Do you believe coherent governance is a good model?

Aspen school board candidates talk coherent governance

Excerpts originally published in The Aspen Times.  To read the full article, click here.

Editor’s note: Aspen Journalism and The Aspen Times have asked the five candidates for the Aspen School District Board of Education to answer five questions leading up to the election. Today’s question is the fifth and final question of the series. The five candidates are vying for two four-year seats. The newly elected board will then appoint a third two-year seat after the election.

Q: The principles of “coherent governance” guide the Board of Education in its decision-making and relationship to the district administration. Do you believe coherent governance is a good model? Why or why not?

SANDRA PEIRCE

Coherent governance is the gold standard for school board governance. It is the mission of the board to set goals for and monitor student achievement. Coherent governance removes the board from the day-to-day operations of the district, over which it typically has no direct experience, and allows the board to oversee from the policy level, which directly impacts outcomes across the district. The board creates policy around results (district mission, academic achievement, life skills and citizenship) and sets operational expectations for the district. The implementation of these policies is left to the superintendent. The board then annually monitors all these result and operational expectations closely for reasonable progress.