Ten questions to ask candidates that get at the heart of being a productive school board member

Editor’s note: This is the monthly contribution from Boardhawk columnist Dr. Aaron Massey. See his bio at the bottom of this post.

From now until November 4th, school board candidates will engage with a variety of organizations to drum up endorsements, donations, and volunteers.

During this process, candidates will sit and talk with a variety of stakeholders to answer questions about who they are, their stances on the strengths and areas of improvement for Denver Public Schools,, and what they stand for. 

Questions like:

• Why are you running for school board?
• Why now?
• What to do about declining enrollment? 
• How do we keep kids safe?
• What’s your plan for increasing student achievement? 

And candidates will answer: 

• Because every student deserves the opportunity to meet their potential.
• We are at a critical juncture as a District.
• This is a complicated problem.
• This is a complicated problem.
• High dosage tutoring. 

Or you know, something in that ballpark, that allows candidates to illuminate their experience as an education leader, as a parent, as a concerned citizen, while noting their overall commitment to the district. 

The voter will be able to see who likes school choice and who likes strengthening traditional public schools (false binary). But these questions won’t uncover the mindsets, emotional maturity, decision-making processes, and considerations, etc. that a candidate needs to be productive once in the seat. 

I’m not saying these questions aren’t important. But they don’t get at what’s actually plaguing the productivity (or lack thereof) of an elected school board. 

School boards across the country struggle because many of these leaders don’t know how to have productive conflict with each other. The DPS board is no exception, respectfully. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve talked to parents/teachers and they say something to the effect of, “they’re just fighting amongst themselves.”

So instead of just learning about their theoretical stances that they squeezed into whatever political box was closest to them (again, false binaries), there are additional questions that we should be asking candidates to better understand how they plan on being productive in the seat. 

Because, you know: children deserve a productive school board. 

Pressure to work together productively is going to continue to increase as the education landscape continues to shift. With a recent $7 billion withholding of federal funds, for example, school board members are going to make shared decisions about critical offerings such as English Language Learning and after school programs. 

That’s going to require productivity during conflict. As a voter, I would want to know how they plan on working with other leaders whom they might not agree with, both because that’s what it’s going to take to make decisions for children AND that seems to be what’s slowing productivity.

So if you’re a candidate, ask yourself these questions. And if you’re an organization that’s going to be asking candidates questions, feel free to steal any of these 10: 

1. In what ways do you uncover and then address the biases you may carry toward other leaders? 
2. If at all, what goes into your decision-making process when you change your mind about a previously held belief?
3. How do you probe for more information when you don’t fully understand an idea that’s presented to you?
4. How do you handle conflict, and what is your go-to role during conflict?
5. How do you decide what to compromise on versus remain firm on?
6. Is there such a thing as being neutral during conflict? Please explain.
7. How do you handle push-back from constituents if/when they don’t agree with a decision you made?
8. More direct: In years past, there has been some infighting among board members. Why do you believe that’s happened and what would you do differently?
9. Values, delivery of message, and styles of communication are going to inevitably differ. What strategies have you used in the past to remain productive in the face of tension?
10. What’s your balance between staying true to your values and making tough decisions that will impact children?

Yes, it is valuable to know where people stand on topics that concern the district. If you are a person who is strongly against high dosage tutoring, it’s good to know who is with you. 

But having insight as to how they will problem-solve, negotiate, and make decisions as a leader on that board allows you, the voter, the ability to assess their proclivity towards productivity. 

Because, you know: children deserve a productive school board.