Principal's Role on School Board

The principal or head teacher is the executive secretary of the board. As the administrator of the school, they are responsible for carrying out the actions of the board. The board chairperson and principal or head teacher work cooperatively to prepare the agenda for each board meeting, to give tactful leadership in the board meeting, and to see that all actions are implemented.

The executive secretary of the board is responsible to:

• Send reminders, including time and place, to all board members in advance of any meeting.
• Prepare the board agenda in consultation with the chair.
• Prepare and present a principal's report.
• Record board minutes at each meeting. Since it is often difficult to discuss agenda items and keep notes on voted and non-voted actions, some boards elect a recording secretary who records the actions and prepares the minutes for the executive secretary to review.
• Provide copies of the previous board minutes for each board member.
• File a copy of voted minutes. School board minutes are legal documents that are permanently filed at the school.
• Send a copy of voted minutes to the local conference office of education.

Note: It is important to prepare a hard copy board member binder, which is kept at the school. Include tabs to make it easy to find items (i.e., current agenda, minutes, subcommittee minutes, financial statements, constitution, student handbook, a copy of the last visiting committee's accreditation report).

Develop positive relationships with board members. Encourage communication and use your influence during board meetings to maintain positive discussions. Issues involving sensitive personal situations should be discussed privately with the parties involved and not with the board as a whole.