October 11, 2000
Mayor Williams Seeks School Board Members
Dear Citizen:
As you know, in June 2000, DC voters passed a referendum creating a new school board structure consisting of five elected and four appointed members. In November, you will be electing the President and four Special District members to the board. I urge you to look closely at the range of candidates, ask questions, and make a thoughtful choice. As the candidates for the elected school board positions debate and discuss the issues, I want you to know that I am searching for quality candidates who will serve as appointed members to the Board. Although there is an advisory committee assisting in this effort, I seek your ideas as well.
The legislation passed by the Council states the following: "Members appointed by the Mayor shall be District residents. The persons appointed by the Mayor shall have competencies in education, finance, or business management." These criteria are baseline. Clearly, nominees should also have a strong desire to serve children and the community, and should be able to draw upon a special combination of traits and expertise. To help you to determine if you, or someone you know, is a strong candidate, I offer the following criteria to inform you of what I will likely consider in making my appointments to the School Board. Board members should possess the following traits, in addition to many of those cited by the DC School Board Information Project:
- Receptive to expert advice, including training and other programs for Board
- Able to withstand political pressure
- Research-based approach to policy development
- Change agent - able to operate effectively in environment of unpredictability
- Lifelong learner
Board members should also have a particular expertise in at least one of the following:
- Budget and school finance
- Special Education
- Urban education policy - national and local best practice
- Technology and effective systems development
- Organizational development and leadership
- Cross-agency/inter-sector collaboration
- History of positive and constructive engagement
- Facilities management and construction
Finally, Board members should consider the following areas priority for education reform:
- Academic achievement at the heart of all decisions
- Support for comprehensive managerial and administrative reform
- Interest in fostering decision-making at local school level
- Support for innovative systems to recruit, train, and retain quality teachers and principals
- Sound integration of public and public charter schools - support for both
- Support for the creation of a State Education Office
- Interest in exploring and developing new school models
In addition, the Board as a body must reflect and value the full diversity of the city. The varied attributes that members bring to the table should also be considered for their candidacy. Diversity includes, but is not limited to, a view of geography, race, ethnicity and gender. Factors should not be used to categorize candidates, but should be considered as part of complete picture of candidate eligibility.
Please recommend quality candidates to my office by sending resumes to my office by October 25, 2000. You can send them to the attention of:
Michele Seligman
Senior Policy Advisor for Education
441 4th Street, NW
Washington, DC, 20001
Thank you for your interest.
Sincerely,
Anthony A. Williams
Mayor
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