Main Responsibilities of a Board President at College School District
As board president, Peter sets the agenda, acting as "the voice of the community" to guide the superintendent in implementing community wishes. The role involves collaborative decision-making on key issues—from mental health initiatives to teacher compensation—ensuring board unity and support for the superintendent through data-driven oversight.
Leadership, Community Engagement, Decision-Making, Public Policy, Governance
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Peter Wright
President of the Board
College School District
Occidental College
MPA: University of Southern California; PhD: University of California, Santa Barbara
Political Science, American Studies
Education
Education
Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School, Student Athlete
Video Highlights
1. Setting the agenda for the school board and district, acting as a voice for the community and ensuring its wishes are implemented by the superintendent.
2. Making collaborative decisions with fellow board members on key issues such as mental health, nutrition, and teacher compensation, even with dissenting opinions.
3. Providing support for the superintendent and monitoring program implementation through data requests, reports, and updates to ensure effective governance.
Transcript
What are your main responsibilities within your current role as board president?
I set the agenda for our school district and our board. It's a really fun exercise in democracy and governance.
We, as school board members, are the voice of the community. We rely on the superintendent to implement the wishes of the community, and that's a beautiful thing about democracy.
As a board, five of us make decisions on what we want the superintendent to implement. Whether it's mental health, healthy meals for children, or teacher raises, we all have to decide together.
Even if there's a dissenting vote, that board member has to support the board's decision. My job as board president is to ensure we have that support, that we are supporting our superintendent, and that programs are getting implemented by asking for data, reports, and updates.