The Importance Boards

Dr. Joe Bound, diocesan director of education, offers some insight into the invaluable benefits that boards of education bring to lifelong Catholic learning.

Whether we are talking about a Catholic school system, a parish’s program of total Catholic education involving adult faith formation, religious education and parish school, or a stand alone parish religion education program, all of these forms of Catholic education should be supported by an education committee, commission, or board.

In the newly revised Handbook for Education Committees, Commissions or Boards for the Diocese of Green Bay it states in the foreword, “Catholic education is the source of knowledge of the Gospel message, revealed in Jesus Christ and communicated through the Church. This mission is fulfilled through educational programs designed to teach the message, to nurture spiritual life, to bring about full human development, to build a faith community and to foster a just society. The education committee, commission or board is integral to the mission of the parish and its educational mission. One key principle permeates this handbook. Every parish and school (both parish and system schools) should have an education committee, commission or board.”

These committees, commissions or boards of education (shortened to boards for this article) have six basic functions. The effectiveness of a board will depend on its competence in performing these functions. All of these functions are essential for effective board operations.

The primary function of the board is to ensure the Catholic identity of the parish’s or system’s educational programs and services. The board should work with the educational administrators to ensure that the parish or system educational programs operate in conformance with the dogmas, teachings/doctrines, and laws of the Catholic faith. It should be committed to upholding the teaching of faith and to integrating these core teachings and values into all facets of the learner’s life.

The second function of the board is to plan. To do this effectively the board will need to know the direction of the Church and the Diocese of Green Bay as well as the educational needs of the local community. From these directions and needs, the board can recommend priorities and set goals. From here they should develop a three year financial and strategic plan which set the course for the parish’s or system’s education programs and services.

Policy making is one of the most important functions of a board. A policy is a discretionary guide to action. The board makes the policy and the parish and/or school educational administrators are responsible to implement it. However, the board does not tell the educational administrators how to carry out the policy; the administrators have the professional expertise to make regulations as appropriate.

The next function of a board is the hiring of competent educational administrators to oversee educational programs and activities. In the parish setting the hiring process is done under the direction of the pastor/parish director. This requires advertising, interviewing, checking references and discerning. There should be a job description so the board and applicant know precisely the duties to be performed. It should be pointed out that in a parish educational program the administrators are hired by the pastor/parish director but in a system the chief administrator is hired by the board of trusts with the approval of the system’s board of directors. The other administrators are hired by the chief system administrator. Subsequently, the evaluation of the educational administrators is the responsibility of the pastor/parish director in a parish setting. In a system the board of trustees evaluates the chief administrator who in turn evaluates the other system administrators.

Financing and budgeting are the fifth function of the board. The budget is a decision‑making instrument. Decisions should be based on needs, priorities and goals as outlined in the strategic plan. Since education is only one of the parish or community missions, the finance council and pastoral council will have to decide the amount of its resources it can allocate to the educational mission of the parish or system schools it supports. The board of education should approve a recommended budget prepared with the educational administrators, before it is presented to the finance council or the board of directors who support a school system. The board should guide the budget’s passage through the parish or system governing network. Once the budget is approved, the board working with the finance council monitors its implementation and makes periodic reports to the finance council and other appropriate authorities.
The final function of the board creates confidence in the community regarding the educational programs and services provided by the parish or system. In order to create and sustain this confidence the board needs to recognize that the community has the right to know: (1) local educational goals, (2) programs used to meet those goals and (3) evaluation of the programs. Good public relations create confidence in the board, administration and educational programs. It also involves listening to the various publics involved. Directly related to this function, the board should be actively involved in developing and implementing marketing plans. Concerted year round efforts must be made in advertising, marketing, and public relations.
In short, the education committees, commissions, or boards in the Diocese of Green Bay are responsible for ensuring Catholic identity, developing and implementing financial and strategic plans, setting policy, participating in the hiring and evaluating of chief educational administrators, developing the budget needed to support the educational programs and services of the parish or system, and to advertise, market and promote the educational offerings of the parish or system. By diligently doing all of this work, the board ensures the fulfillment of the parish’s or system’s catechetical and educational mission and vision.