Marla Riney

A School district operates much like a small business. Just as the Superintendent is similar to a CEO (Chief Executive Officer), Governing Board Members (also called School Board Members) are elected officials with specific roles and responsibilities. In the Cave Creek Unified School District we have a five-member Governing Board with staggered terms. According to the National School Boards Association, "School Board Members provide an unequaled example of volunteerism and citizen power in guiding society's most complex challenge - the education of our young people. School Board Members are trustees of the educational welfare of all children in their communities. They are elected by the people and are directly accountable to the community. School Board Members are not educators; they are your neighbors. This is the essence of their uniqueness - School Board Members are the community and are in the best position to bring the community together to shape the destinies of our children."Governing Board Members are unpaid, elected officials who serve as the policy-making body for CCUSD(r). A Board Member must be a qualified elector and have lived in the district for a least one-year. The Board sets policy, approves educational programs, textbook adoptions, the hiring and termination of personnel, set salaries and compensation, and adopts a yearly budget. The responsibility to oversee and administer programs and policies rests with the Superintendent, who is hired by the Board