Qualifications for a School Board Trustee

By Ray J. Turner

This paper explains what I believe the qualifications for a school board Trustee should be.

• Experience managing a $100 million budget and large business operation
• Ability to work with Sacramento legislators/leaders on education funding
• Able to work cooperatively with other board members
• Willingness to learn/apply best practices from other school districts

Alum Rock School District spent $115 Million last year educating 13,000 students. The Board of Trustees is responsible for providing direction for the school district and oversight to ensure that your tax dollars are spent wisely and not wasted. Directing and reviewing budgets and operations at this level requires people with experience successfully running comparably-sized business lines. The skills required to teach a classroom of elementary students are critical and important but completely different from the skills to effectively direct a $115 million operation with nearly 1,000 employees. I have managed large-size business operations.

Over the last 3 years, Alum Rock School District has seen its income drop by over 30%. But we still have the same number of students to educate. An Alum Rock Trustee also needs to be willing to commit time to work with other school districts and California State legislators to secure the long-term changes we need to make to provide adequate and stable funding for schools. I traveled to Sacramento last Spring to lobby State legislators to stop cutting funding for schools.

In order to create partnerships with industry and win grants from companies and foundations, a Trustee needs experience dealing with high tech industry managers and executives. For 25 years I have worked in and with high tech companies throughout Silicon Valley.

An Alum Rock Trustee is one of a five-member Board. Trustees need to work cooperatively to create great educational opportunities for our kids. Mutual respect and a willingness to listen to other points of view to seek common ground is essential to working together as a Board. My industry experience working in multi-disciplinary teams to accomplish common goals will serve me well as an Alum Rock Trustee.

Alum Rock schools must prepare our kids for 21st century careers here in Silicon Valley. I will work to make sure that happens.