Brendan Sullivan
Staff Editor, Delaware Journal of Corporate Law, Volume 50
Introduction
Efficient organizations are led by effective leaders. This is no different for school districts led by board members. Most educators would typically tell you that they want board members to have educational experience to lead districts, as they want to know that leadership understands what solutions actually meet their needs. However, school boards make decisions on a number of matters, including large-scale financial decisions, and sometimes board members are not well-equipped to make those decisions without the requisite financial knowledge. While new legislation in Delaware calls for school board members to complete financial trainings, Dr. Julia B. Keleher proposes an idea that further achieves that goal: business leaders should run for school board positions. This blog will explore how business leaders can help school boards achieve fiscal responsibility, while allowing them to maintain their goal of working for the best interest of their students.
Business Leaders Can Help Delaware School Boards
On January 22, 2025, Dr. Julia B. Keleher, Ed.D, MBA, PMP, wrote an opinion article published in the Delaware Business Times titled, “VIEWPOINT: Why Delaware’s Business Community Should Care About School Boards”. Here, she advocates that business leaders should seek positions on Delaware school boards to improve school board governance.[1] Dr. Keleher posits that school boards have the responsibility to shape the future of students and impact both the greater community and the economy based on how schools prepare students to contribute to the workforce.[2] Based on these needs, Dr. Keleher suggests that business leaders are well-equipped to provide school boards with the “knowledge and experience necessary for effective governance.”[3] Based on Dr. Keleher’s recommendation to business leaders, Delaware is a logical state to enhance school boards with business leadership. Dr. Keleher argues that business leaders possess skills such as “strategic planning, financial management, problem-solving, and a focus on results . . . [t]hey understand the importance of data-driven decision-making, continuous improvement, and achieving measurable outcomes – all essential for effective school board governance.”[4] The need for these skills is founded.
Kendall Massett, executive director of the Delaware Charter Schools Network, explains, “the number one reason that schools fail is for lack of governance at the board level, and that can show in many ways, including financially.”[5] Schools districts depend on responsible financial decision making. Jocelyn Stewart, interim executive director of First State Educate highlights that when school boards address financial decisions, those impacts do not exist in a silo.[6] When discussing new legislation requiring board members to complete financial professional development, Stewart opined, “[l]eading a school district requires significant expertise, and these trainings can empower board members to make informed decisions that impact millions of dollars and, most importantly, the education of our children.”[7] Applied to Dr. Keleher’s recommendation, this reasoning supports the notion that business leaders can fill an important role due to their “years of experience in navigating complex challenges and driving organizational success.”[8] Not only do business leaders already comprehend the necessary information to make these decisions, they can guide other board members and can clarify the nuanced knowledge to their counterparts.[9]
Delaware, in particular, is perfectly situated to encourage business leaders to become members of school boards. It is widely known that Delaware is the “corporate capital of the world,” with over 2 million businesses registered in the first state.[10] Delaware also has business-friendly legislation, known as the Delaware General Corporation Law, which allows for corporations to conduct their business in various ways, in an effort to run as effectively as possible.[11] Delaware business leaders know these regulations and have the dexterity to apply these rules to help improve the efficiency of Delaware school boards.
Does This Proposal Actually Help Students?
While it may not seem intuitive, business leaders can address multiple issues that plague school districts. Through their experience, business leaders can share their knowledge with other board members and provide context the board needs before it makes highly consequential decisions.[12] Naveed Baqir, a member of the Christina School District Board, also commented on the new Delaware legislation requiring board members be financially trained.[13] He believes school board members need to approach problems wholistically.[14] Baqir stated that board members are “facing significant challenges in our schools, extending far beyond financial matters. . . . [t]he quality of education is alarmingly low, with subpar performance evident in middle and high schools. Moreover, the prevalence of discipline issues, including regular physical fights resulting in students being hospitalized or worse, is deeply concerning.”[15] While these problems do not seem to be financial, the solutions to these problems require financial decision making.[16] Baqir further explained, “The cost of addressing fights and their aftermath, including medical expenses and potential legal fees, places a heavy burden on school budgets and detracts resources from educational programs.”[17] This is just one example of how financial decisions seemingly unrelated to the day-to-day experience of students can have a direct impact on their educational experience.
Even budget-based decisions can directly impact students, both in the short-term and long-term. Often times school boards think they are limited to either making a deeply unpopular decision or a financially imprudent decision.[18] Sometimes board members do not always make the right decision, and those errors can be costly.[19] One situation in Texas involved a board trustee spontaneously raising bonuses for educators, without conferring if the budget had that capacity.[20] The motion passed, to the delight of those in attendance—but not to the other board trustees—because that decision set the budget back by $10 million, which was estimated to have negatively impacted 160 positions.[21] One of the trustees noted “at some point we’re gonna[sic] have to come back and have a hard discussion about[ . . . ]the impact of things.”[22] This is the pitfall business leaders can easily help boards avoid. While the trainings required through Delaware legislation will certainly improve how boards operate, business leaders will take that efficiency to the next level.
