Setting the course for a school district does not just happen. The McFarland Unified School District Board of Trustees has compiled this Board Handbook to assist Trustees in setting the course for our community's most important asset, our children.
     The role of Trustee in a school district carries with it tremendous opportunity and responsibility. Trustees set policy that guides all aspects of schooling within the public school system of our community.
     School Board Members are locally elected public officials who receive no salary. The higher goal of serving the community in this critical way of shaping the future is the major reward for most school Board trustees. They help the schools meet the educational needs of students in their communities and thereby operate at the highest level of service to their fellow citizens. School Boards operate like a corporate body. Individual Members acting independently have no legal status or authority and cannot commit or bind the Board by their actions. This is a critical distinction between the Members of the Board and the administrators in whom they trust the administration of the district. Many questions have arisen regarding the authority of individual Members of a Board of trustees and courts have always clarified that all powers and all duties of a Board of trustees must be exercised by the entire Board. School Board Members are therefore always Members of a team, making decisions as a whole.
     Like corporations, the Board may conduct business only with a quorum present during a regular or special meeting. Board Members across the country are being asked to raise the bar of academic achievement while remaining good stewards of the public's investment in education. That responsibility demands sound knowledge in several areas including leadership, school improvement, school finance and others.
     Boards must also be adept at using the tools available to them-from the Board meeting to Board policy-to support school improvement and student achievement.

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