It’s difficult to find a city in Indiana like Wabash and the same can be said about its school board.
The Wabash City Schools (WCS) Board of Trustees is a five-member entity that is one of respectively few school boards of the state’s 298 that is appointed by its City Council, rather than elected by the public by which they represent.
According to Dr. Frank Bush, Executive Director of the Indiana School Boards Association, Wabash City Schools’ board is only one of 12 boards in Indiana that is appointed, with one of them, the School City of Mishawaka, being a hybrid of elected and appointed members.
Some believe there are advantages and disadvantages to the concept of being selected by representatives, rather than the represented, and vice-versa.
Recently, a long-term WCS board member, Steve Weir, resigned his position and was replaced with Board Member Mary Ann Tait, who served at her first meeting on Monday.
The process in which board members are appointed has its steps.
The city first publishes a notice that there are one or more positions to fill. It then notifies the public of the time and place to pick up applications, which ask for personal information, a biography of the applicant and a series of questions. The Wabash City Council then interviews all of the candidates and finally makes appointments for three-year terms.
“We council members take our work seriously in evaluating all applicants,” City Council Member Doug Konkle said. “Any city resident can submit their name for consideration and I believe this allows diversity in the board membership. Our judgment of the applicants does not involve popularity, politics, or favoritism. We look for knowledgeable people with a desire to work and improve our school system.
“Our school board functions very well and the members work to insure our schools are providing the best possible education for all of our students.”
Wabash Board President Bill Konyha is entering his sixth year of service with the local board, the final year of his second term.
For the first two years he served as a member, with the following year as a vice president before being elected by his peers as president for the next three, the most recent of which occurred at the board’s bimonthly meeting on Monday.
“I do believe that appointed school boards have advantages,” Konyha said. “Elected boards go through the same electoral process as any public official. The only requirement is that the nominee be 18 years old and registered to vote within the district electing the board member. Appointed board members are vetted by the City Council. The process includes submission of a bio, completion of a questionnaire and an extensive interview.”
However, Konyha thinks that the responsibilities and duties of a board member are different than what some perceive.
“Many times people run for elective office with great intentions of changes that they hope to implement only to find out after the fact that it is not possible to make these changes within the governing statute,” Konyha said. “The hope for change was the issue compelling them to run for the office and once they learn they cannot possibly make the change the motivation for serving is diminished.
“Some people run for school board positions that do not understand the role of a board member. We make policy and provide oversight. We are not educators, we employ highly skilled and educated administrators to manage and run the schools. Boards should not be micromanagers.
“Our appointment process guarantees that those who accept appointments to the board understand their role.”
Konyha believes in the idea of an appointed board, but admits it has a disadvantage.
“Some people believe that school boards should be directly elected by the people. I believe that the people elect the City Council and the elected council persons are directly accountable to the people,” Konyha said. “Recent changes enacted by the legislature require an elected body to approve the budgets. Accordingly, the Wabash City School Board’s input on the budget is purely advisory. I think that this is the only shortcoming of having an appointed board.”
Board Member Matt Bruss was appointed to Wabash’s school board in July 2012. His term expires at the end of June 2015.
Bruss admits that his perspective of comparing elected and appointed boards is limited, but also admits that from his point of view, the process runs well locally.
“I can only answer from my experience on WCS board,” Bruss said. “Having only served on an appointed board, I have no real way of comparing. I do know that being an appointed board works for the WCS. Our board members work well together and always make decisions with the students' best interests in mind.
“If there are drawbacks to being an appointed Board, I have not seen any in my two years as a member of the Board.”
The process by the City Council is what makes Bruss think that it hasn’t changed its mind to having the board be elected.
“I think the reason WCS has remained an appointed board is because the City Council has done a really good job of placing people on the board who care about the education of the youth of our community,” Bruss added. “I believe they have always taken this appointment very seriously and, in turn, expect their selections to take their position as a Board member seriously.
“I believe the communication between the School Board and the City Council is very good. (Council) Member Joan Haag attends our meetings and is able to share what she learns with the rest of the council.”
Haag, a longtime council member, is the city’s liaison for the board and sits in on the two meetings the school board has each month.
No matter how board members find their way to the LH Carpenter Center’s Board Room, Haag respects them due to their commitment.
“My personal opinion is that all elections boil down to popularity contests,” Haag said. “With an appointed school board, it is open to any and all who feel they have the interest, effort and time to serve. And I really mean the time. Along with the two monthly meetings, they also have other meetings and obligations as a member.
“The City Council has the responsibility of doing their very best to find those citizens who can fill that bill, by sitting down, listening and questioning those individuals. Anyone who becomes a School Board member, whether appointed or elected, has their hands full with that job, which includes budgets, in itself a balancing act with the State, teachers, buildings and grounds and above all - the education of all our children.”
Looking out for the children
For Konyha, statistically, it has become evident as of late that the care for all local children is paramount to the board.
“We remain an appointed board because we have been effective and responsive,” he said. “Our schools are very good, with outstanding administrators and staff. We have a 96 percent graduation rate, 100 percent of our senior class is making application to post-secondary institutions and our test scores are typically better than those of the state as a whole.”
John Gouveia, a board member with the Metropolitan School District of Wabash County, an elected five-member board, adopts a similar stance of respect for all school board members.
“With respect to the argument of ‘elected’ versus ‘appointment’ to our local school boards, I know opinions will vary greatly on the topic,” Gouveia said. “And regardless of stance and position, I believe in my heart that those individuals who serve on boards of education take their position and responsibility seriously and with a respectful approach of what is best for the children in our education system.”
A view from an elected board member
However, Gouveia sees advantages with being an elected official and disadvantages to being appointed.
“With that said though, being an ‘elected’ member of the MSD Board of Education, I do believe having elected representation is the best means of governance for any position in which the trust of the tax payers concerns about the education of their children and ultimately their tax dollars are spent is the best methodology for representation,” Gouveia added.
“At minimum, in each election cycle, albeit low turnout or otherwise for an election, the populace has opportunity to choose a candidate of their choice, which they best feel will represent their views and concerns. Elections offer opportunities to solicit a candidate’s opinions and stances on a variety of topics when opportunities exist for debate or open media interviews.
“Alternatively, political appointees of a mayor or council may not fairly or appropriately represent the interests of the citizens of the community; the citizenry has no say about who is placed into office and no opportunity to vet potential appointees.”
Gouveia also believes that the idea of whom a board must service can become cloudy as well.
“If I were an appointed member to the board of education, and I want to insure keeping my position from term to term, I only have to pander to the consent and pleasure of the political body that appointed me versus the electorate of a school district, regardless if my decisions are incongruent to the concerns of parents or teachers,” he said. “Whereas being elected, if I wish to retain my office from term to term, my record and defense of such has to reflect the concerns and trust of all I represent.”