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Advocate in new role atop board of TUSD

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After years of service in the Tucson Unified School District serving on its board and as a parent volunteer, Judy Burns is the incoming Governing Board president. This leadership position will be a test for Burns, the board and the district — but it's a test that we believe can help make the district stronger.

Burns' position on the board has been as The Questioner. She rarely accepts any report from administrators — or anyone — without a series of questions: What was the process used to reach a decision? Was this considered, was that considered? Have you talked to this person or group? What do parents think? What do teachers think? Have you looked at how this will affect students? Has the school site council considered this? Are we sure there is no better way to do this? Has this worked in other places?

Burns' performance over years of Governing Board meetings makes it obvious that she is not easily convinced and she's comfortable being a public roadblock, putting administrators on the spot and demanding answers to what she sees as basic questions. Her inquiries are persistent and while she is often on the losing end of votes, Burns has served, overall, a useful role on the board.

Now, however, she must put aside that role and take on the duties of Governing Board president — a vastly different job than that of The Questioner.

As president, Burns will be speaking not for the board, but as its representative. Her vote will count as much as any other member's vote, but her voice will speak louder and her influence could have a longer reach by virtue of the position.

If she doesn't change her approach, she could quickly become an obstructionist whose interference drags the district down. We don't believe she wants that to happen. We also believe she has the leadership abilities to prevent it.

Burns must resist the temptation to use her new power. She must hold back from seeing her new role as the opportunity to push through every change she's ever advocated, to tinker with every program she's criticized or alter the jobs of every administrator she's locked horns with over the years.

The board has two new members, Miguel Cuevas and Mark Stegeman. Burns must lead by example and ensure that the new members understand that their job is to set policy and give Superintendent Elizabeth Celania-Fagen the room she needs to do her job running the district. Burns must resist the temptation to unduly influence the new board members and instead let them find their own legs and direction.

Burns has shown herself over the years to be an in-the-trenches fighter. She's plugged into many parts of the district and has devoted fans. But for TUSD to succeed, Burns must now accept that those days are over and her responsibility as president is larger than any consitutuency.

The TUSD Governing Board has long been a contentious one, riven with factions, personality conflicts and public sparring. We are not of the belief that every vote must be unanimous for a board to be effective, but we do know that a divided board cannot be an effective board.

Burns has been on the losing side of that calculus, shut out from getting issues on the agenda and marginalized as the vocal minority. She must take care to not repeat the mistake of previous presidents who shut out dissenters.

TUSD is a model for how Governing Boards should set agendas. A committee that includes the superintendent, board president and a board member sets the meeting agendas. The key is that the board member position rotates quarterly, so everyone has a chance to serve. If a board member can't get something on the agenda, he or she can have it put on as an item to be considered for a spot on a future agenda.

It's an open process that has served TUSD well and it should be continued.

Burns brings a wealth of hard-earned experience to the president's position and we are hopeful that she will rise to the occasion and, with Fagen, guide TUSD forward.