead of leaving governance tochance, proficient boards allocateregular time on their agenda to de-veloping their own governance ca-pacity. They also read and discussbooks and articles on governance,and attend occasional seminars orworkshops.

All of this, of course, requiresresources. But governing boardsrecognize that the cost of charterschool board ineffectiveness is farmore than the price of learning togovern well. Make sure board de-velopment is in your school budgetas you implement the seven abso-lutely universal, non-negotiable,unchanging principles of goodcharter school governance.

Principle 6: Spend theBoards Time Only on

Things that Matter

Like the board in the introduc-

tion of this paper, I often find thatcharter school boards spend most oftheir meeting time talking about,well, anything and everything exceptstudent growth and achievement(which are actually two differentthings). To get an idea of where yourboard spends most of its time, heresa suggestion you can follow fromCharter School Board University(Carpenter, 2006):

At your next board meeting,take a sheet of paper with a linedrawn down the middle to cre-ate two columns. In one col-umn, keep track of the amountof time the board spends dis-cussing finances and/or studentachievement. In the other col-umn, record the time spent dis-cussing everything else. To getan accurate sense of how the

board spends its time, dont tellanyone in advance what youare doing.

Most likely, youll discoverthat the board spends a major-ity of its time talking aboutthings in the second column,i.e., things not pertaining tofinances or student growth andachievement. Instead, boardswander all over the proverbial

map, discussing just aboutevery imaginable topic exceptthe two things that are reallyimportant to good governance.(p. 47)

If, during a regular meeting, youfind that your board spent less than50 percent of its time focused onthings directly related to student


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Acknowledgements

As the title implies, the principles outlined in this monograph are applicable to any chartered school, irrespec-tive of authorizer or sponsor, state law, management type (traditional leader or management organization), sizeof school, curricular or pedagogical emphasis, or other factors. Actually, theyre applicable to any governing

board, period. Thats because the principles of good governance arise from sound theory. On this, my thinkinghas long been influenced by the prolific work of world renowned governance experts, John and Miriam Carver(by whom I have also had the privilege of being trained in the theory and implementation of Policy Govern-ance). I am indebted to both of them for their work and service to boards. In addition to reading their books, I urgeboards that are interested in Policy Governance to check out the Carvers website at www.carvergovernance.com.

Other writers have influenced my work with charter school boards too, such as Richard Chait, Ram Charan,and Katha Kissman, though the latter two are not cited in this piece. Both, however, are cited in my book oncharter school board governance, Charter School Board University. All three are great thinkers.

As with all my monographs, I attempted to write this one in everyday English, which is to say, in a non-

academic style. Still, I cited the works of others because it is the appropriately scholarly thing to do. For fellowscholars and researchers who are interested in APA standards, I have chosen to deviate in the placement of myreferences in favor of positioning them alongside the text where the references appear. This is a preference Iacquired from the master of visual design, Edward Tufte.

Finally, let me close with this mea culpa: Any errors, omissions, or misinterpretations of others works cited inthis paper are, of course, unintentional and wholly my own responsibility. Also, this monograph was publishedby the National Charter Schools Institute for informational purposes only. The content is not to be used as asubstitute for legal advice. Specific questions should be directed to the schools legal counsel. The author issolely responsible for the content. His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute.

From the CEO of the National Charter Schools Institute

Affiliated with Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan since its in-ception in 1995, the National Charter Schools Institute is committed to advancing quality inthe charter school sector through publications, conference presentations and tailored techni-cal assistance to charter schools.

If you found this publication meaningful, I invite you to visit our website atwww.NationalCharterSchools.org where you will find similar monographs on a variety of

topics including board governance, administrative leadership, evaluating research andmoreall free of charge. And as long as proper attribution is given, youre welcome toprint and distribute as many copies of these as you like.

If you would like to discuss the prospect of board governance training or other kinds oftechnical assistance, please email me at [email protected], or call theInstitute at (989) 774-2999 (Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, EST).

Finally, any feedback you might wish to suggest to improve this, or any of our publica-tions, would be valued.

Brian L. Carpenter

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