The Case Against Board Adoption of Strategic Plans

Type: Article
Topics: Board Relations, School Administrator Magazine

December 01, 2025

BOARD-SAVVY SUPERINTENDENT

School systems exist for one reason: to improve student outcomes, to grow what students know or can do so they can lead choice-filled lives. School operating budgets, buses, buildings, bonds and books matter, but they’re a means, not the end result. They’re what school systems do, not why school systems exist.

Conventional wisdom says a key role of school boards is adopting a strategic plan that defines the means of how to achieve results. This is flawed thinking. While well-formed strategic plans can be powerful tools, board member involvement in designing the strategies in them often promotes board capture, undermines superintendent accountability and shifts attention from student outcomes to adult preferences.

Board Capture

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A.J. Crabill

Director of Governance

Council of the Great City Schools, Washington, D.C.

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