School Board Member and Superintendent relationship and its perceived impact on a school district

The purpose of this study was to gain information and knowledge regarding the perceived impact the relationship between the superintendent and school board members had on a school district. This study also explored which characteristics school board members and superintendents believe are essential to effective school board member and superintendent relationships. This quantitative study utilized survey research methods. Participants answered four demographic questions and 35 primary questions that addressed components of the research questions that frame this study. Questionnaire items were answered on a Likert-type scale that indicated the participants' level of satisfaction (items 1-25) with the school board member and superintendent relationship and level of importance (items 26-35) related to essential characteristics of effective school board member and superintendent relationships. Survey methodology was appropriate for this particular study because the aim of the study was to investigate the perceived relationship between two defined stakeholder groups, school board members and superintendents, and those groups' perceptions of how that relationship impacts educational accountability, the instructional program, leadership roles, board-superintendent conflicts, teamwork, and school-community relations. Participants were selected from the state of California database system that includes contact information for school board members and superintendents within the state. The researcher had access to participants because he secured the support from the California School Board Association (CSBA) Board of Directors. The CSBA Board of Directors allowed the researcher to use their comprehensive e-mail database to contact superintendents and school board members within the state of California. In order to keep the random sample sizes as large as possible, invitations to participate were sent to 250 superintendents and 350 school board members in the CSBA database system