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Factors and issues affecting board of education decisions: A case study
Abstract
The purpose of the study was to increase understanding of board of education decision making through focus on a series of decisions made by a board in response to a sensitive situation: a superintendent with fifteen years of service to the community was convicted of third degree sexual assault of a seventeen-year-old female student. Through historical analysis of public documents and oral testimonies, the investigation identified ten factors and issues that influenced the board's key decisions in what was ultimately a dismissal of the superintendent. The public documents included board minutes, newspaper articles, and editorials. Oral testimonies were obtained from the six former board members, including the researcher, who made the decisions; the former assistant superintendent; and three community members who participated in the public debate about the board's decisions. There were three interpretive questions. First, what were the board's key decisions? Two key decisions were identified: (1) the board's decision to delay action until after the court verdict; and (2) the board's decision to allow the superintendent to take "early retirement." Second, what factors and issues influenced the board's key decisions? Ten factors and issues influencing the board's key decisions were identified: (1) Belief in the superintendent's innocence (2) Legal factors and issues (3) Personal relationships (4) Access to information (5) Economic factors (6) Community influence (7) School board culture (8) Political factors (9) Social issues (10) Welfare of students. The third interpretive question was, how can the board's key decisions be explained? Two explanatory frameworks for exploring the interaction of the factors and issues were presented: (1) a multivariate political model for analyzing "who governs" education at the local level; and (2) the constraints model of policymaking processes. Finally, the researcher reflected on the findings using the framework of school board culture research. In addition to nine general conclusions, four predictions about another board's decision making in a sensitive situation were made.
Subject Area
School administration
Recommended Citation
Lyman, Linda L, "Factors and issues affecting board of education decisions: A case study" (1990). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9108232.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9108232