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Honoring our school boards
Wisconsin School Board Appreciation Week is Oct. 4-10
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School board members come from all walks of life – they are your friends and neighbors – and they are tasked with the important work of leading our public schools. Public school boards set a vision for our school districts and provide accountability to their communities.

It is not an easy job. School board members must study, research and discuss complex issues. They vote on multi-million dollar budgets, approve contracts, hire and evaluate the district administrator, set policy, oversee curriculum, and much more.

The duties and responsibilities of school board members require long hours. School board members spend hours every month working to lead and improve our schools in meetings and on committees, advocating for our schools locally and with state and federal lawmakers.

School board members do all of this because they believe in public service and they believe in our young people.  They made a commitment to make public education the best it can be for every child with the resources available.

Public education lead by locally elected school boards is one of the most pure forms of democracy in action. It provides a foundation for all students to reach their potential and it inspires hope for a new generation and a successful future.

Recent research from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee found a positive correlation between well governed Wisconsin school boards and student achievement gains. It’s never been clearer that data-driven, focused school boards make a difference in our children’s lives.

For this and much more, our school board members deserve thanks and recognition for their hard work and for standing up for our students and advocating on behalf of our schools and our communities. I thank them for their dedication and making our students success their priority.

Please join me in thanking your local school board members during Wisconsin School Board Appreciation Week Oct. 4-10.

The Wisconsin Association of School Boards is a nonprofit association that provides information and services to Wisconsin school boards in the areas of school law and policymaking, bargaining, legislation and leadership development.