Front Page
By Theresa Kelly Gegen
School board members discover quickly that the role is local. Although there are “best practices,” there is no one way to govern a school district. Whether it’s stated or intuitive, the work of a school board member, no matter the topic, is to take best practices, remember the Foundational Principles, understand the laws that apply, maintain purpose, and make the best decisions for the community.
How you and your board go about making those decisions can vary, especially when it comes to school facilities. The decisions may be different, and be arrived at differently, from the city to the suburbs to rural schools. It can also be different from one district to its neighbor, depending on size, type, economy, expectations, culture, and leadership styles. The ability to cultivate these priorities breathes life into the work of the board of education.
As Illinois schools emerge, hopefully and finally, from the emergencies and dramatic challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, many are considering applying lessons learned. Nowhere are lessons more prevalent than in facility needs assessment, planning, and development, with an intent to improve quality of space in cost-effective ways. With this issue, the Illinois School Board Journal looks at best practice, post-pandemic, locally decided, community-focused, school facilities. It is, we hope, a breath of fresh air, from which can sprout ideas for your local districts.
Letting the outside in is a feature of many designs for green school facilities. Taking lessons outside is another. A third, and obviously vital factor from a board perspective, is financing it all. Teaming up with IASB Service Associates including FGM Architects, Stifel Financial, and Wight & Company, the Journal covers these and more in relation to “Going Green” with school facilities.
IASB Service Associates are businesses that offer school-related products and services and which have earned favorable reputations for quality and integrity. They represent a wide range of expertise, offering a wealth of knowledge to the Association and its member school boards and serving as a valuable resource for information and advice helpful to local school districts. We thank those who responded to our invitation for their contributions to this issue of the Journal, and we’d love to hear from more in the future.
New board members are on their way, likely to your board of education. In addition to the multitude of resources available on the IASB website, the next issue of the Journal will focus on best practices for new board members.
Going (and growing) forward, if you have a different “best practice” that’s working for you, in the facilities green space, for new board members, or otherwise, please send it along. The Journal is interested in exploring fresh viewpoints on both evergreen and emerging topics; I hope you will share your thoughts and look forward to hearing from you.