School Boards / Districts

School Board Responsibilities

The board of directors of a school district operates as a corporate body.

Individual school board members have no authority to act independently, and cannot commit or bind the board by their individual actions. Powers and duties of the board must be exercised by the board as a whole.

Iowa school boards have the legal authority to:

  • Develop a shared educational vision for the community.
  • Determine major educational goals and objectives, and implement a means of attaining the goals.
  • Fix the time and place of regular and special meetings.
  • Fill, by appointment, vacancies occurring between elections.
  • Employ a superintendent, teachers, principals and other licensed professional personnel, and determine their salaries.
  • Discharge any employee subject to the provisions of any applicable law.
  • Adopt board policy which establishes the rules governing the operations of the school district.
  • Utilize funds received through gifts, devises and bequests in the general or schoolhouse fund, unless limited by the terms of the grant.
  • Appoint a secretary and a treasurer.
  • Determine attendance centers for the district and the particular school each child will attend.
  • Provide transportation services.
  • Acquire, hold, convey, lease, rent and manage property, real and personal.
  • Incur indebtedness when authorized by the voters of the school corporation at an election.

Area School Boards

Area 11 Community College Board