About Board Candidates

School board members need to be a specific kind of person. They should be passionate about public education and have a drive to improve the educational opportunities of every child in their community. They should also be willing to dedicate the time and energy necessary to be a member of the public board. Finally, they should have extensive business experience and leadership abilities to bring to the board and be able to contribute to the overall board strategic planning process.

A board member’s background should include substantial business experience as well as the ability to understand the complexities of financial reporting and accounting processes and supply chains that are multi-tiered, numerous strategic M&A transactions, and cybersecurity and risk management. A board member’s experience must be in the fast-moving consumer items industry or similar fields that has expertise in the field of technology and creative thinking. A board member must have a wealth of experience in leadership for enterprises whether as a CEO or other senior level executive in a large publicly traded company or in a similar position within the nonprofit sector or in the government.

The CEO, independent leader of board culture the board and chair of the nom/gov committee must all agree on what they are looking for in the new director candidates. This includes their qualifications as well as their experience, knowledge, and capabilities. This clarity of goal will ensure that the board knows what “great” means for each position and how these attributes will be able to contribute to the board’s governance functions.