My husband recently was elected to our school board and yes, it is a ton of work. He deals with it on a daily basis, what with all of the paperwork he must read,meetings to attend, functions to attend. Most weeks he has something board related every night. I call it his second career.But it is also very rewarding, and exciting to be able to be a part of the decision making process (very frustrating too when you have to deal with people who don't share your ideals! Believe it or not, some people in this field, even at the highest level have other agendas than doing what is best for the kids and families). We flipped a cpin to see who would run, him or me,and I am glad I lost. With my volunteer activities, PTO work, and running our household, I would not have the time. But if you do, it would be a great experience.
A couple of years ago I was approached by a school board member and asked to run for a seat. I turned it down for the very reasons Serendipity states. I had been attending a lot of board meetings due to some crucial issues that were going on in our district and saw how much time, effort, and stress being a board member required. I looked at the time I had available and what other commitments I had. I didn't feel that I could give the job the amount of time and effort it would need and still give my family the attention they need, so I turned it down. However, as my children have now gotten older and are in middle school, I could probably commit to something like that. I think you really have to look at your life and your priorities and determine if you can give what is going to be required of you for the position without feeling like you're sacrificing somewhere else.
I have friends who are on our school BOE. It is a ton of work and countless meetings. So all I can tell you is that you need to dedicate a serious amount of time to it if you decide to do it.
Our School Board will have one vacancy (incumbent is resigning with 18 months left on her term). Our Principal has asked me to apply for this position. My first reaction was...Yikes! I'm not sure if I'm ready to make that type of commitment.
Anyone else have experience serving on a School Board? Any advice?
