The newly elected board member walks into the district office for the first time since winning. She’s carrying a folder of campaign notes, a few promises she made at doorsteps across town, and a lot of enthusiasm. She also has a phone full of messages from parents, reporters, and a neighbor who wants to know when the middle school schedule is going to change, as she promised it would.
What happens in the next few weeks could shape your working relationship with her for years.
In many communities, November’s election results mean new faces at the board table, often seated in December or January. Most districts handle the essentials: the policy manual, the budget briefing, the Sunshine Act training. Far fewer sit down with new members and talk directly about communication. That gap is where many of a superintendent’s future headaches come from.
Consider where a new board member is coming from. For months, her job was to talk to anyone who would listen. She posted constantly, answered every question, and made her positions known. Campaigning rewards speaking freely. Governing requires something different, and nobody has told her yet.
That conversation is yours to start, and it goes better as a welcome than as a warning.
Start with the idea that the board speaks with one voice, but explain it as a source of strength, not a muzzle. Board members are free to disagree, and they should, vigorously and in public session. Once a vote is taken, though, the community needs to see a governing body, not a group of individuals still campaigning. New members who understand that early are much less likely to undermine a decision on Facebook the night after it passes.
Then talk about the media. The first time a reporter calls, a new board member may feel flattered and want to help. Walk her through how media inquiries are usually handled, who serves as the district’s spokesperson on which issues, and why a casual comment on a pending personnel matter can turn into a legal problem by morning. If your district offers media training, this is the time to use it. Coming from someone who spent years in a newsroom: reporters don’t hold back a good quote because the speaker is new to the job. (Call us—we can help!)
Social media deserves its own conversation. Many new members built their campaigns online and their followers expect that to continue. Help them separate personal pages from official communication, and talk honestly about how a single post can become the story of the week.
Last, make clear that the door works both ways. Promise new members they won’t learn important district news from the local paper. Then keep that promise. Trust between a superintendent and a board is built through small, steady acts of good faith, and it starts with how you treat them during their first month, when they are still forming their impressions.
The new board member with the folder full of campaign promises isn’t your adversary. She’s someone who cared enough to run. Helping her find her footing may be one of the best communication investments you make this year.
