What power does the school board have?
Local, state, and national officials all have a say in how our schools are run. Here's what our local school board can — and cannot — do.
By William Newlin
Last year, the Tennessee State Legislature passed dozens of new laws affecting public schools. Meanwhile, our local school board passed new policies, including new guidelines for student cell phone usage.
It can get confusing — what power does the state legislature have? What about the school board? The superintendent? Or principals?
As we go into the new school year, we’re bringing you a short series about the basics of how our school system works. Today, we take a look at what the Hamilton County School Board has the power to do.
Fast facts:
There are two main entities that oversee Hamilton County Schools: the school board and the administrators at the school district’s central office
The school board is made up of elected officials representing 11 districts in the county
The district administration consists of the superintendent, appointed staff, principles, teachers, and other instructors
The City of Chattanooga is largely uninvolved in our public school system, with the exception of a handful of city-paid staff who work at schools within city limits
Why isn’t the City of Chattanooga involved in public schools?
Hamilton County and the City of Chattanooga used to operate separate school districts. But in 1997, the two school districts merged after city residents passed a heavily debated ballot referendum. Election results show that the referendum passed narrowly, with 54 percent in favor of merging the predominantly white county schools with the predominantly Black city schools, according to a report from the Times Free Press.
Today, all public schools are part of the Hamilton County school district. The City of Chattanooga is not involved in running our public schools, though it does fund the Community Forward program, a collaboration between the city and Hamilton County Schools that supports a staff position at seven Chattanooga schools.
What does the school board do?
The school board has three main functions:
Appointing and overseeing the superintendent (or “director of schools”), who is the chief executive of the school district
Approving the school district budget
Creating policies that affect the entire school district
School Board Chair Tiffanie Robinson said that advocating for constituents is another important component of serving on the board.
“That's kind of like an unspoken job responsibility,” she said.
Creating Policy
There are hundreds of board policies reviewed each year. Some are logistical, like rules around electing a board chairperson or creating special committees. Others are more broad, governing the operation of the entire school district.
Among many others, board policies include:
The process for selecting textbooks and other education materials
Regulating drug and alcohol testing for teachers
Defining the rights and responsibilities of students
Creating a code of acceptable behavior in schools
Setting rules around suspensions and appeals for conduct violations
How schools can use metal detectors
You can find the full board policy document here. Many of the policies contain references to Tennessee laws and rules created by the state Department of Education and Board of Education. Robinson said state bodies have a large impact on local school governance — they create a skeleton of policy alongside federal laws while school board members “fill in the guts,” she said.
Overseeing the superintendent
The school board makes sure the superintendent and district administration follow state and federal laws as they manage the day-to-day operations of the school system. The administration also recommends district policies to the board.
“We’re in lots of conversations with the school board all the time,” said Deputy Superintendent Sonia Stewart. “And most of that is happening in response to the constituents that they serve and questions that they're asking.”
When a superintendent retires or resigns, the board may begin a selection process that includes meetings with community groups and school staff and public interviews. However, the board has the power to appoint a new superintendent without an interview process.
Passing the budget
Staff in the superintendent’s office write the school budget in line with the district’s strategic plan. In public work sessions each spring, the administration presents the budget to the board, explaining what they’ve prioritized and how much money the district requires to operate. In April, the school board votes to approve a proposed budget, which is then sent to the Hamilton County Commission.
The commission has the final authority over the budget. Typically, the board approves a balanced budget, meaning local tax revenues and other funds allocated to schools are expected to be high enough to pay for the school system’s yearly expenses. A balanced budget is more likely to be approved by the commission without pushback, Robinson said.
What the school board doesn’t do:
Robinson said she often receives calls from concerned parents about topics that she has no power to address, whether they’re state laws or school-specific problems. It’s best to go directly to the source of a concern or their direct superior — a teacher, principal, or community superintendent — to fix the issue. Board members often act as a sounding board to connect constituents to the right person.
Here are some areas related to day-to-day school operations where the school board doesn’t have authority:
Taking action against a teacher or principal
Choosing instructional materials, setting curriculum (although the board does create a textbook commission to choose from state-approved textbooks).
Implementing standardized testing
Establishing bus routes
Maintaining student and school records
Approving field trips
Getting involved
Once you know what the school board does and doesn’t control, you can bring up concerns at monthly public meetings and get involved in the annual budget process to advocate for different school priorities.
Emails and phone calls to your school board representative can go a long way, too, especially when it comes to policy making.
“You never know what you're going to say to an elected official that's going to make them go, ‘Oh, you're right. I'm worried about that too,'” Robinson said.