There is a huge shortage of superintendents, and a lot has to do with governance. Part of it is, they just don't want to work with boards. School board members who try to work on broader issues often become discouraged by board politics and decide not to run for re-election, Houston added. Bryant, though, said the climate in a community determines whether people run for school boards, and there is more than one reason behind the turnover among superintendents. Both board members and administrators are under pressure from the public to provide quick fixes for educational problems, which can cause stress, Bryant explained.
New programs can take a year or two to produce changes.
The report calls for school boards and superintendents to better define their roles and then work together toward common goals. Both school boards and superintendents need more training in working together, the report said. Superintendents also need better college preparation for their jobs, and national certification requirements for superintendents should be adopted. Also recommended is the creation of a national center for school board-superintendent leadership, which would train boards and administrators to work collaboratively and effectively. Although a school board must conduct its business in public, boards and superintendents should be able to speak openly about their relationships in private, according to the report.