What am I doing?

So, apparently a couple people were concerned by my comment last week, where I said: "I have felt lost in "the maze" many times over the past six months (hey, it was just my six-month anniversary last week, I just realized!). The primary job I've had so far is just trying to figure out just what it is I'm supposed to be doing, what I should be doing, what I legally CAN be doing...quite honestly it's been frustrating." (You can click here to read the quote in its context.

What does that mean? What have I been doing all this time, stumbling around in circles? What in the world did I sign up for with this school board business? Let me clarify:

I thought I knew what I would be doing as a member of the Board of Ed. But I'm here to tell you, the real-life experience is different than what's apparent from the outside. For starters, the Board of Ed does NOT run the schools. We do NOT make decisions about what happens day-to-day in the schools. We can't pick up the phone and tell Dr. Fishbein to cut the overgrown grass at a school, nor can we tell a teacher what to do or tell a janitor what to do. It isn't an issue of what we WANT to do...it's what we're legally allowed to do. Believe me, I want to pick up the phone or send an email...and I still do it, regularly. It's my nature. But it's not the way it's supposed to work. And that's been one of my frustrations.

My other frustration involves school district bureaucracy and the pace of the work that's done. School districts by their nature and structure cannot move quickly. I'm not defending the pace -- which is slow and deliberate -- but as one person, I can hardly change it myself. I am learning how to work within the system, and how to do what I can to make the system better.

Enough whining. What CAN I do? What have I been doing? Ever wonder what a school board member actually does?

(Note: These are things ALL of the board members do, plus many other things, in various combinations.)

I'm on the Facilities Committee and we have been meeting almost weekly since the summer, talking with architects and principals and trying to figure out what projects to include in a bond referendum next year. • I'm on the Communications Committee and we've met several times, making some website improvements and working on a parent survey instrument. • We have Board meetings at least twice per month, with quite a lot of reading to prepare over the weekend. • We take turns reviewing District bills, basically looking at every single check the District writes. • I've given input on the Math Planning Team and process and while I didn't agree with everything, the Board as a whole did, and I support its successful implementation. • I receive calls and/or emails from parents with questions or concerns, and I follow-up. • I've met with several principals. • I've attended HSA meetings at the high school, BF, Willard, Ridge. • I participated in negotiations between the Board and the REA. • I've been to mandatory training from the New Jersey School Boards Association and attended a session on school funding from the League of Municipalities. • I'm on a committee that's reviewing the District website design. • I've attended school functions like library open houses, celebration of the arts, fall festivals, football games. • I update this blog a few times a week. • I've attended Professional Development day for Ridgewood staff. • I'm on the joint village Fields Committee (which meets at 7:00 AM!)

I'm sure I'm forgetting something...but I hope it's helpful for you to see that I have not been sitting back just "trying to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing" for the past 6 months. I estimate that I put in 20 hours a week, in addition to my full-time job.

I'm not being defensive. You deserve to know what we do and I understand I'm accountable to you and the rest of the community. So...consider this my 6-month accounting. Thank you for trusting me with this job. It's frustrating...but I'm loving it!