Superintendent Competency:

Policy and Law

Jorma Ollila stated, “Responsible policy makers do not make irresponsible decisions.” In

schools, policy has the weight of law. School board members and superintendents must be

very intentional about creating or changing school policy. Policy must be followed when

creating or changing policy. When careful consideration has gone into the creation or

clarification of a policy, decisions regarding that policy become much clearer.

The need for new or changing policy often arises from happenings in society. Before a

superintendent recommends a policy to the school board, careful consideration should be paid

to all details of the policy. Policy should never be adopted in haste as a reaction to a situation.

Often model policy on a variety of topics is available from various sources. Even these model

policies should be dissected to verify they will have the lasting impact they were intended to

create. All stakeholders should be considered when adopting policies.

There are policies which govern all functions of a school district: foundation and basic

commitments, school board governance and operation, school administration, fiscal

management, personnel, students, instructional programs, and relations. Minnesota statutes

or other documents are often cross referenced in policies. It is the role and responsibility of the

school board to adopt policies and evaluate the results of the policies. It is the role and

responsibility of the superintendent to develop, monitor, and implement plans to carry out the

policies.

Clear policies lead to clear expectations. Policies must also align with a person’s values

if those policies are to be carried out with heart. During my field experience, I had the chance
to read several of the New London-Spicer school policies. The school board began January’s

meeting with a review on the policy about meetings and policy. The board also worked to

revise the school meal charging policy this year. Being witness to the discussion and process

was very enlightening. The board held a thorough and complete discussion during both the

first and second readings of the policy before adopting the new language. Allowing students to

continue to eat on a negative balance was the right thing to do rather than deny a student the

ability to eat lunch. The food service account has a positive balance and taking care of

students’ needs is a priority as is now stated in the revised policy. Revising the policy makes it

clear that it is the parents’ responsibility to keep a positive lunch account balance. Policy also

makes it clear that the dignity of students will always come first.