Letter to the Editor: Duties of the Board of Education

Have you ever wondered what the Board of Education does? Have you heard someone say, “Those Board members should make the Superintendent ___________!”

To many people, there are misconceptions about what a Board member can do. As a current Board member, I have heard numerous comments from the public about things that they think we should or can do.

One example was, “All you have to do is tell the Superintendent not to make the students wear masks (or something very close to those words),” or, “You are the Superintendent’s boss, so I know you can tell him what to do.”

You get the idea. It seems that many people think that the Board can tell the Superintendent what to do and how to do it, especially in how to run the schools.

So, I got out my trusty law book, Maryland School Law Deskbook (Bounds, Woolums, Bresler, Eisenberg, O’Meally 2021), and looked up a few of the most pertinent laws regulating Boards of Education and Superintendents in the State of Maryland. 

Duties and Responsibilities of a Board of Education:

• Carry out to the best of its ability, the by-laws, rules, regulations, and policies of the State Board.
• Determine educational policies for the county, subject to the applicable by-laws, rules, and regulations of the State Board.
• Appoint a Superintendent, set his/her salary, and provide his/her yearly evaluation.
• With the Superintendent and assigned staff, determine the operating budget for the year and present it for approval.

Duties and Responsibilities of the Superintendent:

• Manage and administer day-to-day operations of the school system.
• Carry out the State laws relating to the schools; follow the applicable and enacted and published by-laws of the State Board; follow the policies of the State Board and the rules, regulations, and policies of the county Board.
• Interpret school laws and State Board requirements; decide all controversies and disputes involving the county school system; approve contracts; assign personnel, provide for professional development of teachers; visit schools and advise principals; evaluate the program of instruction in the county school system; and many other duties that would about fill up this page.

At no point was I able to find a policy or rule that said that Board members can tell a Superintendent how to run the schools. Rather, it is specifically stated that the Superintendent is expressly authorized to manage the day-to-day operations of the system (see #1 under Superintendent’s duties).

As you can see from the list of duties, both the Board and Superintendent must follow state law.  There is also a rather detailed section of information about the process of how the State Board can remove a Board member or Superintendent who does not follow a state law or policy.  Additionally, funding can be withheld from the State depending on the policy not adhered to.  Since Dorchester County is one of the poorest in the State, it would be financial disaster if state funding were withheld.

Before I became a Board member, I had no idea of the exact duties and responsibilities of a Board member. I like hearing public comments at Board meetings, as well as hearing from individuals on a personal level.

It is important to listen, and I want to know what is important to the community. Sharing this information gives stakeholders the nuts and bolts of how the process works. Thanks for reading!  Questions or comments, call 443-521-0595 or email me at hubbardsh@dcpsmd.org.

Sheri Hubbard

Hurlock