As we move into the new year, we welcome two new members to the Fairfield Board of Education.

Last month Nancy Wenning and Eugene Ball served at their final meeting before stepping down from the school board. I would like to thank both of them for their dedicated service. They brought unique skills and perspectives to the board, but always were linked by their commitment to doing what was best for our kids and our community.

Tonight, Diana Bailey and Jerome Kearns will take their seats on the Fairfield Board of Education. That will happen at a meeting at 6 p.m. at the high school, in the community room. As with all school board meetings, the public is invited and welcome. I am looking forward to working with both Jerome and Diana, whom I have gotten to know better in recent days as we conducted an orientation session for them.

I wanted to take some time to review what school boards do, and don’t do, because I think sometimes their role is not fully understood. There are five members of the school board, so Diana and Jerome will join Arnold Engel, Dr. Mark Morris and Dan Murray, who are in the middle of their terms.

Board members don’t actually have offices in the central office, or anywhere else in the district. They also are not paid employees of the district. (They do receive a stipend of $80 per meeting, but only up to a total of 12 meetings in one year, or $960. I have never met a member who was doing it for the money.)

What do school boards do? They hire the superintendent and the treasurer, approve policies and procedures, approve the curriculum, and oversee the district’s finances. They approve all personnel actions. They do regular evaluations of the superintendent and the treasurer, the two district employees who report directly to the board. And they evaluate how well the district is achieving its goals. Another key part of their job is maintaining communication with the community.

School board members are not, though, directly involved in the day-to-day operation of our schools. It’s my job to direct those activities, and provide regular reports to the board members about what is happening in the district.

Ultimately, school board members work for the residents of Fairfield and Fairfield Township. I know all our board members will always take time to listen to anyone who has a concern (or a compliment) about our schools. Though they don’t have offices in the district, they are reachable by phone, email, or letter. If a resident wants to address the entire board, every meeting has a time set aside for comments from the public. The board usually meets on the first and third Thursdays of each month. Their contact information, and the complete meeting schedule, is posted on our website (www.fairfieldcityschools.com) and can also be obtained by calling our central office at 829-6300.

Published in the Fairfield Echo, Jan. 3, 2008