While business leaders may feel they do not have experience in understanding nuances in education, they should not shy away from taking on this responsibility—especially because their expertise can permeate to other board members who do not understand the intricacies of budget information. Board members hold a special fiduciary duty to the students and families they serve to be financially responsible in all decision-making.[23] Due to this responsibility, board members can cause damage via “the financial whiplash happens when an ill-informed board member ignores months of budget development – often involving a more financially savvy subset of the board – only to intervene in the final hour with a directive that throws the budget woefully off balance.”[24] For those who are not financial experts, like business leaders, it is reasonable to be confused with advanced budgetary documentation.[25] However, despite that confusion, board members still are “stewards of the public funds spent on behalf of their students.”[26]
Board Members – Remember the Why
In the education sphere, teachers are often reminded during difficult times to remember their ‘why’—this is the way school administrations encourage their faculty and staff to remain engaged in the mission, based on what inspired them to become teachers. This same mantra can be applied to those who feel the calling to become a board member. While many business leaders are savvy in the fiscal knowledge and skills required to operate a large-scale budget, there’s a significant difference between a general business and a school district—school boards serve students and their families. Every decision made must be in the best interests of students, as its their education that is impacted most by these choices. Dr. Keleher’s proposal can have a significant impact, but it should not be interpreted to mean that school boards should entirely be run by business leaders. School boards must find a balance in utilizing business leadership skills to compliment the educational expertise within its membership to foster prosperity for school districts. Just as school board members must be fiscally trained, so too must business leaders be trained in best educational practices. It is important that all board members work together by sharing their expertise with one another to achieve their goals. If school boards can accomplish their goal of ensuring best educational practices while applying proper financial solutions, this balance could create amazing opportunities for school boards, and thus, the students they serve.
About the Author
Brendan P. Sullivan is a third year law school students at Widener University Delaware Law School and is a Staff Editor for Volume 50 of the Delaware Journal of Corporate Law. In addition to his role on the Delaware Journal of Corporate Law, he also is the Vice President of Interscholastic Competitions of Moot Court Honor Society and is the Secretary of Transactional Law Honor Society. He graduated from George Mason University in 2019 with a bachelor of arts in History, along with minors in Spanish and Legal Studies. Prior to law school, Brendan taught middle school special education for three years in Wilmington, Delaware and earned his Master of Art in Teaching from Relay Graduate School. Brendan currently is a legal intern with Clarke, Gallagher, Barbiero, Amuso, and Glassman Law. Once he graduates from law school, Brendan plans to merge his previous experiences in education and his advocacy skills by engaging in Education Law, and aspires to practice in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
[1] Julia B. Keleher, VIEWPOINT: Why Delaware’s Business Community Should Care About School Boards, Del. Bus. Times (Jan. 22, 2025), https://delawarebusinesstimes.com/news/vwpt-first-state-educate-delaware/.
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Jarek Rutz, Many Happy with Mandatory School Board Finance Training Bill, Del. Live (Mar. 27, 2024), https://delawarelive.com/many-happy-with-mandatory-school-board-finance-training-bill/.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Keleher, supra note 1.
[9] Rutz, supra note 5.
[10] Jeffrey W. Bullock, Del. Div. of Corps., 2023 Annual Report 1 (2024) https://corpfiles.delaware.gov/Annual-Reports/Division-of-Corporations-2023-Annual-Report.pdf (last visited Mar. 13, 2025).
[11] Best States for S Corps: How to Decide Where to Incorporate, Stripe, https://stripe.com/resources/more/best-states-for-s-corps-how-to-decide-where-to-incorporate#:~:text=Delaware%3A%20Known%20as%20the%20%E2%80%9Ccorporate,and%20startups%20seeking%20venture%20capital (July 1, 2024); Bullock, supra note 10.
[12] Rutz, supra note 5.
[13] Id.
[14] Id.
[15] Id.
[16] Rutz, supra note 5.
[17] Id.
[18] Marguerite Roza, What Goes Wrong When Some School Board Members Don’t Understand District Finances, Forbes (July 28, 2022, 3:02 PM), https://www.forbes.com/sites/margueriteroza/2022/07/28/what-goes-wrong-when-some-school-board-members-dont-understand-district-finances/.
[19] Id.
[20] Id.
[21] Id.
[22] Roza, supra note 18.
[23] Id.
[24] Id.
[25] Id.
[26] Roza, supra note 18.
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